Our Love Affair with the Automobile

Marco Island has always had a love affair with cars, and the older and more unique they are the better. The recent brush with Hurricane Ian and the subsequent storm surge wouldn’t deter our continued love affair with the automobile last weekend. The subsequent flooding did have an impact on some of those beautiful works of art, but their owners are already working hard to restore the luster and shine to their special “family members.”

No one can attest to that better than automobile aficionado and longtime owner of Island Automotive, Keith Pershing. “Needless to say, many of those we consider as members of our ‘family’ who belong to this group of car enthusiasts here on the island may have felt a great sense of loss after the storm, but they are a close-knit group and they are committed to rebounding from the storm had they suffered damage,” said Pershing.

On Saturday, November 5th Marco saw hundreds of enthusiastic residents and visitors come out to admire some of the most beautiful chrome and paint proudly on display in the parking lot of the San Marco Catholic Church. This would mark the 2022-2023 Season Kick Off as the San Marco Knights of Columbus hosted 70 of the most beautiful vehicles to the pleasure of hundreds of onlookers who showed their appreciation for the event.

John DeRosa, who chairs this event, was extremely pleased with the turnout of participants bringing their vehicles out as well as those in attendance.  “This is one of the events which the Knights takes great pride in. The money we raise here all goes directly back into the community to fund our many philanthropic programs. Groups such as Our Daily Bread Food Pantry, Saint Vincent de Paul Charities, our academic scholarships and many others are all some of the recipients of the monies we raise,” said DeRosa.

Needless to say, a great deal of spit and polish went into the event. Not only little boys would be dreaming of the day that they might own one of the gorgeous rides on display, but there were also a few young ladies admiring a vehicle or two they were setting their eyes on as they walked amongst the high horsepower on display, as well as the customized paint and chrome wheels which were all pretty impressive on a perfect day for strolling amongst the 70 vehicles.