Jean Bredin, Blogfinger reporter at the OG British Car Show in 2024
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor Blogfinger.net. 2025
Last Saturday, September 20, 2025, the streets downtown were again closed to traffic so an out-of-town car club could have a British Car Show, honoring the Triumph brand.
At the time the show was to begin, an out of towner parked near my porch. OG was once again enveloped by tourists, many or whom could not find parking. It was a man with 2 teen aged boys, obviously fans of British cars. They asked us to tell them where the car show was.
It was a beautiful day, but why do so many of our special in-season events have to benefit out-of-town tourists who occupy the Grove like some sort of invading army? And I am not referring to the Camp Meeting Association events which are an important part of our history.
This British auto exhibit serves no purpose for the citizens of Ocean Grove. The local Chamber of Coercive Commercials forces it to happen, and the Tri-City News says that the “event is sponsored by the Positive Earth Drivers Club.” Who the heck avenue are they and why are they allowed to take over our town for a day?
And why does the Tri-City News suddenly take notice of Ocean Grove? They see us a source of tourist money for Asbury Park.
Ocean Grove is small town America, and I bet we all could come up with proposed ideas for “We-The-People” of the Grove.
Asbury Park and others like it can change their physical expression and then change how their town is defined, but in OG, there isn’t much room for physical change, but there is room for changes in demographics, culture, ideas, and lifestyles. It’s about time to look at all that in meaningful ways and to acknowledge that we have a large subgroup which lives here; ie the residential secular tax paying population with much in common. Change should spring from that.
Without a new functioning and enforced town master plan there will be a mish-mash here; it’s already begun. Nature abhors a vacuum.
We have a lot of interesting cars here. We don’t need a foreign car exhibit.
Here is a wonderful car parked in the Grove yesterday. It’s American, and a lot more interesting than those rust machines from Brexit-land.
Tesla. Mt. Hermon Way. Paul Goldfinger photo. 9/21/25
OG Underground. It’s time for a change. Paul Goldfinger photo.
So let’s take a fresh look at the historic culture and modern changes occurring in our town, such as the “OG Underground,” and then revisit the old-fashioned stuck-in-the-mud self image we need to revise including dumping those Britmobiles.
JIMMY BUFFET: