“Car Crazy” draws large crowds to Amherstburg

Ron Giofu
Jul 29
5 min read

Updated: Aug 12

***Mark DiMilo of Leamington won the “Paulie” Award for best in show for his 1970 Plymouth Barracuda.***

Amherstburg went “car crazy” again last Sunday and hundreds of cars and thousands of people turned out.

The 19^th Amherstburg’s Gone Car Crazy show was held in town with portions of Richmond St., Dalhousie St., Ramsay St., Murray St., Rankin St., North St. and all of Toddy Jones Park packed with vehicles and people.

Scott Elliott, who heads up the volunteer organizing committee, believed it was a great show this year.

The number of vehicles was in the same range as last year, maybe slightly down, but Elliott said that was likely due to wet weather early in the day. Rain usually scares off some classic car owners, who don’t like having their vehicles out in those conditions.

Early estimates are 580-590 vehicles this year.

***Crowds head down Dalhousie St. during the show.***

“We had a lot of people from out-of-town,” said Elliott.

Many stayed in town, he added, either with relatives or some other sort of accommodation. Elliott said one car owner drove down from Ottawa for the show with one of the award winners coming in from Kitchener.

In addition to having people from around Ontario, Elliott said there was a strong showing of classic car owners from Michigan as well. Tensions between Canada and the U.S. didn’t stop anyone from coming over and Elliott said that was “good to see.”

“It’s all political and not between car guys,” he said.

The crowds that came out to view the cars were higher, Elliott said.

“We had more pedestrian traffic than last year,” he said. “The streets were just packed. From past Murray St. to Toddy Jones Park, they were just jammed.”

The car show benefits the community, he added.

“It’s good for the town,” said Elliott.

Amherstburg’s Gone Car Crazy had good support from the business community, and he said a goal of the show is to help them.

“Hopefully it was good for the merchants,” said Elliott. “That’s what it’s designed for.”

The car show has been growing over the years, he said, and the Amherstburg show is the biggest in Windsor-Essex County. The only one larger in the region is in Bothwell, but Elliott said the atmosphere in Amherstburg is great with the park, trees and along the streets.

The Paulie Award for best in show, named for former town councillor and car show co-founder Paul Renaud, was won by Mark DiMilo from Leamington and his 1970 Plymouth Barracuda.

DiMilo said it was the first show he entered with the vehicle, as restoration was completed just recently. He pointed out a lot of work went into the vehicle on both the interior and exterior and he’s owned the car for 20 years.

“We literally just finished,” he said.

Of winning the award, DiMilo was pleased.

“It’s awesome. It’s nice to see our hard work paid off,” he said. “It’s been a very long process.”

DiMilo added he attends the Amherstburg show regularly.

“It’s always a beautiful turnout,” he said. “We always come every year.”

Amherstburg resident Tim DeHetre attends the show annually but usually with different vehicles.

***North St. was one of the streets packed with vehicles for the Amherstburg's Gone Car Crazy show held July 27, 2025.***

This year, he brought a 2020 Corvette, which he’s owned for two years.

“It shows good,” he said of the Corvette.

This year was “a little hot but still great” and he said he enjoys most everything about the show.

“There’s nothing not to like,” said DeHetre. “There’s good people, good food and some really nice cars.”

David Blakney of Woodslee sat beside his 1931 Chrysler, which he said was a newcomer to the show.

“I’ve been to a few shows,” he said. “I decided to come to this one as well.”

Blakney added he likes shows with really old vehicles, noting he also owns a car from 1918. He likes a September show at Greenfield Village in Michigan that has cars from 1932 and older.

“Everyone has different interests,” he said. “You get people who like different things.”

John and Sheryl Greer of Amherstburg liked the Car Crazy show because it’s a hometown event.

“I’ve lived here for 25 years,” said John.

Sheryl said her husband came at 5:30 a.m. to make sure he could get a good spot at Toddy Jones Park.

“You can’t beat the trees,” she said, adding there are other shows in asphalt parking lots.

John said he has owned the 1935 Buick for 50 years and joked he will be back in 2026 “as long as I’m on this side of the grass.” Sheryl added they “absolutely” plan to be back.

Mike and Barb Homme of Windsor sat with their 2002 Trans Am on Rankin St., having bought the car from its original owners. Mike commented they used to live in Amherstburg and enjoy coming back.

“I like the county people,” he said. “There’s a lot of nice cars.”

Barb added “there’s a lot of people we’ve seen at other car shows.”

***Bob Moore shows his 2004 Corvette.***

Bob Moore of Amherstburg said it was the second year his 2004 Corvette was entered into the show. He helped out at Royal Canadian Legion Fort Malden Br. 157 last year and couldn’t enjoy the show as much but this year he was there to fully enjoy the car show.

“It’s a supportive community of car enthusiasts,” said Moore. “You can see just everything from every era. You also get to meet people from other parts of Ontario and Michigan.”

UPDATE - While there were a lot of cars and trucks to choose from, the judges narrowed it town to the following awards. The official list was obtained by the River Town Times after last week’s issue had already gone to press. Listed are the name of the award, the name of the recipient and the type of vehicle and the hometown of the winner.

Best of Show (Paulie Award) - Mark Dimilo -1970 Plymouth Cuda - Leamington

Mayors Choice - John Milligan - 1952 Ford Sunliner - Windsor

Sweet Seventy - Bob Galli - 1970 Chevrolet C10 pickup - Tecumseh

Nifty Fifty - Gino Delciancio -1955 Chevrolet BelAir - Leamington

Coolest Ragtop - Steven Heinrich - 1955 Chevrolet BelAir - Beverly Hills, Michigan

Best Original - Kathy Ouellette -1960 Ford Thunderbird - Ruthven

Sexy Sixty - Ken Ouellette - 1966 Pontiac GTO - Ruthven

Best Ford - Larry Newport - 1968 Ford Torino - Cottam

Memory of Dino Gobbo – Luca & Rose Policella -1969 Pontiac GTO

Best Mopar - Russ Banks - 1969 Plymouth Road Runner Hemi - Windsor

Special Interest - David Nantais - 1959 Morris J-2 Custom Van - Woodslee

Classic Cruiser - John Ouellette - 1956 Chevrolet BelAir - Kitchener