A few weeks ago, we shared an invitation to a grassroots car show in the Pacific Northwest called the Malaise Invitational. It was an event centered around vehicles from 1972-95—a slice of automotive history that doesn’t usually garner much attention in mainstream collector car shows and events.
Event co-founder Laec Christensen caught us up on how things went at the September 13 program. Based on the turnout, a lot of people were on board with recognizing the “Malaise Era.” Like any immersive car show experience, there were other forms of entertainment. For those who wanted to test their hand-eye coordination, a game of “spark plug toss” was held.
Laec said that most of this year’s awards were handcrafted from some 1980s Tae Kwon Do trophies, with custom 3D-printed features added. The coveted Best in Show award was a “golden smog pump” retrieved from an abandoned Dodge Dakota.
Award winners were as follows:
- Best 70s: 1974 Plymouth Valiant owned by Mike Mastrangelo
- Best 80s: 1984 Volkswagen Rabbit GTi owned by Michael Elias
- Best 90s: 1991 Jeep Cherokee owned by John Koenig
- Best American: 1973 AMC Hornet owned by Jacob Demmin
- Best Asian: 1980 Mazda Capella GTVA owned by Laec Christensen
- Best European: 1995 Volkswagen Golf GTi VR6 owned by Shaelyn Christensen
- Best in Show: 1993 Mercedes-Benz 300E owned by Mark Edington
- Best Motorcycle: 1980 Honda Express II owned by Daniel Bones
- Best Truck: 1970 Ford F-250 Sport Custom Explorer owned by Clayton Christensen
- Cutest Car: 1993 Honda Today owned by Duncan Nodarse
- Most Malaise: 1985 Pontiac 6000 owned by Nathan Jensen-Smith
- Rustiest In Show: 1972 Plymouth Fury Suburban owned by Gabe Larson
- Weirdest In Show: 1990 Consulier GTP owned by Johnny Spiva
Laec’s personal favorite vehicle was a 1982 Chevrolet Chevette owned by Michael Hill. It was powered by a twin-cam Cosworth engine from a 1976 Cosworth Vega.
The giveaway car, a brown Pontiac Phoenix, was awarded via a massive game of black-out bingo. In an unexpected twist, six different people won the game simultaneously. Following an elimination round, the final winner was determined.
Laec explains: “His name was Desmond, and he came as a humble spectator. As our third giveaway car, this is our first car not to go to a club heavy-hitter … which I think is a good thing. We have to share the Malaise any way we can. I think he fell in love with it.”
Congrats, Desmond, and kudos to Laec and your team on a successful show! Stay connected on upcoming Malaise-centric events in Oregon via the Facebook group at this link.
