The 13th annual Chrome in the Dome at Holt Arena

The 13th annual Chrome in the Dome event kicked off today at Idaho State University. It is hosted by students and instructors from the automotive technology program at ISU. Two hundred vintage vehicles in 26 different categories are all on display for the public and competing for trophies made by ISU students.

Of all the vintage cars at the Chome in the Dome Car Show, there are a few that stand out among the rest. One of them is the 1959 Ford Fairline convertible. It has leather seats and all of the original bells and whistles. Not only is it an iconic and beautiful car, but it was completely restored by students within the automotive technology program.

“It’s great to display it and show what some of our students can do,” ISU instructor and event coordinator , Brock Gunter said. “They did a tremendous job.”

The 1946 Mercury seemed to draw the most attention. “This would be categorized as a 40s car,” Gunter said. “So we’ll judge on paint, the build, the design, and the interior.”

Another important aspect the judges consider is how the car was built. “Hearing the stories about how the car was built and how they came about, where they were found, the whole story about the car. It’s pretty interesting,” Gunter said.

For the students, however, judging the cars is only half of the fun. The other half is displaying the trophies they built.

“It’s actually something we look forward to every year,” Angel Herrera, club president of the ISU automotive program. We actually take our time. So the year before, you think of the design, you draw it out, you start collecting parts from cars we scrap. The cars are awesome but most people do it for the trophies, I feel like.”