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iven a choice of when to celebratethe 30th anniversary of one of thenation’s top classic car shows,

organizers of the Meadow Brook Con -cours d’Elegance might have chosen a dif-ferent year. Any car event in southeastMichigan staged in the midst of Detroit’s2009 summer of discontent—with GMonly just emerged from bankruptcy,Chrysler taken over by the Italians and theentire industry on the ropes—might have

easily descended into bathos, merewhistling in the dark.

Instead, August 1-2 was a beautifulweek end launch for the annual two-week“Autopalooza” festival starting with theMeadow Brook and winding up with theWoodward Dream Cruise. Cash-for-clunk-ers administered a defibrillator-jolt thatyielded a detectable pulse in the show-rooms even as the classic car lovers,many of whom earned the cash for their

collectormobiles in the new-car industry,were caressing the old paint with carnau-ba wax. After all, someone remarked, thefirst show in 1979 wasn’t gloom-free: theindustry was struggling with the impact ofthat year’s OPEC oil embargo.

The first weekend of August oftenmarks the onslaught of the area’s humidi-ty festival, too, making a stroll on the golfcourse behind historic Meadow Book Hall(a 1920s Tudor mansion built by thewidow of auto pioneer John Dodge) asteamy ordeal. This year delivered a pleas-ant sunny, warm day that was, if moisterthan the desert southwest, far short of per-spiration-inducing—a perfect day for a

By Kevin A. WilsonPhotos by Joe Sage and courtesy RM Auctionsand Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance

1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom I York Roadster byBrewster, belonging (along with others)

to Patrick S. Ryan of Asheville NC.

A seminar and panel discussion on Detroit Automotive Design was fielded by the best of the best: Wayne Kady, retired from GM, Bill Porter of GM, Patrick Schiavoneof Ford, Bill Mitchell, retired from GM, and Ralph Gilles of Chrysler. Among their picks and pans was the influential Ghia-designed 1954 Fiat 8V Supersonic.

(which also garnered People’s Choicehonors) and Ray Scherr’s equally well-presented 1934 Packard V12 SportPhaeton with body by Dietrich. Suchdecisions do make one wonder when, ifever, a panel of concours judges willbreak with tradition and give “best inshow” honors to something that doesn’thail from the Classic Era.

Among the special awards, we weretaken by Californian Peter McCoy’s 1958Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet that collected a“Best Driving” award. Also lending a littleItalian flavor to the field was the displayof a 1934 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300, a one-offalloy-bodied Boattail Speedster neverbefore seen in America that went homewith a “Debut” trophy.

Oh, and lest we forget, the show alsofeatured a motorcycle class for “BritishTwins” well-populated with Vincents,BSAs, Triumphs and a 1938 BroughSuperior SS-100 that collected two tro-phies for its Floridian owner.

Part of what puts Meadow Brook on thecalendar for dedicated car collectors isthat it precedes Pebble Beach by a fewweeks and often serves—though organiz-ers of both events chafe at the sugges-tion—as a warm-up or preview of the

California show. For 15 years now, RMhas staged a single auction on theMeadow Brook grounds that comesnowhere near the intensity of the six auc-tions vying for attention on the MontereyPeninsula but does draw some notewor-thy participants from all over the globe.RM reported $5.4 million in sales andclaimed 79 percent of the 102 consignedlots sold—not bad for peddling expensiveiron in the white hot center of a recessiontown, though the total was down fromlast year’s $9.9 million and the averagesale was in the $67,000 range vs. over$110,000 in 2008. An Auburn 851SCBoattail Speedster that had debuted asChicago Auto Salon exhibit in 1935 soldfor $462,000 to top the sales. A 2005Ford GT, owned by Ford Motor Company,was sold to benefit the Juvenile DiabetesResearch Foundation and got $187,000.

Not to be forgotten is that the art showat Meadow Brook was the birthplace ofthe Automotive Fine Arts Society (AFAS).Unlike Pebble and Amelia, however,Meadow Brook’s has remained an invita-tional art show independent of AFASthough including some artists from thesociety. A couple years ago, Britain’s GaryWhinn was invited to exhibit here andwas the poster artist for 2009. And hewas on his way to a stint as the honoredguest artist at the AFAS show in Californiawhen he came to Detroit this time—theinvite to exhibit at Pebble is usually a prel-ude to an invitation to join AFAS itself.

Whinn’s paintings are remarkable forthe way in which each one tells a tale andincludes—as too much automotive artdoes not—people interacting with cars.While cars are wonderful, it’s the waythey bring remarkable people togetherthat really draws us to events likeMeadow Brook and that part neverchanges, regardless of the economy, theweather or the geography. ■

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picnic lunch from a wicker basket on thelawn beside a great-looking car.

Oh yes, cars. Organizers delivered oneheck of a show, fully up to the standardsthat put the words “Meadow Brook” rightalongside Pebble Beach and AmeliaIsland in the pantheon of Americanconcours. Harking back to the show’sorigins when the committee and judgeswere populated by major figures from theBig Three design departments (noneother than Strother McMinn dubbed it“the design ers’ concours”), a group ofdesigners both current and retiredgathered in the man sion’s ballroom todiscuss automotive design and swap warstories from the old days. Along the way,they called up an intriguing critique ofone of this year’s featured cars, the Ghia-designed 1954 Fiat 8V Supersonic thatwas vastly influential to automotivestyling for two decades. That Fiat hasbeen newly ensconced as part of the“home team” didn’t hurt any, butChrysler design VP Ralph Gilles voicedthe strongest criticisms of the car’soverwrought detailing.

Celebrating Detroit-bred automotivedesign took several forms out on the showfield, including a class called “Best ofDetroit” that gathered no less than 80cars demonstrating the local industry’shighlights from the 1920s through the‘60s. Looking back exactly 50 years, a cir-cle of 1959 convertibles sported that era’sbig fins and copious layering of chrome,among which a Cadillac Biarritz copped acoveted “Lion” award while Best in Classhonors went to Buick Electra 225. Therewas also a group of early drag racing cars,led by a ’37 Willys Coupe and a ’65Mercury Comet that made the trip upfrom Tennessee. A 1931 Cadillac V-12Roadster earned recognition for Nevadaowners Steve and Jan Witort.

Meadow Brook has never been a mere“homer” show, though, with a cosmopoli-tan outlook that is belied only in the deci-sion to award two “best of show” honors,one to a foreign and one to an American-made car. The 2009 winners were a stun-ning 1939 Delahaye 165 Cabrioletentered by the Peter Mullin Foundation

Kevin A. Wilson is a contributing editor/specialprojects at AutoWeek magazine in Detroit and afreelance writer. He’s also chief judge of the annu-al Ypsilanti (MI) Orphan Car Show and has judgednumerous automotive art and car shows. Kevinresides in Waterford MI with his wife Toni, withwhom he raised three adult sons.

Concours “Best of Show” winners: 1939 Delahaye165 Cabriolet, entered by the Peter Mullin Foun -dation (which also took home the People’s Choiceaward) and a 1934 Packard V12 Sport Phaetonwith body by Dietrich, belonging to Ray Scherr.

This Auburn 851SC Boattail Speedster from theChicago Auto Salon in 1935 was the RM Auctiontop earner, at $462,000. A 2005 Ford GT, provided byFord Motor Company, was sold to benefit juvenilediabetes, raising a cool $187,000 for the group.

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