Robert Link’s garage serves as an immediate visual clue to his passion for 1950s and ’60s vehicles.

What drives his passion? It’s really the love of the color, architecture, engineering, chrome, style and uniqueness, along with the fact that this was the era of automobiles he knew — and still knows — how to work on.

His collection — a 1955 Ford Fairlane Crown Victoria, 1957 Ford Thunderbird, 1957 Ford  Fairlane 500, 1965 Mercury Monterey — is not made up of trailer queens (car slang for show cars that never see the road). He really owns four Fords if you include his 2002 Thunderbird.

Link and his older brother can be found most weekends throughout the summer at car shows scattered across Iowa. They’ll rotate out cars depending on weather or if one needs a repair or two. While discussing his collection, he pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket listing five or six car shows that weekend that he could attend. 

His first “new” car he purchased was a 1977 Ford Thunderbird, triple red — red body, red vinyl top and red velvet interior.

When pressed to list the one car he’d keep, he goes right to the 1957 Ford Fairlane 500. “It’s sporty, sold more units in 1957 than the 1957 Chevy, it’s powered right, great ride, and it’s a well-optioned car,” he said. The car also survived the Parkersburg tornado of 2007, which missed the garage by about 200 feet.

So what’s his take on autonomous vehicles? “People will always have an interest in the automobile. There will still be interest in American metal and people that will want to perpetuate the [car collecting] hobby,” he said.