Steve Plunkett thought he might invite a few people over to the house.

Being a car guy, he naturally would ask his guests to bring around their hobby cars, you know, the cool stuff with the shiny chrome, cool engine noises, and bad weather protection.

So he circled June 10th on the calendar, and made some calls.

He also decided to throw in a few surprises...

• Like sponsoring the appearance the "King of the Kustomizers," George Barris, and several of his most famous TV cars. (On Steve's front lawn that Saturday, sat the Batmobile and Bat Boat, the Munsters Koach, the Monkee Mobile, Dragula, and others; certainly the largest gathering of Barris vehicles ever assembled in Canada.)

• Like parking three of his super-valuable 1930's era V16 Cadillacs right there on the back lawn -- behind neither a security rope nor an electronic force field -- and by opening up his Cadillac garage, which houses over 35 exquisite examples of the marque.

• Like convincing General Motors to throw on an official Cadillac display, with the Concept Sixteen as the centerpiece. The outrageous concept is packing, what else, but a V16 engine (13.6 litres, 1,000 horsepower).

• Like having 2,100 people stay for dinner -- the largest sit-down meal in the history of London (Ontario) -- and having it take place under the largest circus-type tent in the country (made especially for the occasion).

• Like arranging to have a trio of vintage Harvard trainer aircraft perform acrobatics above the mid-day crowd.

• And by capping the day off with authentic rock and roll, courtesy of Bobby Curtola.

Saying this was a pretty cool car party is like saying a top fuel dragster has adequate acceleration. By most counts, by mid-day, there were 2,200 to 2,300 collector cars on the premises and probably five times as many people. I don't know who keep records on these sorts of events, but those numbers had to make it one of the largest one-day cruise-in events in Canadian history. Let us know if you've heard of a larger one.

A bunch of us from World of Wheels were part of the crowd. When my wife Diane and I showed up, we had to park about two kilometres away.

The Corvette clubs arrived like regiments engaged in a war against front-wheel drive. After 500 or 600 had showed up, they had to start turning them away. The largest Corvette gathering ever in Canada?

Another question: Who is Steve Plunkett?

Obviously a fellow with some financial means, and obviously a car nut.

His is the son of Earl Plunkett, the very successful, and internationally known and respected physician, fertility authority and teacher. Steve created the Plunkett Foundation in 1997, as a legacy to his parents, with the primary mission to help fund research and medical equipment needs in the community and nationally. (This year's show raised money for nine different charities.)

To delve into Steve's car collecting side, we should start with this fact: He routinely drives his V16 Cadillacs to local cruise nights. "They're meant to be driven," says Steve. "I try to drive three cars every day ... they deteriorate faster if they just sit."

It was the fourth "car event" hosted at his home and property, known as Fleetwood Country Estate. (Hence the official name of the event -- Fleetwood Country Cruize In.) It's no coincidence that Fleetwood is also the name of the coachbuilder that made virtually all the bodies for the classic-era Cadillacs.

His first event was simply the destination point for a 60-car tour, for members of the Historical Automobile Society of Canada (H.A.S.C.). "It was just a fun afternoon," recalls Steve. "Then two years go by and that's when I decided to have an actual car show."

The first "car show" attracted 400 cars, simply by world of mouth. Then, in 2005, he was asked to host the get-together of the Auburn Cord Duesenberg group; that day morphed into a cruise-in that attracted about 900 cars. The highlights of that event were four Duesenbergs in one place (about $8 million in machinery) and a fly over by eight WWII aircraft, including a Lancaster.

Steve was the "hands on" organizer for all the events, and says the work involved in the 2006 extravaganza almost killed him. He's going to get help next year. He would also like to change the format slightly, so charities continue to benefit, but the car show portion more or less breaks even. This year it was only $5 for the afternoon and $75 for dinner and entertainment. But Steve essentially sponsored the event. "A quarter million dollar day," he noted.

Needless to say, it was a fantastic day -- and evening.

About half way through Bobby Curtola's set, Diane and I thought we better make the trek back to the car. When we got to the front of Steve's house, the Barris cars were still on the lawn. This time there were no crowds lining up to see them. They simply sat in the darkness, with bits of their chrome catching some of the light that was spilling out from the main house. A few very relaxed security guards were strolling around, talking softly. It felt like the set of some 1960's Beach Blanket/Hot Rod movie, especially with the Bobby Curtola surf music in the background. I was half expecting Annette Funicello, Frankie Avalon, and Eric Von Zipper to burst out of the house, and take off in the cars, to satisfy some inane but necessary plot sequence.

As we walked up the shoulder of the darkened country road, we would occasionally have to share it with a street rod or muscle car leaving the scene. And we would be helpless not to get caught up in their orbits -- blazing headlights, rumble of a V8 with a lumpy cam, wild paint and chrome -- until they were at least several hundred yards ahead of us.

When we finally made it to our car, there were two main thoughts in my head: It's never a bad idea to get car people together; Sound really carries in the countryside, especially if it's 1950's rock and roll.

For more check out www.fleetwoodcountrycruizein.com, and also the George Barris site (barrisbilt.com), which has video clips of the Fleetwood event.