Vintage Underground, the West Coast’s leading vintage car restoration and build shop, presents the Emerald Invitational, July 6-10, 2025, celebrating Vintage European car culture, craftsmanship and community.

The Emerald Invitational is a highly anticipated touring event showcasing 1974 and older British, Italian, and European cars against the backdrop of some of Oregon’s most compelling scenery and fantastic enthusiast driving roads.

LAP OF THE WOODS 2025

The inaugural tour will encompass a “Lap of the Woods” of roughly 800 miles, traversing four National forests, the high desert of Bend, Florence’s rolling sand dunes, the rugged Pacific coastline and quaint seaside towns, giant redwoods, iconic Crater Lake, and much more.

  • Hotels, dining, secure overnight parking, and all activities included

  • Assistance with vehicle arrival and departure

  • VU’s mechanical support team accompanies the tour daily

  • Luggage transport to and from each hotel

  • Exceptional routes and destinations designed for minimal traffic interference

  • Exhilarating, entertaining open roads with great scenery 

  • Medium speed corners with few twisties and no rough roads (this is not a speed event)

  • Comfortable lodgings and good meals

  • Daily opportunities to celebrate friendship and community

Entry applications will be available on January 1st – click here to sign up for Event Notifications

Contact Sue Counselman sue@vintageunderground.com

CULTIVATING THE NEXT GENERATION

The collector car community is experiencing the growing need to bring new talent to the arena of automotive restoration. As a full-service shop employing nearly 30 craftsmen, Vintage Underground is deeply invested in the continuing success of the industry and in exploring ways to remove boundaries for young people starting out.

While there are effective programs and college courses aimed at improving training specific to the field of restoration, one persistent obstacle remains: getting these individuals across the threshold.

With restoration businesses becoming fewer and farther between, a budding technician’s ability to enter the industry is often based solely on proximity to a nearby shop, as housing and relocation costs can be a barrier. On the shop’s side, the cost of integrating new employees is also high, taking billable technicians offline for hours of training and oversight. These barriers on both sides can prevent young talent from accessing the hands-on experience needed to produce skilled restoration technicians.

A NEW PROGRAM FOR YOUNG INTERNS

Vintage Underground is actively working to alleviate these expenses through partnerships and grants that will cover some of the costs on both sides of the equation. By reducing financial barriers to onboarding new technicians, our goal is to increase opportunities for talent development to support the industry and the hobby.

In conjunction with the Emerald Invitational, Vintage Underground is excited to roll out an internship program, offering hands-on shop experience to aspiring technicians from a range of educational backgrounds. As a participant, partner, or advocate of the Emerald Invitational, your support will be essential to its success.

Interns will apply their classroom knowledge to real-world projects, working shoulder-to- shoulder with our pros on high-end restorations of European and American vintage cars while being fully immersed in day-to-day shop operations. Blending traditional craftsmanship with modern techniques, Vintage Underground’s program will pass down the skills and knowledge to support the next generation of industry leaders.

PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Partner with the Emerald Invitational to connect with a passionate audience of classic car enthusiasts and collectors. This premier automotive event offers direct support to elevate your brand and engage with participants.

  • Brand Visibility: Showcase your brand to a qualified audience with targeted social media promotion, online and email marketing, and onsite branding

  • Engage with Attendees: Create lasting impressions through interactive displays, demos, branded activities, or by joining the tour at select Partnership levels

  • Support the Next Generation: Align with the needs of your clients in the collector car community by supporting a new path for young interns to approach car restoration as a career

Contact Sue Counselman sue@vintageunderground.com to craft a custom Partnership package designed to meet your needs.

Whether you’re aiming for visibility, engagement, or targeted marketing, we’ll create the right opportunity for you.