San Francisco’s Chinatown is known for its hustle, and its bustle. On a typical day along Grant Avenue, you can see people pushing their folding shopping carts full of groceries underneath the neighborhood’s iconic bright red lanterns with their gold fringe tassels. But on September 7, things looked a little bit different.
Impeccably maintained cars were rolling down the block and posting up in for the 5th Annual Car Show and Parade, organized by Chinatown’s History and Culture Association, the Chinese American Association of Commerce, and the American Chinese Herb Trade Association.
Spectators crowded the sidewalks during the parade, with kids on parents’ shoulders, everyone’s phones out to record high-end BMWs, yellow Lamborghinis, and old classics like a 1964 Chevrolet Impalas and a 1969 Camaro (to name a few.)
San Francisco native Donald Emmons is 69 years old, half Korean, half Caucasian. He grew up in San Francisco’s Mission district, but now lives in Lafayette. Emmons said he brought his vehicle, a 1964 convertible Impala, to Chinatown for the show and parade because he wanted to spend time with his friends who grew up in the neighborhood, and celebrate his love for the city.
One of Emmons’ favorite part of having a classic car is the appreciation people offer when he’s out for a drive. Recalling the first time heading down the freeway after purchasing the car in Sacramento, he reminisces about “Harley-Davidson boys waving at me, going, ‘Yahoo-hoo.’ Then I’d go further down, and big truckers start tooting their horns saying, ‘Nice ride!’ I have the Mexican boys in their pick-ups tooting their horns at me. I was like, ‘Oh, I get it—I’m part of the parade now.’”
Emmons’ advice to those wanting to get their own classic car: “Save a lot of money, because they ain’t cheap. A lot of classic cars have a lot of classic problems.”
That might be a good tip for eight-year-old San Francisco resident Junyor Thomas, who is half Black and half Filipino, and came out with his family to experience his first-ever car show. Thomas said his favorite car is a McLaren, a British luxury ride. He said he enjoys classic cars because of their style and look.
Tony Shiu, a 65-year-old who lives in Daly City and is the founder of West Coast Lion Dance Troupe, was sitting in his white 1969 Chevy Camaro with an orange stripe, revving the engine to show off amid the lion dance heads that were arranged around his vehicle. He says he loves old muscle cars because they were popular back when he grew up. Like many of the event’s attendees and participants, Shiu says the fact that it was held in Chinatown is special to him—he loves to support the neighborhood whenever we can.
