JF Launier, kneeing right of car, shows off the yellow 1964 Buick Riviera custom that won him the Ridler Award at Detroit Autorama. Posing with him are members of the team that worked on the car. (Richard McGuire file photo)
When Cactus Jalopies comes to Osoyoos for its 10th anniversary this weekend, one of the cars many people will want to see is J.F. Launier’s award-winning custom 1964 Buick Riviera.
Launier, who came up with the idea for Cactus Jalopies about 11 years ago with a friend, spoke at a recent lunch meeting of the Rotary Club of Osoyoos about his famous car, the car show he started and his passion for vehicles.
He also spoke of his desire to see young people pursue careers in the trades, whether in auto mechanics or other fields.
Launier was born in Quebec, but moved to Osoyoos at the age of six.
After moving to the Okanagan, his family lived in Summerland for a year. It was during that time that he encountered a neighbour who was building and rebuilding cars for Expo ’86.
“I don’t know whether that was the seed that got planted at a young age that made me love cars,” Launier told the Rotarians.
Nonetheless, he was soon bitten by the bug. When he was just 13 and still too young to drive, he found an old pickup truck, a 1951 Mercury, at the back of a local car lot and bought it for $700, selling his dirt bike to raise the funds.
He didn’t even know how to change a battery at that time, but he taught himself to take the truck apart. It was two years before it was finally roadworthy.
Since then he has rebuilt the truck four times and has driven to California in it. He makes a point of driving his children to school in it on the first day each year.
That 1951 Mercury, however, was only the beginning. Since then Launier has gone on to receive international recognition. Topping it off, his 1964 Buick Riviera custom, called “Rivision,” went on to win the prestigious Ridler Award in 2014 at Detroit Autorama, competing against other cars with bigger money behind them.
His skill as a car builder has taken him to unexpected places.
“I’ve been to the Playboy mansion, which was an interesting trip,” said Launier.
Most recently, he was invited to show off his yellow “Rivision” at a car show in Sweden, where the vehicle was sent by boat to accompany him.
“We were treated like royalty,” Launier said. “I never expected to take my hobby and turn it into a lifelong dream. Then all of a sudden, you’re treated like royalty in a different country.”
Launier admits that his love of cars became an obsession and his interest goes beyond the merely mechanical.
“I really enjoy the art form of cars,” he said. “From a design perspective, I have a way of looking at things and changing proportions and moving metal around that seems to be unequalled in our country and has allowed me to tour the world because of cars. I’ve been very fortunate to have that in my life.”
Launier acknowledges that there would be opportunities for him to work elsewhere – California perhaps – but he chooses to stay in Osoyoos and raise his children here.
“There’s definitely more opportunity in other places in my industry,” he said. “But I don’t think it’s hurt us to be here. We’ve won every big award there is to be had in the world when it comes to custom cars.”
Launier takes annual trips to a major car show in Las Vegas with hundreds of thousands of spectators.
“Our cars are always front and centre in that,” he said. “And we’re waving the Canadian flag every time, quite proudly.”
His crowning triumph, the Ridler Award didn’t come easily. That award dates back to the 1960s and Launier said he’s unique in winning it as both the owner and the builder.
“The award has got to the point where the calibre of cars is so far out of the box that it’s really near impossible,” he said. “I don’t know what made ours any different from anybody else’s. I had a lot of help from friends, and remortgaged a couple of houses and fudged a bunch of credit card applications, but we found a way to get there.”
The car, he said, took “everything I had.” It also took his team about 22,000 man-hours to build.
Every part of the car was designed and built from scratch, then disassembled.
“Every single bolt, every single part on the car had to have some manual effort,” Launier said. “Every single bolt that holds the car together has been turned on a manual mill. I had one of my employees turning bolts for three weeks.”
Some of the Rotarians asked Launier if he ever planned to sell his famous car to recoup his expenses.
“That’s a tough one,” he said. “I’ve been offered quite a bit of money for the car… $1 million U.S. I stubbornly insisted that I want to hang onto it. I don’t know why.”
One reason perhaps is that he once sold a 1956 Chrysler station wagon at an auction. He was “romanced into believing” he could get a half a million dollars for it. When the gavel fell, however, it only sold for $187,000 U.S.
“That was just heartbreaking for me,” said Launier. “It’s like giving up one of my kids.”
Launier’s yellow 1964 Buick Riviera custom is by no means the only noteworthy car that will be showing at Cactus Jalopies. This year there could be at least a couple hundred custom cars, trucks and motorcycles on display at Gyro Park on Saturday, June 6.
When Launier and his friend conceived the idea for the show more than a decade ago, they wanted it to be a different kind of car show – not like so many others that tended to be the same.
He wanted to make it fun and to make it interesting for youngsters. The shows have included motorcycle stunt jumping and other activities to add excitement.
This Friday, the event features a Wine Tour Poker Run with three scheduled departures. There’s also a wine tour on the Saturday, along with many other major events at Gyro Park.
On Sunday, the Wine Country Racing Association’s drag races at the Richter Place Motorplex – the Osoyoos Airport – will be featured.
Local singer Kayla Dawn, also known as Kayla Turnbull, is releasing a song for this year’s Cactus Jalopies called “Revvin’ on Route 97.”
The Rotary Club of Osoyoos is hosting a pancake breakfast at Gyro Park prior to the show and shine. They’ll also be hosting the beer garden.
For more information about Cactus Jalopies, visit www.cactusjalopies.ca.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
