EyesOn Design, the annual concours-style show at the Edsel and Eleanor Ford home on Lake St. Clair near Detroit, was among the victims of the coronavirus pandemic this year, though organizers did stage a driving tour instead.
That tour was so successful that another is planned for September 13, which is Grandparent’s Day.
“Any vehicle is welcome to join the with-regular-traffic drive along Lake St. Clair in Grosse Pointe from 2:00-4:00pm,” the announcement notes, “and spectators are encouraged to watch for the sight of beautiful cars between Provencal and the Ford House.”
The event, which benefits the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology, is open to 250 vehicles, which will be photographed in front of the Ford mansion and where they also will be judged by a panel of working car designers from Detroit’s Big 3 as well as Magna, a major automotive supplier.
For details, visit the event website.
Another car show goes virtual
A year ago, the Stahl’s Auto Collection in Michigan staged its inaugural “Autos for Autism” car show in its parking lot to benefit the Ted Lindsay Foundation. This year the event will be an “In Your Garage” showcase featuring 100 cars on the collection’s Facebook page and a series of daily prizes for car owners.
The top-10 cars will be invited to the museum for filming in conjunction with the Under the Radar Michigan television show. For entry details, visit the collection website.
Texas mansion celebrates centennial
The Astin Mansion in Bryan, Texas, celebrates its centennial in October and festivities will include a car show October 17 featuring vehicles produced since 1920.
Plans call for cars to be parked on the mansion’s front and back lawns, with visitors walking through the mansion in between. For details, visit the event’s Facebook page.
Wait ’til next year
That cry, once made popular by fans of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team, has been repeated often this year as car shows and concours are postponed until 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Now that includes the monthly car shows in Jackson, Michigan, where I used to live and edit the daily newspaper’s sports section.
The Jackson Downtown Development Authority has announced cancelation of its fourth Friday car shows for the rest of this year. The plan is to resume the shows in May 2021.
Jackson once was the home to various automakers, including Jackson, Jaxon and even Buick (until Billy Durant moved that company to Flint). Lloyd Ganton displays cars made in Jackson as his Ye Ole Carriage Shop museum in nearby Spring Arbor and the Hackett Auto Museum has been established in the former Hackett Motor Car Co. assembly building in Jackson.
Barber Vintage Festival canceled
Another victim of the pandemic is the annual Barber Vintage Festival in Birmingham, Alabama. The event was scheduled for October 9-11.
While the festival was canceled, Bonhams still plans to stage its motorcycle auction on October 10, and the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum remains open to visitors.
Motorcycles to be featured at Salon Prive
While the Barber festival won’t take place this fall, Britain’s Salon Prive concours plans to feature two-wheelers, new and old, from September 23-26 on the lawns of Blenheim Palace.
The event will celebrate the 75th anniversary of MV Agusta will present several rare Ducatis, and will launch both Langen Motorcycles and the Eisenberg V8 motorcycle.
Sand show joins Off-Road Expo
Organizers of the Sand Sports Super Show, originally scheduled for Costa Mesa, California, say they’ll move their event to October 17-18 and to WestWorld of Scottsdale, Arizona, to run concurrently with the Off-Road Expo.
Fall car-show calendar
To share news of your local car shows and cruises, email larrye@classiccars.com.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the fall car-show and concours calendar continues to evolve. Here’s the updated schedule, based on official announcements but subject to change, as of August 25, 2020:
August 27-30 — Corvettes at Carlisle, Fountain Valley concours (California), Taste of Motorsports (Oregon)
September 4-7 (Labor Day weekend) — Greenbrier Concours d’Elegance, Lime Rock Historic Festival, Groesbeck Grand Prix Festival of Motoring (Texas), Crescent Beach Concours d’Elegance, Royal Concours of Elegance (England)
September 11-13 — AAA Glidden Tour (Sarasota Springs, New York), Vail Classic, Wisconsin Dells Automotion, EyesOn driving tour (Detroit)
September 18-20 — New York City Concours, LaJolla Concours d’Elegance, Street Rod Nationals Northeast (Vermont), Arizona FuelFest, Balfour Car Show (Denver), Holley MOPARty (Bowling Green, Kentucky)
September 23-27 — Salon Prive (England), Telluride Festival, Ironstone Concours d’Elegance (California), St. Michaels Concours d’Elegance (Maryland), Goodguys Lone Star Nationals (Texas), Catskill Conquest Rally (New York)
October 2-4 — Fall Carlisle, Street Rod Nationals South (Knoxville, Tennessee), Goodguys Del Mar Nationals (California), Jagstravaganza Concours (California), Holley Ford Intergalactic Festival (Bowling Green, Kentucky)
October 9-11 — Zoute Grand Prix and Concours (Belgium), AACA Eastern Fall Nationals (car show only), Chico Concours d’Elegance (California)
October 16-18 — Goodwood Speed Week, Keels & Wheels, Lake Mirror Concours d’Elegance (Florida), Mid-American Street Rod Nationals (Missouri), Off-Road Expo and Sand Sports Super Show (Arizona)
October 19-23 — AACA Central Divisional Tour (Oklahoma), Astin Mansion car show (Texas)
October 23-25 — Japanese Classic (Long Beach, California), Charlotte Auto Fair
October 30-November 1 — Copperstate 1000 vintage rally car show, Western Street Rod Nationals (Bakersfield, California)
