'Awesome!' - Los Angeles Times
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‘Awesome!’

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Richard Powell drove from 78th Street and Western Avenue in his burgundy ’65 Impala, “Richie Rich,†with the burgundy-mohair, biscuit-tuck interior.

K. C. Jones towed his “Cannonball Express†dragster with the F-104 jet engine.

Gary Wales brought the ’36 Bentley in which he won “The Great American Auto Race†old-car rally in 1984.

Sherwood and Rita Kahlenberg came in their ’85 Chrysler LeBaron Town and Country convertible.

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It was the Sixth Annual Cleveland High School Auto Expo. The event is put together by the school’s industrial management class under drafting instructor Don Runyan.

At 11:30 a.m., the Cleveland student body was dismissed and headed for the field where this year’s 200 entries were assembled.

As state-of-the-art auto stereos blasted out tunes like, “We’re living in a material world and I’m a material girl,†the students milled about the automotive splendor, issuing critical evaluations such as “hip†and “awesome.â€

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Many of the owners were students. They sat proudly beside their cars and discussed the fine points of engineering and design with their less-fortunate classmates who didn’t own awesome cars.

Meanwhile, Rita Kahlenberg, the mother of one of the event’s organizers, stayed inside the LeBaron. She listened to talk radio and knitted a sweater.

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