Radwood is a car show for those who are so nostalgic for the ’80s and ’90s, they have parachute pants and Reebok Pumps in their closets. Open to cars and trucks built from 1980 through 1999, the show celebrates see-through headrests, graphic equalizers, crown air fresheners, and teal paint. It continues to grow in popularity and locations. So if you haven’t been to one yet, a Radwood might be coming to you.
Like the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Radwood has various awards and a best-in-show trophy. Since Window Shopping is all about competition, the crew went in search of cars under $30,000 that could win at Radwood. To judge our picks, we invited Radwood co-founder and automotive writer Bradley Brownell, who shows little mercy.
Up first this week is Road & Track senior editor John Pearley Huffman. Riding high on his recent win, Huffman selects the jewel in the crown of the Eagle lineup, the Premier sedan. Engineered in France, designed in Italy, and assembled in Canada, the boxy sedan apparently inspired the Chrysler Corporation’s LH sedans of the ’90s (or so Huffman claims), but it also shared its V-6 with the DeLorean.
Contributor Jonathon Ramsey—who lets us know repeatedly that he spent the ’80s in Columbus, Indiana, roller-skating and going to Dairy Queen—finds a Chevy Celebrity wagon. This car once ruled America’s roads but is now rarer than a Ferrari. Like the Eagle, Ramsey’s Chevy is priced well under budget despite its excellent condition.
Deputy testing director K.C. Colwell comes in with a body-kitted 1986 Alfa Romeo GTV6 that, in typical Colwell fashion, nearly blows the budget. And host and deputy editor Tony Quiroga selects the pseudo-gullwing Toyota Sera from the early ’90s, a car that Toyota (perhaps wisely) never imported.
In the end, Brownell makes some surprising picks. Will the Celebrity wagon finally get the laurels it has always deserved? Or will the pricey Alfa take the trophy? Watch to see whose car has the radness to win Radwood.
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