No matter where you live in the United States, great car-culture events take
place all year long. Looking beyond your local shows and cruise-ins, there are
internationally acclaimed auctions, museum exhibitions, concours d'elegance and
car shows that are perennial hits. In addition, there are a few selected
one-time events in 2013 that you should consider attending; they won't be
repeated. In a perfect world, if MSN Autos could travel on an auto aficionado's
dream tour for the next 12 months, here's what we'd do and where we'd go. Put a
few of these auto extravaganzas on your calendar. We'll see you there!
Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance
For 17 years, enthusiasts have gravitated to picturesque Fernandina Beach,
about a 30-minute drive from the Jacksonville, Fla., airport, for a world-class
concours featuring a pair of stellar auctions by RM Auctions and Gooding &
Co., entertaining history seminars starring the living legends of auto racing, a
vintage-car tour, book signings by major authors and much more. Throw in a
little golf if you have the time, add great seafood and you'll understand why
folks in the know return to the Amelia Island concours year after year.
61st Meguiar’s Detroit Autorama
Detroit's huge Autorama has been the best indoor Midwestern hot-rod event
since it started. Intense competition for its prestigious Don Ridler Memorial
Award entices the country's top rod and custom builders, and lures owners with
big checkbooks to compete with the best the country's top shops can build. Any
type of rod or custom car can win the Ridler; it's not limited to roadsters, but
it has to be a sweet ride. Rat rods rule in the vast Cobo Hall basement.
Keels and Wheels
This is such a great idea, you'll wonder why more events don't try it. At the
Lakewood Yacht Club, nestled by a pretty bay in Seabrook, Texas, several dozen
beautifully restored wooden boats complete for attention with woodies, skiffs,
sports and classic cars. Everything kicks off with the Yachta-Yachta cocktail
party, where attendees sip drinks while hopping from one moored yacht to
another.
2013 Invitational & Euro Experience
The annual Saratoga invitational, held on the
grounds of the scenic Saratoga State Park in the delightful upstate New York
town that boasts the oldest thoroughbred horse-racing track in America, brings
together many lovely cars each year. Actor Edward Hermann is the master of
ceremonies; he is also the emcee for both the Amelia Island and Pebble Beach
Concours. This year's featured marque is BMW. A bonus: The nearby
Saratoga Automobile Museum will present BMW cars and motorcycles from BMW North
America's private collection.
40th NSRA East Coast Nationals
The National Street Rod Association's big East Coast get-together is our
favorite NSRA event. About 5,000 rods, customs and muscle cars converge on York
for impromptu burnouts in the street. There's a corral of 1950s cars and
performance cars, and resto-mods through the early '70s are now welcome. NSRA
presents many events annually, including a 14,000-car extravaganza in
Louisville, Ky., in August.
Sensuous Steel: Art Deco Automobile
• Nashville,
Tenn.
• June 14 - September 15, 2013
• http://fristcenter.org/calendar-exhibitions/detail/sensuous-steel
The art deco movement produced some of the most glamorous cars of the past
century. Sensuous Steel: Art Deco Automobiles will present 18 lovely examples
that recall the glory of a lost age when looks were everything and legendary
Paris coachbuilders such as Figoni et Falaschi produced cars that resemble
stunning haute-couture gowns on wheels. Occurring at the Frist Center for the
Visual Arts in Nashville, itself an art deco structure, a prestigious gathering
of cars like this is an unrepeatable event. And it is mere blocks away from the
liveliest country-music scene in America.• June 14 - September 15, 2013
• http://fristcenter.org/calendar-exhibitions/detail/sensuous-steel
L.A. Roadster Show
Building a hot rod? The annual L.A. Roadster Show in Pomona, Calif.,
organized by the venerable L.A. Roadster Car Club, starts with a giant swap
meet, where Southern California guys raid their garages and bring parts you've
read about, but have never seen. Every major speed-equipment vendor is on site.
There's a special parking area for more than 700 roadsters each year, with a
1937 model-year cutoff. Tip: Try the buttermilk pancakes and sausage patties at
Norm's, a pilots hangout at the nearby Brackett Field airport. Don't worry about
the calories. You'll walk them off easily.
26th Annual EyesOn Design Car Show
You'd expect great cars when the auto industry's designers invite their
favorites, and that's what you'll get at this "under the radar" charitable event
that benefits the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology. The setting is on the
manicured grounds of the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores.
Rub shoulders with the talented men and women who create some of the best
contemporary cars while you enjoy more than 200 wonderful examples from the
past.
45th Annual Back to the Fifties
The '50s will never die, thanks to the Minnesota Street Rod Association.
Arguably the best outdoor hot-rod gathering in the upper Midwest, Back to the
Fifties features great cars, good food, rockabilly music and — did we say great
cars? For most of us, St. Paul is off the beaten track, but this one is well
worth the trip.
Goodwood Festival of Speed
• July 11-14,
2013
• Chichester, West Sussex, England
• http://www.goodwood.co.uk/festival-of-speed/welcome.aspx
The Goodwood Festival of Speed is a fabulous weekend in the British
countryside. It's a major new-car auto show, a concours d'elegance, a vintage
sprint for cars and bikes, a pageant and a flea market, all rolled into one
brilliant happening. This year it's celebrating 20 years of this event. Look for
heroes and hero cars galore. Put this one on your bucket list.• Chichester, West Sussex, England
• http://www.goodwood.co.uk/festival-of-speed/welcome.aspx
35th Annual Concours d’Elegance of America at St. Johns
Formerly the Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance, this Detroit-area classic has
moved to the Inn at St. Johns in Plymouth, Mich. Well-supported by the domestic
automakers, St. Johns presents a variety of changing themes, and there's an
elegant fashion show, providing good reasons to return year after year. As if
that weren't enough, RM Auctions holds a big auction here, and since it's very
close by, you can also visit the Ypsilanti Automotive Museum.
Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
Celebrating its 62nd year on the golf links at Pebble Beach, Calif., "Pebble"
sets the standard for every other concours around the world. Winning Best of
Show here elevates an owner's status, arguably raises the value of the winning
car and thrills thousands of spectators each year. Gooding & Co. holds an
annual auction here, as do RM, Mecum, Russo & Steele, and Bonhams (at the
Quail Lodge). This year, the concours honors Vanvooren Coachwork, custom
1930s-era Lincolns, Simplex, BMW 507s and French motorcycles.
Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion
• Aug. 16-18,
2013
• Monterey, Calif.
• http://www.mazdaraceway.com/rolex-monterey-motorsports-reunion
Laguna Seca Raceway, now called Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, was built in 1957
in the hills outside Monterey, Calif. At the track one August weekend in 1974,
Steve Earle started running historic racing cars with his friends, and it grew
to become an annual, weeklong event, now called the Rolex Monterey Motorsports
Reunion. This year it starts with the "pre-historics" on August 9-11, then
segues into the "historics" the following weekend. Corvettes will be on hand for
the marque's 60th anniversary, along with everything from pre-WWII Grand Prix
cars through Can-Am racers and contemporary Formula One cars, with hundreds of
enthusiastic drivers holding very little back. The Corkscrew remains one of the
most famous turns in racing, and it's still a terrific perch from which to watch
the action.• Monterey, Calif.
• http://www.mazdaraceway.com/rolex-monterey-motorsports-reunion
Woodward Dream Cruise
More than 1 million people gather each August, from 8-Mile Road to 14-Mile
Road, celebrating the glory days of Detroit's Woodward Avenue and recalling when
factory engineers from the Big Three automakers raced one another from stoplight
to stoplight, testing new equipment and putting the muscle in the muscle-car
era. Everybody's welcome; the car watching and the people-watching are great.
Although it was only supposed to be one day, Woodward has become a long-weekend
event with no sign of stopping.
Bonneville Speed Week
If you've never been to Bonneville, even as a spectator, what are you waiting
for? The world's best gathering of high-speed amateur racers and their cars has
been thrilling sunburnt spectators for 64 years. The setting — a salt-covered
dry lakebed — is simply beautiful. Streamliners are topping 400 mph, with a
thrilling sound that reverberates off the mountains as cars scream through the
traps, then ends abruptly as each car shuts off, in a sublime moment of utter
silence. Speed Week is Aug. 10-16, 2013; the World Finals are held Oct. 1-4,
2013. If you do 'em both, you'll get "salt fever" and then you'll want to get
your own car.
Lead East
Irrepressible racer Terry Cook has been gathering '50s enthusiasts for 26
years over Labor Day weekend in this nostalgic northern New Jersey confluence of
hot rods, period custom cars, authentic doo-wop a capella singing groups,
loud-pipe rap-offs, swing-dance contests and Elvis impersonators — at the
Parsippany Hilton Hotel. You got a problem with that?
17th Annual Radnor Hunt Concours d’Elegance
The eastern United States has its share of historic classics and sports cars.
One of the best places to see no more than 100 well-chosen examples each fall is
on the picturesque Main Line of Philadelphia, at the venerable Radnor Hunt Club
in Malvern, Pa. Huntmaster and Concours Chairman Mike Tillson knows where all
the great East Coast cars are, and he proves it every year at this delightful
show.
Goodwood Revival
Here's another fabulous weekend in West Sussex, in the British Midlands, but
this event takes place at the famed Goodwood race circuit. The track and
buildings look just the way they did before World War II, so many attendees wear
vintage clothes and bring their old cars and picnic hampers. You'll think
someone turned back the clock. It's fab!
7th Annual St. Michaels Concours
One of the Chesapeake Bay area's best-kept secrets is the little town of St.
Michaels, Md. The concours there is small, with about 65 cars, but they're all
nice examples, and the event benefits the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. If
blue crabs and fresh oysters are your thing, don't miss the Crab Claw
restaurant, where you can sit on the dock, suck oysters, peel shrimp and knock
back a brew. St. Michaels has a driving tour each year where participants visit
historic homes. This event's a little gem.
11th Annual Kirkland Concours d’Elegance
The new LeMay: America's Car Museum took over the Kirkland Concours last
year, and if the inaugural is any indication, it will go from strength to
strength. If you haven't yet visited this architectural wonder, now's your
chance. Besides a great car show and a remarkable new museum, Tacoma has some
delightful little restaurants and bars where time seems to have stopped for
decades.
AACA Annual Fall Meet
Nothing prepares you for this immense, 80-acre swap meet with 8,000 vendor
spaces. It's been a fixture on the old-car calendar for more than 40 years. They
say if you can't find it at Hershey, you don't need it. Crisp autumn weather
(watch for rain), Pennsylvania Dutch meals, the distinct smell of chocolate in
the air, a 1,500-car show, a huge car corral, the AACA Museum and a two-night RM
auction round out an event that most East Coast historic-car buffs would never
miss.
Porsche by Design: Seducing Speed
From the impossibly rare 1938/1939 Porsche Type 64
to the latest Porsche 918RSR, the German automaker displays a continuity of
design, aerodynamics, strength and spirit endowed by Ferdinand Porsche, his son
Ferry, Ferry's son Butzi, and a legion of dedicated stylists and engineers. The
annual event takes place at the North Carolina Museum of Art, and will present
21 significant racing and road-going Porsches, including cars
owned by the late Steve McQueen and Janis Joplin, as well as Ralph Lauren, the
Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, and the Prototyp Museum in Hamburg.
Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show
This is the best automotive trade show in the country. Racers, rodders,
suppliers, off-roaders, custom shops, original-equipment manufacturers and show
cars mix it up at the Hilton Convention Center in Las Vegas. If you don't know
somebody in the car-repair or accessory biz, there are now days for the general
public. Every possible car type is represented; if it's been modified in some
way, it's probably here. We love "hot rod alley."
Arizona Auctions
• January
2014
• Phoenix and Scottsdale, Ariz.
• www.barrett-jackson.com; www.goodingco.com
• www.silverauctions.com; www.rmauctions.com
• www.bonhams.com; www.russoandsteele.com
The action is fast and furious as six major auction companies —
Barrett-Jackson, Gooding & Co., RM Auctions, Silver, Russo and Steele, and
Bonhams — converge on Phoenix and Scottsdale with several thousand cars, trucks
and motorcycles, along with auto ephemera and petroliana galore. Spend a week in
the sun, bid on and buy a new toy, and have fun at the largest concentration of
auction sales each year. In 2013 sales were $224 million.• Phoenix and Scottsdale, Ariz.
• www.barrett-jackson.com; www.goodingco.com
• www.silverauctions.com; www.rmauctions.com
• www.bonhams.com; www.russoandsteele.com
Palm Beach Cavallino Classic XXIII
A confluence of Ferraris in Florida,
Cavallino presents the finest Prancing Horses from Maranello, Italy, in two
superb settings: The Breakers Palm Beach and the Mar-a-Lago Club. There's a Jet
Reception, a Yacht Hop and track days at Palm Beach International Raceway. It's
"the right crowd and no crowding." Jay Gatsby would love it.
O’Reilly Grand National Roadster Show
Celebrating its 65th year in 2014 at the sprawling Fairplex in Pomona,
Calif., the granddaddy of them all attracts primo rods and customs, rat rods and
lowriders, with plenty of vendors, hot-rod heroes and live doo-wop and raucous
rockabilly music in a show within a show at the Suede Palace. It wraps up on
Sunday night with the coveted AMBR Award, the 9-foot trophy for "America's most
beautiful roadster." Then they drive them out, which is a show in itself.
7th Annual Boca Raton Concours d’Elegance
• February 2014
• Boca Raton, Fla.
• www.bocaconcours.com
Ken Gross is a distinguished automotive historian and journalist and a
member of the Selection Committee ofthe Pebble Beach Concours
d'Elegance.
• Boca Raton, Fla.
• www.bocaconcours.com
The Boca Raton Concours d'Elegance is an event
that gets better every year. This year it's celebrating Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Lamborghini. Florida
sun, a first-class Bonham's auction of classic vehicles, a gorgeous setting at
the Boca Raton Resort and Country Club and 10,000 car enthusiasts — what more
could you wish for?
No comments:
Post a Comment