From the Land of the Rising Sun to the Land of the Free, Carlisle Import & Kit Nationals had it All

CARLISLE, Pa. - May 17, 2015 - PRLog -- All good things must come to an end, but for the 2015 Carlisle Import & Kit Nationals, it’s goodbye for now, not goodbye forever.  This year’s show, which ran May 15-17, saw three days of international excitement via featured cars from Asia, special French car showcases, a Toys for Tots toy drive, autocross and more.  From sun up on Friday through the final award on Sunday, the 20,000+ guests had a blast.  In fact, many have already made plans for 2016’s show!

Friday got underway promptly at 7 a.m. and included not only show regulars, but a handful of guests who had actually been onsite for a few days in advance of the start of the show.  Each event day hosted something special, drawing enthusiasts across the grounds and “around the world,” automotively speaking of course.  Friday highlights included a special autograph session with dune buggy legend Bruce Meyers, seminars on the affects of ethanol on carburetors, the truth about motor oil, tips on rebuilding the MG, live music on the River 97.3 stage and of course the great food and family fun that comes with this show.

The leisurely pace of this event and its fun festival atmosphere was taken to a new level Saturday as the first of two days of autocross commenced.  Hundreds of drivers took to the course to push their import and kit cars to the limit.  Using the PAX scoring system, each driver was assured a level playing field against the competition and best of all, those driving did not have to be registered at the event to compete.  Complete results for autocross will be posted to the event page and applicable social media in the coming days too.

Multiple awards were issued too, including Winner’s Circle, Carlisle Elite and Standard of Excellence.  In addition, there was an awards presentation and brief Q&A session with the owners of the winning cars on Sunday as the fun filled weekend wrapped.  Additional highlights included even more music, seminars on rust repair and welding, rolling tech sessions with MG guru John Twist, bettering your vehicles’ performance, experiences on buying, owning and maintaining a Citroen DS21 and more.  There were also seminars specific to the dune buggy with Meyers at the helm and multiple car cruises, where guests left the grounds in groups to experience all that the Cumberland Valley has to offer.

Guests in 2015 also enjoyed the fun of the annual passport program.  With Asian cars featured this year, it was yet another reason to peruse the grounds for all the “cool cars” onsite and win prizes as part of the passport program.  There were indeed some rare gems, especially as part of the Asian feature.  At Carlisle were three; a 1936 Datsun Phaeton, one of only six known pre-war Asian vehicles in America today, a 1939 Datsun firetruck and a 1972 Suzuki LJ20. There were only 400 of these LJ20s brought state side and were sold as off road vehicles only. It's estimated that less than a dozen of these micro Jeeps are still on the road and one of those 12 made it to Carlisle!

The swap meet, car corral and vendor base for both kit car and import enthusiasts was also a driving force and will return next year along with a German car feature, more great cars from around the world, seminars, gets and more.  Save the date, because 2016’s show run May 13-15.