From the magazine: Chrome relics

Bowling Green’s rolling time capsules

Story by: Cameron Elliott-Moody

Photos by: Gabriel Milby and Everett Wold

Design by: Natalie Barber

Editor’s Note: This article was originally released in Issue 20 of the WKU Talisman print magazine. Click here to read more articles from the Talisman’s semesterly print.

In Bowling Green, vintage cars are a common sight. Matt Seymour of Bowling Green said he owns a 1966 Lincoln Continental and enjoys discussing the car with people. He said looking at the car reminds him of a time when vehicles felt cool and fun.

“You see all of these people with unique, vintage cars,” Seymour said. “Why would you not want to talk about it?”

Seymour said his favorite thing about his car is the overall shape and appearance. He said the car doors and how the back doors open from the front were what intrigued him the most.

“The color and outer appearance is nice to me,” Seymour said. “But the doors are my most favorite aspect of the car.”

Seymour said he bought the car as a gift for himself when he first opened his shop, On the Spot Upholstery. He said his interest in cars began in 2007 while working at his uncle’s repair shop. 

“That was where it all started for me,” Seymour said. “I originally went to school for elementary education, but I started working with my uncle, and I found a new passion.”

Seymour said his uncle’s repair shop, Mobile Fabric Repair in Louisville, is still in business today. 

Seymour said he enjoys going to car shows whenever he has the opportunity. He said he does not generally do anything competitive. 

“I usually prefer the smaller cruise-ins,” Seymour said. “It’s always best when there is a bunch of people hanging out.”

Seymour said he was fascinated by seeing cars from an older era still being driven to this day. He said that his father was a hot rodder.

According to the Merriam-Webster website, the term hot rodder refers to a person who modifies cars to give them extra power. Seymour said his uncles on his mother’s side were also hot rodders.

“My whole family, from both sides, have kind of been car people,” Seymour said. “My dad was a hot rodder back in the ’50s and ’60s.” 

Seymour said that every vintage car holds history, regardless of the year it was made, and admires how car design has evolved from vintage models to modern-day vehicles.

“One of the big things for me with old cars is that there was so much chrome,” Seymour said. “It’s amazing how cars from different eras have their own unique design.”

Bill Plumlee, a retiree from Valencia, California, said he grew up in the ’50s and ’60s. He said he has owned different types of cars in the past.

“I grew up in the hotbed of the hot rod era,” Plumlee said. “I own a 1956 Chevy 210 and a 1957 Chevy 210.”

Plumlee said all of the classic cars he has owned have given him good memories. He said the memorable moments of his cars are when he enters car shows.

“I have always had an appreciation for the culture of cars as a whole,” Plumlee said. “All of my cars hold a special place in my heart.”

Plumlee said he notices a difference between the classic cars and modern-day cars, particularly in terms of technology. 

“There are several modern upgrades being added to classic cars,” Plumlee said. “Everything from engine swaps, radio and the window controls are being installed in modern cars.”

Senior Ethan Kellems from Cloverport, Kentucky, drives a 1988 Honda Accord LX. He said he bought the car over a year ago from a mechanic who flips cars.

Kellems said he got into car culture in high school, after watching a YouTube video of someone installing a TurboKit on a 1996 Accord.

“I just thought that was really cool,” Kellems said. “I really like cars from the ’90s.”

Kellems said he likes the framework and design of ’90s cars. He said you can tell a lot about the designer’s personality when the car is being built.

“I’ve always been into the ’90s retro aesthetic,” Kellems said. “I like to take an economy car and turn it into something more vintage.”

Kellems said everything is about aerodynamics and how, in the past, nobody paid much attention to that. He said it is difficult to find a car with a unique interior.

Kellems said that the community he grew up in was oriented around car culture. He said he remembers his father spending a lot of time building cars.

“I remember growing up seeing my dad and my cousin, Charlie, spending a lot of their time building an ’80s Challenger,” Kellems said. “He would take it to Drag Racing a lot in Owensboro and Hardinsburg.”

Kellems said he and his father rebuilt a family friend’s ’78 Chevy C10. He said that it was also when he built a motor for the first time.

“It was really cool,” Kellems said. “That was a big moment for me, actually building a motor.”

Another vintage car owner, Noah Vincent, a retiree from Brownsville, Kentucky, said that cars have been a major part of his life. He said he owns several vintage cars and he drives all of them.

“My first car was a 1960 Chevy pickup truck,” Vincent said. “I drive all of my cars once a week to all sorts of places.”

Vincent said his other classics include a 1931 Ford Model A, a 1955 Willys Jeep CJ, a 1955 Chevy two-door, a 1980 Stepside Ford and a 1981 White Bed Ford pickup. He said he likes to keep his vehicles running and gets compliments on all of them.

“All of my cars still drive to this day,” Vincent said. “Sometimes people will compliment me on my car or even blow their horns at me on the road.”

Vincent said he attends car shows often and has entered his car in contests before. He said he now goes to car shows just for fun.

“I’ve entered some of my cars in shows, and I have won trophies,” Vincent said. “Now I don’t really care about winning trophies; I mainly go because I enjoy looking at other cars.”

Vincent said he prefers classic cars over modern-day cars. He said the classics are better because of the colors and the unique shape and appearance.

“I was around classic cars all of my life, so I liked them more than the cars we see nowadays,” Vincent said.