Rendezvous Back to Route 66 car show returns to its roots in downtown San Bernardino

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — The Rendezvous Back to Route 66 car show returned to downtown San Bernardino for the first time in three years last Saturday. “Where It All Began.” For the past two years, the car show was held at the San Manuel baseball stadium. Before that, the convention and visitors bureau lost all funding from the city after 22 successful years in downtown San Bernardino.

First, I met up with Alex Alcaraz who ran up to me wanting to be interviewed. His family brought two of their classic cars and a classic truck to the Rendezvous.

“It’s a 1967 C10, 350 small block,” Alcaraz said. “Obviously, we’ve got some paint going on, interior, some suspension rods, 20-inch IROCs, Falcon tires, numerous different things. I’m just trying to complete the vehicle how it should be. Back to restoration. Just a little bit of sauce in it, spice it up a bit.”

Glenn Nicks offered to give me a ride on his three wheeler… how could I pass it up?

“It’s a Volkswagen Trike–purely 100 percent custom built,” Nicks explained. “It’s got a Volkswagen engine, type three, with an automatic transmission. It’s a beautiful cruiser, does well on all of the roads. It’s very comfortable to ride. This is what I like. I appreciate any car show that lets everybody in for free because those people that can’t afford to have these beauty machines are the ones that should be coming out to see beautiful things that people have.”

Then, I met April Auberry, who goes by the name “The Vette Lady.” She says her Corvette was used as a reference for the official die cast model sold in stores. In addition, her car was featured in numerous newspapers and magazine articles.

“Everybody’s having a good time,” she said. “I’ve even done a walk around and everyone seems to be having fun, listening to music, watching the cars cruise and sharing stories again. Everybody is elated that it’s back in downtown San Bernardino. This is where it should be for eternity.”

Attendees were treated to a performance by the Sounds of the Beach Boys by Chris Farmer.

“It’s a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air,” car owner Fred Cantaoi of Yucaipa explained. “Everything under the car and inside the engine compartment is completely re-done. So it’s got a lot of horsepower. The paint is called black cherry. It looks black at night and when it’s in the sun, it looks like a cherry.”

I’ve been told organizers are looking to expand next years rendezvous to two days–possibly Friday and Saturday.

“I like it. I’m glad that it’s back where it was–San Bernardino downtown,” said attendees Alicia & Elias Faz Jr. “Yes, we’ve gone to Ontario actually and we didn’t like it. I’m glad it’s back. It’s not as big as it was, but it will get there. We’ll get it back.”

This year’s Rendezvous made the top 12 list of exciting car shows not to miss in California.

For more information about the Rendezvous Back to Route 66 car show, visit www.rendezvoustoroute66.com.