Auto aficionados crowded the Carbon Career & Technical Institute on Saturday to marvel at a cache of classic and performance vehicles, with proceeds from the event going to a great cause.

Students Owen Everett, 17; Malynda Peabody, 17; and Austin Miller, 16, organized the "Cars for Claws" show as part of their SkillsUSA project."Originally, we came up with the idea of a car show, and someone suggested making it into a benefit. We decided to take that idea and make it a reality," Miller said.The group had put on a similar show back in the spring, raising several hundred dollars for local animal shelters. Saturday's event, however, brought out more than 60 exhibitors and a large and steady flow of spectators to the campus."This is our second car show," Peabody said. "This is a bigger turnout than we had last time. We have vendors, food and a lot more people showing up with their cars and donating. We're all having a good time, especially with the weather we're having."SkillsUSA adviser Kevin Kushner was pleased with the event, which combined his students' passion for classic and performance vehicles with a great charity, along with some valuable lessons on working with a team."It shows them all about teamwork, how to work together, how to spearhead things and come out successful. They're doing a great thing for these animal shelters," Kushner said.The variety of vehicles on display covered more than 80 years of automobile history, with meticulously well-kept examples of just about every era."There's a great variety of cars, ranging from the early 30s - we've got a few Bel Airs and Chevys - all the way up to newer Jettas, and basically everything in between. We couldn't ask for anything better," Everett said.Bill and Alice Terrano, self-described "car people" and owners of a few classics themselves, came out to take a look at the wealth of restored and well-kept vehicles."It's kind of like a memory lane. You look at all of these old cars, and you remember having one, or your dad having one, and it brings back memories," Alice Terrano said.The Terranos were particularly interested in Wilma Hoppes' 1962 Chevrolet Corvette, which looked like it was rolled right out of a showroom. Hoppes was thrilled to come out and support the local shelters while getting a chance to display her pride and joy with fellow car fans."I came out for the Friends of Animals, because it's a good benefit. This is only the second time I've had it (the Corvette) out this year. It's awesome, a lot of these cars that I see belong to friends of mine that are in the Jukebox Cruisers Club, plus there are a lot of new faces and really beautiful cars," she said.Kuehner said at least three other cars shows were being held in the region on Saturday, but the SkillsUSA team generated plenty of interest throughout Jim Thorpe and beyond. With plenty of visitors to the borough thanks to great weather, CCTI drew quite the crowd."We stopped to see the Jim Thorpe memorial. I saw that there was something going on, and we walked up through the woods, and here we are. I think it's nice, there's some really nice, classic, vintage cars that you don't see every day. These people take good care of their cars to restore them. It's interesting seeing that stuff," Scott Sladek said.Thanks to the likes of Everett, Peabody and Miller, hundreds of gear heads got to sate their appetite for awesome autos, and hundreds of animals will get the food, shelter and medical attention that they so dearly need."I think it's going to show people that you can basically do anything to raise money and awareness for our animal shelters," Peabody said. "Plus, we got a lot of people out who normally don't get to show their cars, and they got to interact with one another. It was a good day."