Members of the Penn-Ohio Model A Club will bring 30 Model A vehicles to Seymour on Wednesday afternoon.
Submitted photo
One thing is guaranteed when a fleet of Ford Model A automobiles that are nearly 100 years old cruises down the street.
Onlookers pause and go “Wow!”
“Everywhere we park the cars, people stare at them,” said John Menches, a proud Model A owner and treasurer of the Penn-Ohio Model A Club that will bring 30 Model A vehicles to Seymour on Wednesday afternoon.
Seymour is part of an eight-day swing with single-day stops in a variety of Indiana communities, including at a winery in Nashville and in Santa Claus.
The cars, manufactured between 1927 and 1931 following the success of the Model T, are flashy when well-kept, popular among collectors and eye-catching to observers.
The group is expected to arrive in Seymour around 3 p.m. on its arrival date, staying at Hampton Inn.
Sales director Annette Wayant is happy to be hosting the Model A crowd, which will seek a Seymour-centric dinner place and search for local activities during its overnight stay.
“I gave him some information,” she said of Menches. “It’s just a neat group.”
Model A cars are fancier looking than Model T vehicles, which were produced by Ford between 1908 and 1927. Only a small number of Model A Fords were made in 1927 with the main shift to production revving up in 1928.
Some Model A cars had 10-gallon gas tanks, and others held 11 gallons, Menches said, with a range of 200 miles or so. These cars may move comfortably at 50 to 52 mph, but they do not have much in common with the modern speed limits of 65 to 70.
“It’s not a speedster car,” Menches said.
While superspeed is not on its résumé, the Model A can be an attraction that seduces car aficionados to come take a look.