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No surprise to Cruise-In president — Langley is hot rod capital of B.C.

ICBC stats reveal City and Township have province's highest ratio of one collector car for every 100 residents
The streets were packed with cars and people. DAN FEGUSON/LANGLEY TIMES
Thousands attended the annual Langley Good Times Cruise-In for charity.

The Langleys are the hot rod capital of B.C.

Statistics provided to the Times by ICBC show there is roughly one car with a collector licence plate for every 100 residents of the City and Township, which is the highest ratio among B.C. communities with large numbers of collector cars.

The news came as no surprise to Wayne Patterson, the president of the annual Langley Good Times Cruise-In car exhibition for charity.

“We’ve always had cars in Langley and lots of collector cars,” Patterson said.

Patterson said the ICBC stats likely understate the number of hot rods in the Langleys, because collector plates currently aren’t issued to modified cars built after 1958.

That will change next year when the provincial government will allow collector plates on eligible modified “muscle” cars made between 1958 and 1974.

Patterson expects that will boost the ratio by quite a bit.

“Most people who have a collector car (in the Langleys) usually also have around two modified cars, too,” Patterson said.

He thinks the reason there are more collector cars in the Langleys is because there is more space to store them, with larger lots that allow for bigger garages compared to other communities.

A Times breakdown of the ICBC figures for “actively licensed and insured collector vehicles” showed the Langleys had the highest per capita numbers, with .968 collector cars per 100 people.

Delta was second with .874 per 100 and Saanich was third with .821.

The ICBC collector plate program gives car enthusiasts a lower-cost licence plate that allows occasional use for parades and classic car shows.

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Show and shine Friday night

There were a lot of cars with collector plates among those on display this past weekend in Langley City during the 2016 edition of the Cruise-In.

Patterson said just over 1,250 cars registered for the charitable event, up about 50 from the previous year, and attendance was once again around 100,000.

In-N-Out Burger, which sends a food truck north every year to Cruise-In, was completely sold out by 11 a.m., Patterson said.

He said customs regulations mean the American hamburger chain is only allowed to bring about 1,500 hamburger patties.

To prevent scalping of In-N-Out Burger tickets this year, the Cruise-In board set a limit of six per purchaser.

Patterson said the first ever Cruise-In 50/50 draw gave away over $2,700.

The Lordco Ultimate Garage was won by Stuart Klein from Langley.

The swap meet and car corral on Sunday was sold out by 10 a.m.

It will be about a month before the total amount of money raised for charity is known.

“We have to wait for people to send in cheques,” Patterson said.

Last year, the event raised $63,000 for local non-profits.

Cruise-In weekend kicked off with a 50s-style dance and movie night at the Twilight Drive-In.

The event featured celebrity lookalike contests and a screening of American Graffiti. Proceeds raised at that event, hosted by the Ron Dunkley Memorial Society, will go to benefit Honour House.

More photos and video from Saturday’s Cruise-In can be found online at langleytimes.com and on our Facebook and Instagram pages.



Dan Ferguson

About the Author: Dan Ferguson

Best recognized for my resemblance to St. Nick, I’m the guy you’ll often see out at community events and happenings around town.
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