Where Gay Collectors Come Out of the Garage
Lambda Car Club International is the largest organization by and for gay and lesbian automobile collectors, with 2,000 members in two dozen chapters across the United States as well as one in Toronto. And it is growing at a rate of 4 or 5 percent annually. In a world where various kinds of car clubs are proliferating, Lambda holds a special place, culturally and aesthetically.
Or, as Doug Buhrer of Columbus, Ohio, a Lambda member for 20 years, put it: "We're not all expressly into Broadway show tunes."
This might only be amusing to me:
Beyond the social differences in Lambda and mainstream clubs, there are also differences in what is considered beautiful or worthy in a car.
"The straight men tend more to like the muscle cars, and when they start the engine at a show, they'll all run over to it," said William Hicks, 59, a resident of West Chester, Pa., who was Lambda's president for 10 years. "We'll race over to a car that's a beautiful pink or amethyst, and we'll all say, 'Look at that brocade.' "
Mr. Muller said that Lambda members tended to collect luxury cars and so-called orphan cars - automobiles that are no longer manufactured, like Ramblers and Packards. General collectors acquire those cars, too, but in lower percentages.
"We're just lighter into the cars that are more popular in the mainstream clubs - Corvettes and Mustangs and '57 Chevys," Mr. Muller said.
Lambda collectors are especially enthusiastic about luxury cars, particularly those that are loaded with options, like early models with automatic windows. The club even has a nickname for a luxury car that is heavily accessorized: P.P.A., short for Power-Princess Approved.
I can relate. Huh, still more evidence that I was supposed to be gay.