Pure Grassroots by the River at Classics Up Da Hudson 2

After spending the morning taking in the urban automotive design scene in Brooklyn, it was time to change gears and head north. We pointed the headlights of Roger’s E32 735i and M Coupe straight upstate toward Wappingers Falls, New York, leaving the city landscape behind for the open roads of the Hudson Valley.

The destination was Classics Up Da Hudson 2, and the shift in atmosphere was immediate. This afternoon gathering was a celebration of pure, unadulterated classic car culture.

This meet was a dedicated playground for vintage European metal, mostly classic BMWs from the 80s and 90s, a solid showing of modern 2000s chassis, and a handful of incredibly clean JDM builds sprinkled into the mix.

The mastermind behind the whole event is Mike, known across the community as “Emtech,” who hosts under the handle @emtechtouring. I had connected with Mike online just a few months prior to the event, so getting to finally link up with him face to face and talk shop in person was huge.

The environment Mike and his crew built here was effortlessly cool. It was a true family centric event where people just brought out lawn chairs, hung out, and shared a universal love for old school mechanics.

The Built Not Bought Spirit

You knew exactly what kind of creative, down to earth crowd you were dealing with the second you walked into the main area. Standing out clear as day among the immaculate builds was an E36 Compact that had been completely gutted and brilliantly engineered into a functional tailgating barbecue grill. It was the perfect icebreaker and encapsulation of the grassroots spirit: if you can wrench it, you can build it.

The quality of the cars on the grass ran the complete spectrum, which is what made it so welcoming. You had raw, honest “work in progress” projects sitting right alongside flawlessly restored concours examples. Everyone was incredibly approachable, friendly, and just happy to swap stories about parts hunting and garage builds.

My Standouts

A few specific builds absolutely commanded attention as I made my rounds through the venue:

• The Charlemagne 2002: Staged prominently was Lawrence Charlemagne’s legendary red BMW 2002. Representing Charlemagne Motorsports, this car is an absolute staple in the tri state ’02 community and is kept in nothing short of immaculate, jaw dropping condition.
• The Jaguar XJS: Tucked away in the mix was a beautifully preserved, random Jaguar XJS grand tourer. Seeing its sweeping, elegant proportions sitting low on the grass honestly made me pause and think, if I were to ever add a classic British cat to the collection, it would absolutely have to be a clean, long hood XJS coupe just like that one.
• The Dream Car: E24 Sharknose: The absolute icing on the cake for me was a flawlessly executed, mirror shining BMW E24 6 Series “Sharknose.” The E24 remains one of my absolute all time favorite BMW designs. Walking around it only fueled the fire, I really hope I can hunt one down that fits inside the budget one day. Preferably a late 80s 635CSi with euro bumpers… man, a guy can dream!

Community Ties

Before the sun started dipping below the Hudson valley tree line, I got a chance to chop it up with Alvin and inspect his incredibly clean E39 5 Series sport wagon. The classic car community is small and tightly knit; Alvin and I hit it off so well that we ended up coordinating to roll out to another meet together later on in the trip.

Massive respect and a huge shout out to Mike and the entire crew for putting on such an awesome, flawlessly executed grassroots event for the local community. It left an incredible impression on what the Northeast enthusiast scene is all about. If you ever find yourself in the New York area when a Classics Up Da Hudson meet is hitting the calendar, do yourself a favor and pull up. The cars will bring you there, but the community vibe is what will make you stay.

I am already counting down the days until I can hop back on a flight to New York and catch Part 3.