Old is gold at the Automotive High School ©Tristan Wheelock

There’s something about cars, the open road, and the American Dream that goes together like apples and pie. This past Sunday, September 28, the Automotive High School on 50 Bedford Avenue hosted a Classic Car Show, a Brooklyn ode to our four wheel chariots of freedom. Local photographer & car enthusiast Tristan Wheelock ventured into the high school’s rear parking lot and adjacent street to take a look.

This car might just be a Transformer ©Tristan Wheelock

GPers: What’s the first thing you notice about a car?

Tristan: The shape. I gravitate towards cars from the 70s and late 60s. There’s a certain line and geometry to them that you just don’t see anymore. Ford and Chevy have tried to emulate it with their modern muscle cars but it’s not quite there. I like land yachts. Coupes fifteen feet long, all steel and Detroit muscle.

©Tristan Wheelock

 GPers: What was your first car?

Tristan: A black 97′ Honda Civic. Two door with a sunroof and a big silly muffler. At the time I was really into the idea of the tuner scene. Fast and the Furious style before it was a mainstream thing. I ended up making a lot of bad decisions styling it and it ended up sort of a mess, but I loved it all the same. It also got great gas mileage.

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©Tristan Wheelock

 GPers: Have you ever driven cross country?

Tristan: I’ve taken more than a few cross country road trips. The first was right after college in a champagne-colored conversion van. I took off with my friend Andy, who was a trying to become a street magician. I was trying to become a photographer. We joined forces and started making stories for a little paper out of Cincinnati. We took the van from Florida all the way up to Berkley, California. He met the woman who is now his wife, and I met Delta employee who sold me a dirt cheap ticket to India. Strange days.

©Tristan Wheelock

GPers: Fill in the blank: “A car is the ultimate___________________.”

Tristan: A car is the ultimate escape. It’s four wheels on the ground and a dream of freedom. Stereo blasting and a ribbon of black top stretching out into the wild blue yonder.

©Tristan Wheelock

Greenpoint-based photographer Tristan Wheelock started documenting the world around him after college, when he kicked up dust in New Delhi, chased rally racers through the Himalayas, and Airstreamed his way across America. You can follow his adventures on Instagram (@tlock__) or Twitter (@TristanWheelock).

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