From vintage to classic, muscle to modern, and European to electric — all types of makes and models lined the Thomas & Mack parking lot for the inaugural UNLV Car Show on April 20.

Nearly 100 car enthusiasts rallied to join the event sponsored by President Keith E. Whitfield and UNLV Alumni Association. Whitfield's own car collection includes a ’69 Chevy Blazer, now dubbed The Rebel Ride.

Participants, some of whom came from as far as Colorado, greeted attendees from their umbrella-covered lawn chairs; Instagrammers snapped photos of their favorite cars.

Many of the owners, veterans of the car show circuit already, shared that the main reason for coming out was to support UNLV's first car show. Even with other shows taking place that day in Clark County, it was their ties to UNLV that drove them to participate.

Photos by Josh Hawkins/UNLV

’84 Datsun 300ZX

Yalunda “Yolie” Washington, whose son Jadon Rosendo is a senior music major in UNLV’s College of Fine Arts, drove their 1984 Datsun 300ZX in from Denver, Colorado, just to be a part of the event.

The Datsun, she said, belonged to her late aunt who lived in Texas and has a history of its own, having survived multiple hurricanes, including Katrina and Harvey, without any serious damage.

“Las Vegas is kind of like a second home. We come out once or twice a year,” said Washington, who frequently attends car shows in Denver. “As [Jadon] got older and was looking at colleges while in high school, this was one of the places that he really wanted to go.”

Cars, like sports and food, are just one of those interests that can bring people together regardless of their backgrounds, she said.

’69 Ford Mustang Coyote Mach 1 and ’70 Mercury Cougar XR7

Alumna Pam Bailey, ’82 BS Education and ‘87 M.Ed., and her husband, Doug, brought double the trouble with their 1969 Ford Mustang “Aztec Aqua” Coyote Mach 1 and 1970 Mercury Cougar XR7. Pam, a retired kindergarten teacher, said she and Doug registered for the event after receiving an email from UNLV’s Alumni Association. 

The aqua shade of the Mach 1, said the Baileys, is a factory original. The same, however, can’t be said of the engine. In April 1971, the engine broke the camshaft in two places. A second engine broke, and a third was put in by Ford after having to ship the Mach 1 off to Texas. The car's restoration was featured in a Front Street Media article.

Pam drove the ‘70 Cougar XR7 convertible to the show. “We bought it, I believe, in ‘87, used.” Though, they weren’t exactly happy with its yellow exterior or green interior, so Doug repainted it with the 2000 Mustang color and replaced the seat covers. “Then each year he’s added something, like the stripes or the spoiler or the hood scoop and all that.”

Doug also added some additional bells and whistles to both Mustangs — literally.

“If you’re out driving and see another car that you like — hopefully, not another gal he likes —” joked Pam, referring to her husband. “You can push [a button], and it does the wolf whistle for you.”

Pam said Doug’s always had an interest in cars since he was young. Doug and his dad owned a Phillips 66 gas station in town. And, while their shared love of Mustangs brought them together for the first time, it wasn’t exactly a romantic moment.

“I moved here from Tucson, and I liked Mustangs at the time. I owned a Mustang,” said Pam. “The way we met was, my first day at UNLV was my 18th birthday. I was out looking for a job, and my car broke down at the intersection of Sahara and Eastern during rush hour traffic.”

After a call to her dad, Pam’s father recommended a mechanic he’d heard of named Doug Bailey. Two years after meeting, the two began dating.

’06 Pontiac GTO 

Another couple with a mutual interest in cars brought their 2006 Pontiac GTO. Darren Paulson, ‘07 BS Computer Science, is the director of UNLV’s Telecommunications Services. His wife, Rebecca Paulson — also an ’07 alum of Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering — is the executive director for administration & shared services in the Division of Business Affairs. 

“When I graduated from UNLV with my bachelor’s, my truck died, and we needed something,” Darren explained. “So, we called this a joint graduation present from my wife and myself to me.”

Besides supporting his alma mater by taking part in its first car show, Darren also contributed to the design of one of UNLV’s newest buildings: the Advanced Engineering Building. 

“I sat in on all the architectural meetings,” said Darren, whose role as telecommunications services director has him involved with the architectural planning of all new buildings on campus. “We have phones in there, so we try to sit in those meetings. Otherwise people forget about us. They try to plug a phone in, and there’s no network port.”

’69 Volkswagen Type II Bus

Returning to UNLV with a car similar to what he owned while attending UNLV was #30 Runnin’ Rebels legend Leon Symanski.

Symanski was a member of the 1986-87 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team under head coach Jerry Tarkanian. The team represented UNLV in that year’s NCAA Division I men's competition. They were the first to play in the Thomas & Mack Center.

“When I first came here, this parking lot was dirt,” Symanski said, smiling. The Rebel alum’s good vibes and chill attitude are exactly what you’d expect from a Volkswagen bus owner. “It’s a pretty cool vehicle to show.”

After getting with two degrees at UNLV — ‘87 BS Business Administration, ’94 MPA Public Administration — he went on to become part of the inaugural class of the Boyd School of Law, earning his JD in 2001. He is an attorney with Craig P. Kenny & Associates.

Symanski said he wanted to support UNLV’s first go at a car show. “I try to come to every basketball game. I’m a season ticket holder for football,” he said. “This university has been so good to me and my family, I like to give back whenever I can.”

It's that same fostering of community involvement that led to the creation of the event in the first place, according to UNLV Alumni Association Executive Director Blake Douglas.

“Our intent is to offer more diverse programming for our alumni,” said Douglas, who was enthusiastic about the turnout. “We were looking for fun, engaging, family-friendly events like this that would bring alumni back to campus, some for the first time in a long time.”