by Mike Hado
The 2000 AutoRama marks a milestone of sorts for the TTR in that it is the first time in 10 years that our large rotating “Triumph Sports Cars” sign was not present at our AutoRama display. The ravages of time have taken their toll and the once sturdy plastic sign has become very brittle and prone to cracking with the slightest movement. This rare artifact has been on loan since 1991 from Steve Foster, one of our founding members.
Around 1980, when the TR and MG marques were at their end of their run, Steve was doing legal consulting for a Houston-area Triumph dealership. When it came time for him to get paid, Steve said, “Forget the money. I’d like to have that sign right there!” The rest, as they say, is history.
November of 1989 was the first year for our 40 x 8 foot club display to grace the Houston AutoRama, the “World’s Largest Indoor Automotive Event.” This impressive club display, designed by Don Carter and hand-built by TTR members, needed something to top it off. Steve volunteered his sign, which at that time was in two mirror-image halves, and a support post and rotating mechanism was created. It was unveiled at the AutoRama display of 1991 and that year we won our first “Best Club Display” award.
As with many things in life, this temporary “problem” can be turned into an “opportunity.” With Steve’s classic sign now in retirement, it’s time to design a new one and we’d like to get your ideas. We will be discussing this at upcoming meetings so put on your thinking caps and let’s come up with another TTR winner.
The next time you see Steve, please take a moment to thank him for all his years of support for the TTR and for allowing us to use this piece of history to enhance our club’s events.
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