On Saturday, April 18, the Automotive Management Student Organization hosted its first-ever car show, allowing students and local residents to showcase their cars and other vehicles to the community.
People from the Ferris and Big Rapids communities had the opportunity to explore numerous cars and watch various events featuring them. A total of 115 vehicles were presented at the car show, and it also included live music, sponsor booths and awards.
This was the first time the AMSO hosted a car show, as it was originally hosted by the Bulldog Motorsports Club.
Automotive management junior and president of the AMSo, Sean Janda, talked about the turnout, noting that it was the first year with them hosting.
“To have over 100 cars out here is fantastic,” Janda said. “Also, to give recognition to the band. A bunch of sponsors are getting their name out there, and the rugby team is here for volunteer hours. It’s not just helping out us. It’s helping out a lot of clubs as well.”
Janda also expressed the desire to host the car show again next year if given the opportunity.
“Next year, I hope we have better weather, honestly,” Janda said. “We could change how we coordinate things or how our layout is, but I liked how we sponsored the car show through social media, so we could definitely do that again, but the main thing is just hopes for better weather.”
Despite the cold temperatures, with people shivering and fighting the high wind speeds, the car show boasted a large turnout.
One of the events that took place towards the end of the show was the awards ceremony. Awards included best of show, most rustiest, best import, best student build, best motorcycle, best offroad, best classic, best engine bay, best custom and best European.
Automotive engineering senior Kyle Gerstenberger, the travel planner for the AMSO, found the awards portion of the show to be his personal favorite.
“When we were doing awards, it was really cool to see everyone that was still around all gather together,” Gerstenberger said. “I was looking around, and I was smiling to myself. The award ceremony was where it all hit me.”
Gerstenberger also touched on the car show’s importance to the Ferris community.
“It brings a lot of people together,” Gerstenberger said. “It’s a car show, so it’s geared towards car people, but you have family and friends that come out and spend time here. It brings people here, and hopefully, next year we can get some more people outside of Ferris, and hopefully we can spread the word about us and the event and have even more cars next year.”
Another event at the show was a car bash, where anyone could take a hammer and smash a car.
Automotive engineering senior Sean Lamb was amongst many who participated in smashing a car. Lamb joined in the fun and has seen that college is more than just about achieving good grades.
“When I first was planning to go to college, I thought it was going to be a lot of education,” Lamb said. “But what I’ve learned is that it’s more about the connections with people. Getting an opportunity to smash a car is not something you see every day. It’s really cool that Ferris is willing to do this and that there are a lot of people who are willing to bring their cars to the show.”
The next event AMSO will host is a Test and Time event at the Mid Michigan Motorplex in Stanton. As of now, it is scheduled for Sunday, April 26. More information will be made available via the AMSO’s Instagram.