By Matt Wiley
Paseo Dr. is a long, winding road through the Shops at Wiregrass in Wesley Chapel that has any number of cars on it each day. But, on the afternoon of July 14, the entire road was a parking lot of cars most people only dream about driving during the mallâs Premium Productions Car Show.
More than 200 cars lined Paseo Dr. as shoppers and car show attendees alike marveled over the impressive machines that included everything from classic roadsters to 2013 Chevy Camaros in an open show for all types of vehicles.
âThere are a lot of nice cars out here,â said Premium Car Show judge Allen Moledor. âThe judging is going to be tough.â
Moledor, who lives in Lehigh, FL, and who travels from Miami to Georgia to judge cars for Premium, explained that judging in an âopen showâ is based primarily on cleanliness and the condition of the vehicle. Considering the judging was delayed due to an early thunderstorm, all of the cars got a pass on water spots, Moledor said.
Bob Batzâs replica âGeneral Leeâ from the popular 1980s television show âThe Dukes of Hazzardâ was a crowd pleaser, complete with the authentic horn jingle. Batzâs âLeeâ had previously won âBest In Showâ for its class at Downtown Disneyâs Car Masters Weekend in Orlando on June 3.
âIt (the car) usually does well when I bring it out,â Batz said.
The judging was broken down into 21 different classes based on year and vehicle type, with a âBest In Showâ in each category. Premium does not release a final list of winners in each category, so a full breakdown of the winning vehicles was not available as of our press time, but Batzâs âGeneral Leeâ once again took âBest In Showâ in its class.
And, this special event â like so many others before it â also helped bring new customers out to many of the mallâs businesses, which means that the winning vehicle owners werenât the only winners that day.
âAs the owner of a new business in the mall, we were thrilled with all the people who came to the car show,ââsays Kristin Green, the co-owner of the new Monkey Bizness kidsâ play place on Paseo Dr. âWe got to introduce ourselves to a lot of new customers!â
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