PENN TWP — By 3:33 p.m. Saturday, July 8, 2023, under the blazing summer sun at the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport, 1,003 classic and unique vehicles had rumbled into the 22nd annual Penn Township Mega Cruise.

The constant stream of gleaming machines jockeyed for about 900 spaces that organizers had provided for show cars.

Kent Shoemaker, vice president of the Penn Township Volunteer Fire Department, said luckily, cars were sporadically leaving their spots, which quickly were snapped up by those just arriving.

Shoemaker, who has been the huge car cruise’s organizer for several years, has his own theory on why people are so enamored of car shows.

“Everyone who grows up, they have their generation of cars, and they want to see those cars,” he said.

Shining vehicles stretched from the largest hangar at the airport to the end of the tarmac between the runway and fence along Airport Road.

Those who came to view the cars paid just $2 to enter. Proceeds from the Mega Cruise benefit the township fire department.

Four busy food vendors were set up near that big hangar, where tables and chairs allowed those eating or just getting out of the blazing sun to take a break.

A DJ, several community organizations, a basket raffle, Penn Township’s firetrucks, a beer booth, the county emergency vehicle and other features were set up at the Mega Cruise, but it was the cars that most delighted those in attendance.

Mike Lazaroff, of Saxonburg, brought his 1988 Trabant Kübel, which he had shipped from Germany last year for $4,000.

Lazaroff explained the Trabant was an East German border patrol vehicle used to ensure no West Germans entered the Communist bloc country before the Berlin Wall was toppled in November 1989.

Lazaroff found the vehicle through friends in Berlin he met while stationed there.

“It was sitting more or less abandoned,” he said of the small olive-drab vehicle. “East Germans gave them up in droves when they unified. They all wanted Western cars.”

The Trabant, which has 14,000 miles on it, has a 26 horsepower, two-cycle, two-stroke engine and a plastic body, as it was made to crawl back and forth along the once-divided German border.

“Top speed is 50 to 55 mph, assuming you’re going downhill and have a good tail wind,” Lazaroff said.

His is one of only three Trabant Kübels in the United States.

The small vehicle drew quite a curious crowd at the Mega Cruise.

“Where do you keep the squirrels?” asked one witty passerby.

Ted Gengler, of Jefferson Township, brought a three-wheeled vehicle, but it wasn’t a car.

Gengler bought his 2022 Ural motorcycle and sidecar — which was built in Kazakhstan — at a dealership in Ohio.

The sidecar is propelled by the motor in addition to the bike’s rear wheels.

“It’s the only bike in the world made for two-wheel drive,” said Gengler, who plans to travel out west next year on the motorcycle.

James Ortz, of Armstrong County, brought his 1968 Firebird to the cruise after having rebuilt it last year.

“A lot of people get taken back to their youth to see something they couldn’t afford,” Ortz said of car shows.

Stewart Michaels, of Adams Township, showed his 1965 Mercury Comet Cyclone.

He bought the car, which has 74,000 miles, new at a dealer in New Castle.

Michaels said most people who comment have one question for him.

“They want to buy it,” he said. “I say ‘No, I promised it to my grandson.’ I don’t want to break that promise.”

Sam Ward, president of the township supervisors, smiled as he walked the tarmac, checking out the cars.

“It’s a good way to get together and see friends and old vehicles,” Ward said.

Ward appreciates the good relationship enjoyed between the township, airport and fire department.

“It’s been good for many, many years,” he said.

Ward said old and young, as well as rich or poor, enjoy viewing the cars at the Mega Cruise.

“Most of us can’t afford one of these cars, but we can dream,” he said.

Lou Scarsella has traveled from his home in Beaver County five times to attend the Mega Cruise.

Asked what he likes about the venue, and he replied “Everything.”

Scarsella said the airport allows for a wide-open space to show and view the cars as opposed to a cramped parking lot or street, and that mainly “car guys” come to the Mega Cruise.

“You don’t hear people talking about kids or dogs,” he said, “and you always see a vehicle you’ve never seen before.”

Scarsella’s favorite vehicles are the “restomods,” or old cars that have been modified from their stock condition.

Steven Loebig, of Glenshaw, Allegheny County, brought his 1979 Volkswagen van to the Mega Cruise.

Saturday marked the third time he and his father have shown one of their three classic VWs at the Mega Cruise.

“I like the diversity of cars,” Loebig said as he noshed on cheese fries. “You see stuff here you don’t see anywhere else.”

He also enjoys the airport, where a steady stream of small planes landed and took off during the cruise.

“It’s somewhere you would never be, normally,” Loebig said.

He echoed the sentiments of all the smiling car aficionados who attended the Penn Township Mega Cruise on Saturday.

“We’ll be back, without a doubt,” Loebig said.