A shiny, blue 1970 AMC Hornet cruises down the street, blasting music from its cassette player and turning heads as it passes. In the driver’s seat of the 54-year-old car is its unexpected owner, 21-year-old Carly Kappler of Dallas.
Kappler bought and restored the classic car when she was a teenager, using her family’s love of old cars to foster her passion for hands-on work.
She always knew that she wanted a classic car and loved the uniqueness of the 1970 AMC Hornet, which she said is usually junked instead of restored. When Kappler found the car, she knew it was meant to be.
“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve never seen this car before. It’s in my price range. This is the perfect car for me because I love weird, oddball stuff like that,’” she said.
In November, Kappler showed her car in the 2024 Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals near Chicago, an event featuring 550 cars from around the world. She received a personal invitation from the managing member of the car show, Bob Ashton, after he saw her at a show in Carlisle and became intrigued by the young woman’s experience level.
Kappler said she made the 700-mile trek through a snowstorm to reach the show in Rosemont, Illinois, while her car on its flatbed trailer collected several inches of snow. Her car was on display the weekend of Nov. 23-24.
At the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals, Kappler earned five awards, including the Leading Lady Award given to five women owners and the Shining Star Award given to five people under the age of 25. She also participated in a panel discussion called Meet the Future with several other young car enthusiasts.
Kappler encouraged young people to get interested in classic cars because “our hobby needs some younger folks in it.”
She said working on classic cars can be nostalgic, even for young people.
“It’s really cool and nostalgic, even for somebody who was born in 2003,” Kappler said. “Even if I wasn’t alive for that period, it’s really cool to see how older technology differs from newer technology and how older cars look compared to newer cars.”
Kappler told the panel audience that her passion for working with her hands had started as a hobby but transformed into a future career.
Kappler is a senior at Millersville University majoring in Technology and Engineering Education. She wants to teach middle school or high school students to work with their hands, learn perseverance, and solve problems without fearing failure.
“Working with my hands when I was in high school and taking those shop classes and working on my car kind of (made me want) to go and want to teach the future generations,” she said.
Kappler’s college classes have given her hands-on experience with a variety of mediums, from traditional metalwork to robotics. She is also minoring in Studio Art and Photography, which she says rounds out her passion for hands-on work.
“Everything I do for Tech Ed. is what you would stereotypically call shop class, but it’s progressed so much more than that,” she said. “We do a lot of your typical woods and metals, but we also do graphic design and 3D printing and robotics and electronics and stuff like that. So my time in college has really been dabbling in every little aspect of what I can teach.”
Kappler said she loves what she does and wants to share her enthusiasm and expertise with the next generation. She will be certified to teach grades K-12 after graduation.
“I mean, it’s just so fun to work with your hands and teach kids to do that,” she said. “(To teach them) that it’s okay not to go to college and it’s okay to go into the trades. That’s what we need as a society.”
Kappler said hands-on work teaches kids vital life skills like how to problem-solve and work through a process. She said many middle school and high school students are afraid of failure, but working with your hands helps you overcome that fear.
“I would encourage anybody to take at least one tech class in their middle school and high school career,” said Kappler. “Overall, it helps anything you’re going to do with your life someday.”
