4th Annual Art of the Car Concours® dazzles audiences in Kansas

4th Annual Art of the Car Concours® dazzles
audiences in Kansas City, Mo.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Beautiful automobiles, motorcycles, race cars and trucks
arrayed in a beautiful setting, and all for
a good cause — this sums up the Art of
the Car Concours®, which took place
June 27, 2010, on the tree-shaded
no classes of vehicles. The intention is
to provide a wide range of very high
quality original vintage vehicles in an
eclectic, informal setting without the
pressure of traditional Concours events.
Thirty awards are determined by Con-
returned from France after negotiating
the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, this new
Pierce-Arrow limousine awaited him at
the dock in New York to take him back
to Washington. Wilson favored this
automobile so much that when he left
office his friends purchased it for him to
use. Wilson’s widow, Edith Bolling Galt
Wilson, eventually gifted the vehicle
to the Woodrow Wilson Presidential
Library and Museum.
Also featured at the 2010 Art of the
Car Concours® in Kansas City was the
Bobby Darin DiDia 150 “Dream Car,”
a one-of-a-kind custom car designed
for the singer in 1953 and completed in
1960. The car is part of the automobile
collection at the St. Louis Transportation Museum. Two other featured vehicles were the 1939 Mercedes Benz 540
K in the Kemp Auto Museum collection
and the 1969 Fascination Prototype,
owned by Keith and Eileen Carpenter.
Above: Crowds mill around the green KCAI campus while enjoying the approximately 200 vintage vehicles on display at the
fourth annual Art of the Car Concours®, which attracted more than 3,800 attendees. Proceeds benefited the college’s student
scholarship fund. Below right: President Woodrow Wilson’s 1919 Pierce-Arrow Limousine, owned by the Woodrow Wilson
Presidential Library in Staunton, Va., won the “Most Exceptional Car” award from Chubb Personal Insurance.
15-acre campus of the Kansas City Art
Institute, a four-year college of art and
design. The event, which raises money
for college scholarships at KCAI, is the
largest by-invitation-only vintage vehicle
show in Mid-America, attracting approximately 200 exhibitors and thousands of spectators each year. The 5th
Annual Art of the Car Concours® is set
for June 26, 2011. A number of special
vehicles already have been committed to
the show.
The Concours is unique for its size and
scale in having no formal judging and
cours sponsors and guests, including the
popular “People’s Choice Awards.” A
hallmark of the Kansas City Concours
is the tradition of presenting awards
created by Kansas City Art Institute
students or alumni.
A standout attraction in 2010 was President Woodrow Wilson’s 1919 Pierce-Arrow Limousine. The vehicle, which has
been restored, is owned by the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and
Museum in Staunton, Va., and has been
exhibited at the Pebble Beach Concours
d’Elegance. When Woodrow Wilson
The five “People’s Choice” winners —
selected by ballots distributed to event
attendees — received awards in the
form of fine-art ceramic dashboards.
The top five vote-getters, in order, were
Gerald Manning’s 1925 Kissel 875
Goldbug Speedster; the St. Louis Museum of Transportation’s 1960 Bobby
Darin DiDia 150 (the “Dream Car”);
Robert Pass’s 1950 Talbot Lago T-26
Manning, 1925 Kissel 875 Goldbug
Speedster.
Commerce Bank
“The Car We Would Most Like to
Finance”: Robert and Sandra Coleman,
1936 Cord 810 Supercharged Phaeton.
Chubb Personal Insurance
“Most Exceptional Car”: Woodrow
Wilson Library / Don Wilson, 1919
Pierce-Arrow Woodrow Wilson Presidential Limousine.
Above: Bobby Darin’s DiDia 150, owned by the St. Louis Transportation Museum, was a star attraction at this year’s concours,
winning second place in the People’s Choice awards as well as DeLaSalle Education Center’s “On Time Award ... For Innovation
and Design” award. Below: The sporty 1933 Studebaker Indy Race Car owned by August Grasis, picked up the Chairman’s
award.
Curves Ahead, LLC
“The Car We Would Most Like to Pick
Up and Keep”: Cooper Weeks, 1967
Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Coupe.
DeLaSalle Education Center
“The DeLaSalle ... On Time Award ...
For Innovation and Design”: St. Louis
Museum of Transportation, 1960 Bobby
Darin DiDia 150.
Grass Pad Inc.
“Best on Grass”: Rex Russell, 1911 Mercury Fairway Express.
Hagerty Insurance Agency Inc.
“The Car We Would Most Like to Have
a Claim From”: Kemp Auto Museum,
1939 Mercedes Benz 540 K
Cabriolet A.
Harley-Davidson Inc.
“Best in Show Classic Motorcycle”: Jim
and Joan Vandergriff, 1942 Triumph
3HW.
Grand Sport, Saoutchik Body; Everett
and Holly Moore’s 1960 Dodge Matador 2-Door Hardtop; and Mark Hyman’s 1912 Gobron-Brillie 12 CV.
Sponsor awards were presented to 25
exhibitors:
Aristocrat Motors/Mercedes-Benz-Jaguar-Maserati
“Best Imported Vehicle”: Robert Pass,
1950 Talbot Lago T-26 Grand Sport,
Saoutchik Body.
Baron Automotive/BMW-Mini Cooper
“Dealer’s Choice”: Reed & Susan
Whitaker, 1935 Auburn 851 Phaeton.
Baron Automotive/ BMW-Mini Cooper
“The One I Would Like to Drive
Home”: Jack and Penny Boyle, 1946
Chrysler Town and Country Convertible Coupe.
Branson Collector Car Auction
“Best Gatsby Era Car”: Gerald
Heritage Tow
“The Car We Would Most Like to
Tow”: Jack Kahler, 1930 MG 1212
Brooklands Boat Tail Racer.
Hyman, Ltd.
“Spirit of the Hobby”: Marshall Miller.
Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp. U.S.A.
“The Motorcycle We Would Love to
Build”: Gene Brown, 1938 Brough
Superior SS-80.
Meguiar’s Inc.
“The Car We Would Most Like to
Polish”: Keith and Eileen Carpenter,
1969 Fascination Prototype.
McPherson College
“McPherson College Students’ Choice”:
Jim Daniels, 1921 Daniels D-19
Landau Brougham.
Overland Park Jeep/Dodge/Chrysler
“Most Beautiful Color”: Tom Zeeff,
1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
Convertible.
Passport Transport
“The Director’s Choice”: Gene Brown,
1947 Indian Chief.
Thoroughbred Ford
“In the Winners Circle”: Carol Richardson and Steve Sheets, 1951 Ford
Woodie Station Wagon Country Squire
2-Door.
To cultivate interest in classic cars
among upcoming generations of fans
and collectors, young people attending
the 2010 Art of the Car Concours®
were invited to select their favorites in
Hagerty Insurance’s “Operation Ignite!” youth judging awards category.
For first place, young fans picked John
Bingham’s 1935 Chrysler C1 Airflow
4-Door Sedan. Second place went to
Carol Richardson and Steve Sheets
for their 1951 Ford Woodie Station
Wagon Country Squire 2-Door, and the
third-place award was given to Jon Root
for his 1932 Packard 903 Convertible
Coupe.
The awards presentation ceremonies
culminated with the presention of three
remaining Art of the Car Concours®
Awards. Marshall V. Miller, founder and
chairman of the Concours, presented
the Chairman’s Award to August Grasis
for his 1933 Studebaker Indy Race Car.
Above: This brilliant red 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Coupe, owned by Cooper Weeks, garnered admiration and envy from
passersby as well as "The Car We Would Most Like to Pick Up and Keep" award from Curves Ahead LLC.
The Leon Miller Award, named for
Miller’s late father, who shared his son’s
passion for classic cars, went to Victor
Jennings for his lifetime devotion to
collecting, driving and showing vintage
automobiles. Kathleen Collins, president of the Kansas City Art Institute,
presented the President’s Award to Jim
Sfetko, a retired business executive and
vehicle enthusiast who has worked tirelessly as a volunteer organizer of the Art
of the Car Concours® since its inception in 2006.
Underwriting for the event is provided
by numerous sponsors and from Miller,
who with his wife, Janet, is a longtime
supporter of KCAI. In 2010, the event
raised nearly $100,000 for student
scholarships at the college, which was
founded in 1885 and has been celebrating its 125th anniversary throughout
the year.
“In four years the Concours has grown
to the largest invitation-only event in
Mid-America for high-quality original
vehicles of a wide variety,” Miller said.
“As a result, exhibitors, sponsors and
visitors from around the country travel
to Kansas City for the Concours. We
especially encourage multi-generations
of families to attend, as that is how I
started my interest.”
The Kansas City Art Institute is a
private, independent, four-year college of art and design, awarding the
bachelor of fine arts degree with majors
in animation, art history, ceramics,
digital filmmaking, digital media, fiber,
graphic design, illustration, painting,
photography, printmaking, sculpture
and studio art with an emphasis on
creative writing. The college also offers
evening, weekend and summer classes
in art, design, multimedia studies and
desktop publishing for children, youth
and adults. Founded in 1885, KCAI is
Kansas City’s oldest arts organization.
More information about the Art of the
Car Concours® is available at www.
artofthecarconcours.com.
For more information or to contact the
author, call 816-802-3426 or e-mail
[email protected].