8th Annual Eurobuilt Car Show returns to Rutland

RUTLAND, Vt. (WCAX) - What started as a way to raise money for charity has now turned into a big community event. This year was the eighth annual Eurobuilt Car Show & Charity Auction in Rutland.

The event drew lots of people and lots of classic cars.

“This is an incredible selection, an incredible number of cars. Not my style, but a lot of numbers,” Irwin Adler said.

Adler lives in Manchester, Vermont, and he owns 42 different cars. He’s been showing them in car shows for as long as he can remember. When he heard there was an opportunity to show his original 1985 Alfa Romeo Graduate in this year’s 2023 Eurobuilt Car Show. He couldn’t help but show everyone his style.

“If you own antique cars, you’re always looking for an opportunity to talk to people. I never care about the prizes or anything like that, but I get to talk to people like you. So it’s always a treat for me. I enjoy talking to the other car owners. Also, the people that are coming to view,” explained Adler.

The car show has been around since 2016 and the majority of cars invited to the shindig are Volkswagens and Audis.

When the car show first started, it was just a way to raise money for charity. But now, more than 300 cars are in the event every year.

It brings hundreds of people to Rutland, all hoping to get a good look at the unique lineup

“Every car has a different engine, a different platform. so you can talk to different people with different stuff and get to know all kinds of information about different vehicles. I usually just come for the atmosphere. The people around usually have really good vibes, and the cars look super nice,” said spectator Liam Degraff.

The charity that benefits from the show, Foundation Blue, is always down to show their rides. Foundation Blue was originally started in honor of Alexi Derochambeau who died unexpectedly in his 20s. His friends finished the car he was working on and now the organization supports automotive tech students with scholarships.

The nonprofit says they don’t know where they would be without this car show.

“They have this auction for us, you know? They started this show saying like, ‘We want you to be here. We want you to be the charity.’ So that snowballed other shows to say, ‘Well, we want you to be our charity too,’” said Justine Santos of Foundation Blue.

After the show, organizers have a big auction. So far, the car show has raised more than $50,000 for charity and nonprofits.

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