Sand Addiction - August 2007 - (Page 52) MICHIGAN BUGGY BUILDERS s I walked down the rows upon rows of nostalgic Volkswagen off-road products, Bugpack and EMPI dominated over what would normally be rows of painted aluminum and chrome. I say normally, because most of the shows that we attend for the sand market are on the West Coast, and we all know how flash and horsepower have a profound impact over the type of vehicles we drive. Right off the bat it was apparent that this show was going to be a completely different experience, and for me, a quick lesson in sand car history. Most of the shows that we attend for the sand industry are full of “please don’t touch” and “hands off” placards. The Michigan Buggy Builder Show in Lansing, MI, however, is a show for the blue collar, grass roots, sand and street buggy fanatic. The Michigan Buggy Builder Show is held in Lansing, the historic downtown capitol of Michigan. The show is located inside the Lansing Convention Center, which sits right on the Grand River, Michigan’s largest HOW A “ was apparent that this show was going to be a completely different experience, and for me, a quick lesson in Right off the bat it sand car history. 52 www.sandaddiction.com ” flowing river. The historic city of Lansing is a perfect backdrop for the buggy show as it is centrally located in Michigan and adds to the ambiance of the old-school buggies. While sitting in the hotel restaurant the night before the show, we spoke with one of the Silver Lake Dunes visitors. Most of our conversation consisted of the differences in buggy designs. While Mike (the dune native) is mainly a street buggy builder, he loves the dunes. But, he told me that most of the buggies that we have on the West Coast would be almost useless in the small dunes of Silver Lake. So it wasn’t as much the fact that the East Coast was “behind” in the dune buggy market; it just isn’t rational to build a big twin turbo’d car and not be able to get it out of second gear. The big cars are in Michigan, don’t get me wrong, but they are not as saturated in the dunes as they would be in Glamis or St. Anthony where you can run bowls at 80MPH. The show is much like many buggy shows I’ve attended, with: early check-in times for http://www.sandaddiction.com
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