Some would say it’s all about the chrome when it comes to classic cars. Others would argue it’s a coin toss between the fins and whether or not it was a hard top or a ragtop. The grease monkeys would say it’s all about the power under the hood.

Whatever your passion, fond memories of our “creampuff” cars were brought back to life this fall at Seabrook when Transportation Department Driver Joe Torrence treated residents to his inaugural slide show depicting classic cars from the 1940s through the 1970s.

“It’s a thrill for me to be able to share my passion with the residents,” Torrence says. “Although I was very young at the time that most of these cars came off the production line, I can remember quite vividly the makes and models of the American cars; they are imprinted on my brain.”

Torrence says he picked up more than 100 vintage car slides at a local garage sale for about a nickel a piece and really hit the jackpot with the vintage Kodak 500 projector from the early 1960s that cost $5.

“It was funny to see all the families from the 1950s and 60s, dressed in their Sunday best,” says resident Andy Dominici, who was there with his wife, Kay. “I really enjoyed the presentation; it reminded me of my ’77 Chevy Nova that I drove 9,000 miles in one month (to California and back), and I never had a problem.”

It was hard to tell what Torrence or the audience liked best: the old parking lots that were filled with classics, a crowded street with cars on both sides, or the old New York City shots with checkered and two-toned cabs.