Mike Parente didn’t always know the joy that can come from owning American-made automobiles of a certain era.
“I had this car for about 10 years or so, and I always felt it was just sort of a pain,” Mr. Parente, of Studio City, Calif., said. “But then I started to appreciate it.”
Standing proudly beside his sparkling 1971 Ford Pinto, which is festooned with thousands of tiny square mirrors to create a disco-ball effect, he added: “No matter what, it will always be a Pinto.”
He said that as if it were a good thing.
Mr. Parente’s words need to be considered in the context of the occasion. His Pinto was among 90 oddball autos on display at the Concours d’LeMons, a wrong-side-of-the-tracks counterpoint to the upper-crust concours d’élégance taking place on the 18th fairway of the Pebble Beach Golf Links about 20 miles away.
This concours was an offshoot of the 24 Hours of LeMons, an endurance racing series for $500 junkers.
The Pinto was not the only car entered in the show that showcased its owner’s pride and creativity. There was a 1930s-era hot rod with a Coleman lantern lighting the engine compartment and an empty Johnny Walker bottle to catch radiator overflow; a flimsy 1949 Crosley Hot Shot similar to the star of “Mechanized Death,” the driver’s-ed film classic; and a 1967 Volkswagen Squareback that its owner said garnered an inordinate amount of attention going down the road — possibly because of the coffee cup glued to its roof.
“There was a fabulous collection of cars here for the show,” said Alan Galbraith, the organizer. Meant to poke fun at some of the industry’s more laughable efforts, the event set high goals. “We wanted to be able to put on a show with a straight face,” Mr. Galbraith said.
“The Pinto was the most-entered marque,” Mr. Galbraith said. “Certainly, there’s a lot of pride of ownership there.”
The design, while charming, has its drawbacks. “I cut myself every time I get near it,” Mr. Parente said. “I’ve still got the scars from gluing it together. But it never needs waxing. Just Windex.”
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