Corvette Funfest 2011: The Cadillac XLR ‘Outsiders’

With nothing but thousands of Corvette’s as far as the eye can see, a line of Cadillac XLR’s wading through a sea of Corvette enthusiasts this morning on the way to their assigned parking space stuck out like a sore thumb, as one could imagine.

Four years ago, Midwest Maurader’s XLR club member Bob Leonard attended the Corvette Funfest, and in his words, “was kindly asked to leave.” After forming petitions and sending numerous letters to the Funfest organizers, the XLR’s were granted permission to be a part of the Funfest in 2008.

“They told us that they’d let us come and give us a spot out in the north fourty. That year, there were four of us here, and then it grew to six, and now we have about a dozen members that attend each year,” explained Leonard. Those in attendance come from all over the central United States and even Canada, with representation from Texas, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, and Wisconsin.

Leonard, from nearby Mattoon, Ill., offers his home as the rendezvous point for the Maurader’s club, serving up barbeque and a place to meet and greet, which the club has affectionately coined “Bobfest.”

The XLR club was formed in 2005 and last year, members of the club were invited for the first time to be a part of the National Corvette Homecoming in Bowling Green.

Midwest Maurader's XLR club member Marvin "GizmoQ" Carroll, a retired Air Force engineer who helped design the cockpit of the F-22 jet fighter, has this very unique joystick shift knob in his XLR, with buttons that actually function and operate a computer that he's outfitted in the car.