Cadillac, LaSalle collectors bond over passion at annual car show

July 21--Adam Szeluga is 27 years old, looks like Elvis and is obsessed with antique Cadillacs.

He has collected and sold 27 of them since he was 18. His apartment is decorated with nearly 400 pieces of Cadillac memorabilia. His ideal day involves cruising in his 1973 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham D'elegance and blasting Elvis' "Suspicious Minds" on its tape player.

Szeluga, of Rochester, may have been born in the wrong era.

But he fit right in on Sunday afternoon at the 26th annual Cadillac-LaSalle Antique Auto Show at Keyser Cadillac in Williamsville. The 60 other Cadillac enthusiasts, mostly WNY Region Cadillac-LaSalle Club members, are at least twice his age. But Szeluga seems to be drawn to such things -- just ask him how he feels when he sees a Cadillac.

"It sparks an emotion I can't even explain," he said as he stood next to his 1991 Cadillac Fleetwood hearse.

Szeluga has brown hair slicked back with gel, three-inch sideburns that angle out toward his upper lip and a white-and-black button-up shirt with the first few buttons open, revealing his gold necklace that carries the Cadillac logo.

No matter where he goes, he stands out. And in his opinion, so does his favorite car.

"There's just something about a Cadillac, when you see it, there's just like a very elegant, stately presence to them," he said. "They're so different from every other car on the road."

Cadillacs pioneered many car features -- like the first self-starter, mass-produced V8 engine, water-cooling technology, fast-drying lacquer paints, V16 engines and more.

Sunday's event in the Keyser Cadillac parking lot held a sense of camaraderie among the Cadillac and LaSalle collectors (think: tailgating at a Bills game, minus the beer and footballs).

Judges rated the cars, but the atmosphere was less competitive and more friendly.

The collectors, mostly men, brought lawn chairs and kicked back with Pepsi and hot dogs as they talked about their "babies." Cadillacs and LaSalles ranging from 1938 to 2004 lined up in the parking lot. Baby blue, mint green and bright red cars -- some original, others refurbished -- glistened when the sun appeared during the four-hour event.

Jim Greco, a WNY Region Cadillac-LaSalle Club member, had the oldest car at the show -- a 1938 LaSalle.

Just last week, the 63-year-old, of Kenmore, drove his wife, Sue, to Anderson's for roast beef sandwiches. Then, they cruised along the water on River Road.

"You're driving it, and you're realizing that the last time this car was on the road it was back in 1938, 1939, it was before World War II, it was right after the Great Depression," he said. "And then when you drive it, people are always looking at it ... you just feel very proud. Very proud that you own it and that you're able to preserve it and keep it this way."

And Greco tries to savor what it must have felt like to live in that era. He even keeps six editions of Look Magazine from the late 1930s and early '40s in the backseat -- with headlines about America's attack on Japan, the Duke of Windsor and President Roosevelt.

LaSalle was a brand of automobiles manufactured by General Motors' Cadillac division from 1927 through 1940.

Greco bought the LaSalle three years ago for $20,000.

But collectors at the event said their hobby isn't as pricey as many assume. Those who flip their cars, like Szeluga, often make their money back, plus more. And insurance on classic cars can be as low as a couple hundred dollars per year.

With car maintenance, storage and purchasing new cars, Szeluga said he'll spend about $10,000 per year.

Dwight Hargrove, of Amherst, sat next to his 1984 limited edition light blue Cadillac Eldorado, sipped on a can of Pepsi and enjoyed a hot dog with mustard. The 77-year-old retired GM employee has five collectibles, which he drives only in the summer.

"From a child, it's something I always wanted and I couldn't afford them then," he said.

No matter the reason the collectors got into their hobby, one thing is sure: it's a hobby of passion. Just ask Szeluga's girlfriend, who lives in Szeluga's Cadillac-decorated apartment.

Hillary DiPasquale isn't a car enthusiast herself, but she joins her boyfriend at car shows at least once per week between May and October. And she's starting to understand his hobby.

"Honestly, I would say it's a form of love," she said. "It's a different form of passion."

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