by Ana Gómez Salcido 
Chevys from the ‘50s and even a DeLorean were part of the over 200 classic automobiles exhibited at the 25th annual automobile heritage day festival in National City this Saturday, August 27.
More than 5,000 people enjoyed the free event held at Kimball Park which included food stands, entertainment, and even a magic show.
“It’s a celebration, and an opportunity to take a look at a variety of vehicles from different genres, and eras in our history. Everything here goes back to the very beginning back when vehicles were first created and driven all the way to most recent cars,” said Steve Lordigan, exhibit organizer. “It’s an awesome array of great cars on display that are the pride and joy of different individuals who have heart and soul into vehicles, and creating a piece of art.”
People enjoyed taking pictures of the cars and talking to the car owners that were present to know more about their rides.
“This is the first time I come to this event,” said Lemon Grove resident Yolanda Corona. “I like all the cars and I collect classic toy cars so I’m very excited of watching all the cars displayed here.”
“I came to the event with my daughter and grandkids, we always like going to free community events,” Corona added.
One of the car owners, Jim Price said he exhibits his 1955 Chevy, nicknamed 210, in different car shows around town.
“I have had it for over eight years. I always liked old cars and my wife and I had a 1957 Chevy for quite a while,” Price told La Prensa San Diego. “We really liked Chevys of that time. Some friends were selling this one so we decided to buy it,” added Price, who is also a member of the San Diego Chevy Club. “We just like to drive it, we haven’t worked on it a lot.”
Price mentioned that some people like to modify their vehicles but that he likes to just maintain it, and work on issues that come up eventually.
“Putting the car in the garage it is the main thing to maintain the car in good conditions and there are a lot of things you can do,” said Price. “I have the car detailed once a year and I have a friend who is really good at it. That’s the best thing we can do.”
The free event hosted by the National City Chamber of Commerce also allowed families to test and drive electric vehicles from an exhibit by San Diego Gas and Electric.
“This is part of our community events line up that supports the automobile industry and also gives an opportunity to the community to enjoy a free event,” said CEO and executive director of the National City Chamber of Commerce, Jacqueline Reynoso.
“The National City Mile of Cars was the first in the nation to be established as a joined dealer association” Reynosa added, “and for us this has a lot of power, because this is the sector that produces the most revenue to the City,which ends up funding City projects.”