Sept 20: Cobble Beach Concours - part 1

Pebble Beach
Amelia Island
Meadowbrook
St. John's

All names of famous Concours d'Elegance. Now you can add.......
Cobble Beach. Cobble Beach? What the heck is that and where the heck is that?

Glad you asked and about time. Cobble Beach is the home of North America's newest Concours d'Elegance. You know, those invitation only displays of the very best cars, usually held in some prestigious location, where the cars compete with the scenery for your attention. Cobble Beach is held on a golf course, overlooking Georgian Bay. Very similar to Pebble Beach, but sunnier and warmer. Relatively new (fourth year), but climbing rapidly in prestige. Since Cadillac is one of the main sponsors, I thought I should start off with two of the cars from their display. Guess which one is the Cyclone, a "dream car" from the '50's? The other pic is the Elmiraj, which was originally unveiled at Pebble Beach in 2013. An interesting point about the Cyclone - the original Motorama car had huge fins, which were later cut down, as this car was shown into the more conservative '60's (stump your friends with that one).

Cadillac's display was a great entrance to the fairway of the golf course, where these gems held court, overlooking Mother nature's gorgeous views. And what better way to start off this mini tour, than with this 1932 Packard Dual Cowl Phaeton (impressed with my knowledge or that I can read from the thick and glossy program?)........

Apart from being a great car, this pic shows off the venue and the beautiful surroundings. Note the golf carts in the background. Relax, no one was playing thru, they were for security and the officials. I would have loved to yell, "Fore!" and seen the reaction (as I was being escorted off the grounds).

One always expects the classics, including this Best of Show and Peoples' Choice winning, 1932 Auburn Speedster......

.....or this 1922 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost..........

Interesting feature.......you can just see a small red light atop the roof over the front windshield. This is an opera light, which was used to identify the car, when its owners were being picked up after the opera (you thought they drove themselves?).

This 1938 Cadillac roadster was special, in that it had a coach builder designed body by Brunn, which featured those interesting cut down doors, also a golf club door and a rumble seat. You want history? This car was originally built for Ralph Pulitzer of the Pulitzer prize fame........

Other worthies........

......and my wife's favorite, this 1937 Studebaker Dictator Coupe........

Considering the times, Dictator, seems like a rather unusual name for a car. Art Deco styling in a lovely soft green - Niagara Mist Metallic, if you must know.

The beauty of an event like this, is the space around each car, so they stand out and can be admired. There were a plethora of categories, for which the cars were judged and then there was an overall winner, as well as Peoples' Choice for the uninformed, who simply liked a car. Note the fire extinguisher by the rear wheel of all these cars, actually by every single car. Reason? In case there is any kind of a fire when they are started. Smart.

Interesting to see the specialist judges pouring over each car, looking for any little (minute?) deviation from the way the car was originally.......

Note the mandatory, dark blue sports coat and straw hat. Must be a concours dress code thing, as this attire is seen at them all. Nerve racking? Now, I'm not an expert, but I can see right away that the licence plate is not original. Wonder if they noticed?

There's that fire extinguisher, I mentioned. Apparently if you are lacking one, your car is not judged.........

What I found interesting about this 1939 Rolls Royce Wraith is the comprehensive tool kit built into the trunk. Were the owners (chauffeurs?) more mechanically minded back in those days or was it simply a nice touch, because you had spent a huge amount of coin on this car?

Great show and I have our friends, John and Pam, to thank for the invitation and the accommodation (even if we did have to buy them breakfast).

I'll be away this Friday, so tune in later next Tuesday for other great cars from the Cobble Beach Concours (humour me, ok?).

Until next time......