Out on the road: for members of Lambda Car Club International, their cars are their community.

Guy Kendall-Freas dreams about cars, about owning a late 1960s-era 12-cylinder powered Jaguar E-type roadster, and about racing down the road with his partner in their 1965 Mercedes-Benz 220 SEb coupe.

Doug Buhrer also dreams about cars--literally every night. "I'm pretty much car-crazy," the 47-year-old says. "I just love cars. It begins with the personal freedom, the idea that with a credit card and a car you can go anywhere on the continent. I can just pick up and go. Total freedom."

So maybe it's no surprise that when these men hear the words "gay community," they're more likely to picture themselves behind the wheel than behind the bar. And as two of the Lambda Car Club International's more than 1,800 members, they're much more more likely to be planning their vacations around car shows than circuit parties or Cher concerts. Most often seen parading their cars in pride festivals across the country, Lambda Car Club members also host annual invitationals and driving tours to celebrate their fascination with the automobile.

Kendall-Freas, 41, who joined the organization's Buckeye Region chapter in Ohio with his partner four years ago, says he wasn't sure what he was getting into at first. "What we found was a very eclectic group of guys who have very little in common other than an interest in cars," he says. "Today, these guys are valued friends." And now Kendall-Freas is president of the chapter.

Buhrer, who joined the Buckeye chapter hi 1987 and now publishes the Lambda Car Club International newsletter, says the group provides a forum to fuel his fondness for four-wheelers. That fascination, he says, goes all the way back to when he was 3, when he first laid his hands on a classic car, or at least a replica of one: a plastic 1953 Ford. "I remember thinking what a cool thing a ear is," he says, laughing.

But yell don't have to own a classic car--or even a plastic classic car--to joining the car club. In fact, some members don't own a car at all. Most members, however, own two or more vehicles. choosing the flower "daily driver" models for everyday driving and treating the classic cars like children--giving them names, buffing them with a velvet cloth, and keeping them garaged. Others, like Robert Ortega, president of New Mexico's Rainbow Roadrunners chapter, likes to give his baby a little gas every once in a while.

"It's not a trailer queen," the 49-year-old Ortega says of the root beer-colored 1957 Chevy hardtop that once belonged to his grandfather. "I try to drive it once a month, and I take it on three 200-mile trips a year. Some people keep cars so pristine, you don't want to touch them. But for me, the enjoyment is in driving."

For his daily driving, Buhrer takes his "reliable, comfortable" 2001 Toyota Highlander. But when the mood strikes and the weather cooperates, he heads out in his 1970 marina-blue Ford Country Squire station wagon, which gets 10 to 12 miles per gallon. "It's very Brady Bunch," he says. "In the club it's very difficult to have a distinctive car. The Country Squire--with the wood panels--stands out."

Station wagons are rare at Lambda Car Club invitationals. AMC Ramblers and Studebakers, Cadillac Eldorados, Chrysler Crown Imperials, Lincoln Town Cars. Packard Patricians, and Buick Rivieras are more common. And newer cars--Volkswagen Beetles, Mini Coopers, Chrysler PT Cruisers, and even family minivans--get shown as well.

"We're what you call a totally nondiscriminating club," Ortega says. "If you feel your car is important, it doesn't matter if it's 42 years old or two years old."