Enlighten the Crowd…

I just got back from the Hilton Head Island Concours where I had the honor of being a Guest Judge in the postwar Motorcycle category. The other weekend task they asked for my assistance on was to give a guided tour of a “Life in the Suburbs” exhibit, which featured vehicles that post war Americans living in the Burbs encountered on a daily basis. (The entire display was sponsored by GMC, which brought out their perfectly-restored 1951 Suburban ‘Canopy Express’ fruit vendor truck.) Of the whole Concours weekend there was only one, true period Hot Rod on display, and it was only at the ‘Suburbs’ exhibit, but boy it was a good one: A full-fender, elegant 1932 Ford 3 window coupe, which the elderly gentleman had owned and modified starting in the early 50s. It was still complete with the original frame and sheetmetal, sporting a ’37 Flattie tastefully modified with vintage speed equipment. At this point I let the owner step in and explain to the crowd how he built the car 65 years ago, and why hot rods were so popular after the war. In that moment it struck me- We need more period hot rods (and hopefully their original owners) at Concours and more general auto shows around the country; Places that non-car people will actually look at cars. It felt like this crowd (of various men, women & children) were getting it- Understanding that the hot rod was a critical piece of post war American culture, shattering speed records and having influence on Detroit’s design and engineering for many years. People who came to see Delahayes and Duesenbergs walked away a bit enlighten about what we’ve known and loved for years.