BY JIM PARKER
The Post and Courier
The regulars were there on an unusually cool July 2 evening. Harold Moorman brought his bright red 1959 Chevy El Camino, W.C. Swain parked a white 1964 Pontiac GTO and Sam Fennessy showed off his 1957 Pontiac Sky Chief.
The classic models were among a hundred or more vehicles of all shapes and types at Bessinger’s BBQ’s monthly car show, which is held the first Wednesday of each month from early spring to late fall at the Savannah Highway dining spot.
All different, the classics nonetheless shared one thing. When they were built, regular gas cost a quarter a gallon. Actually, it may have been 25 cents more, or a few pennies less. No matter. Today, the owners pay upward of $4 a gallon to fill ’er up.
Car enthusiasts at the show said surging fuel prices haven’t hindered the thrill of fixing up old cars, driving the vintage models and displaying them at shows and cruise-ins. But they agree the fuel-price jump hasn’t helped and acknowledged it could cut down on longer trips, say to shows in other states or other parts of South Carolina.