Remember those two vintage Jeep fire trucks we told you about last week? The ones that were supposed to appear at the 2016 Toledo Jeep Fest? They had company. Lots of it.
According to The Blade, “more than 800 Jeeps of all years, models, colors, shapes, and sizes” showed up to the rolling celebration of 75 years of Jeep vehicles and the automaker’s connection to the city of Teledo, Ohio, which has a long history of manufacturing the company’s off-roaders.
Organizers of the event believe Jeeps from every model year including and between 1941 and 2016 were there. The SUVs are obviously important, but they wouldn’t have become the icons they are without the people who have used and bought them over the decades. Dan Pinciotti, a 94-year-old Army veteran who drove Toledo-built Jeeps in 1944 during World War II, rolled through downtown Toledo in a Jeep from the same era as part of the parade. An 82-year-old veteran of the Korean War and a Jeep employee of 42 years, Ali Talb, was in the procession, too.
So was U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Ohio), whose father worked at the former Jeep plant in North Toledo that cranked out 11 million vehicles over the course of nearly a century. She paid homage to her dad and his work by wearing his Kaiser Jeep employee badge.
We’re sure some of you all were at the 2016 Toledo Jeep Fest, too. Feel free to let us know about your time there by clicking the link below.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
