HomeNews and EventsLaguna’s loss is Motown’s gain: McGrane new CEO at M1 Concourse

Laguna’s loss is Motown’s gain: McGrane new CEO at M1 Concourse

Our weekly roundup of car show news and notes

-

Laguna Seca’s loss is the M1 Concourse’s gain with the up-and-coming Michigan motorsports and collector car center announcing Tim McGrane as its new chief executive, starting March 1. McGrane will be busy from Day 1 as he helps manage both the 2021 Motor Bella event that is replacing the annual Detroit international auto show and also the inaugural Woodward Dream Show and American Speed Festival.

Jordan Zlotoff is stepping away as the M1 Concourse CEO position he has held since development began in 2015 to convert the former site of a General Motors assembly plant into what has become the largest private garage community in the world, with more than 170 garage condos and 1.5-mile performance test track on the famed Woodward Avenue in Pontiac, Michigan.

“I am extremely proud of how far we have come,” Zlotoff is quoted in the facility’s news release. “While it is difficult to step down from my official capacity as CEO, I am confident that new leadership will continue the incredible growth of our organization and leverage the passion of our Motorsports community.” 

Tim McGrane

Zlotoff will continue as an ownership partner and informal advisor to the facility.

McGrane arrives with a lifetime of automotive and event experience. He has been an executive with the Rick Cole and Barrett-Jackson auction companies, president of Events International, vice president for special events for Robb Report, executive director of the Blackhawk museum, and chief executive of Laguna Seca Raceway. He also has been involved with the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and a variety of other automotive events.

“We have a unique opportunity to host the 2021 Motor Bella event and bring the eyes of the automotive world to M1 Concourse,” said McGrane, who is widely respected and liked within the global collector car and motorsports communities.

Muscle cars at Amelia Island

Wellborn Musclecar Museum helping concours assembly special class | Museum photo

One of the special classes at the 26th Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance scheduled for May 23 near Jacksonville, Florida, is 1970 Muscle Cars. 

“The first wave of Baby Boomers was graduating from college, America was winning the Space Race and high-octane gasoline was cheap when the Pontiac GTO and its competition alerted America’s automakers to the possibilities of big profits through high performance,” the concours notes.

“The Big Three discovered that enthusiast cars lurked unseen beneath the skin of their regular model lineup. It’s a simple recipe: one midsize two-door coupe or sedan and a seriously large V8 engine. Then, all that was required were a few new paint codes, a few square yards of wild graphics and some home-grown brute force: something Motown had in spades.”

The concours reports that Tim and Pam Wellborn and their team at the Wellborn Musclecar Museum in Alexander City, Alabama, have helped assemble the showcase for the concours.

“For generations of American drivers the GTO, GSX, 442, Hemi Chargers, ‘Cudas and Superbirds — not Ferraris, Porsches or Lamborghinis — are still the ultimate fantasy cars,” said concours founder Bill Warner. “These are the cars that GIs stuck in Vietnam dreamed about and lusted after. 

“And the current collectable car market shows that. Muscle Cars are factory hot rods that put true high performance within the reach of many car buyers. Very democratic and very American.”

Forest Grove invites entries

With featured classes including Jaguar: 60 Years of the E-Type; British Anniversaries: 60 Years of the Triumph TR4, MG Midget and 50 Years of the Lotus Europa; Shelby: Cobra and Ford Years, 1961-1973; Ferrari Club of America Corral, the 48th Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance, scheduled for July 18 at Pacific University, has opened the application process for car owners. 

For details, visit the concours website.

Carlisle Events announces 2021 calendar

Carlisle Events has completed its first event of 2021, the indoor Auto Mania automotive flea market at the Carlisle Expo Center in Pennsylvania. Next the action moves outdoors with the Spring Carlisle showcase scheduled for April 21-25.

Also on the Carlisle car show calendar are:

* Carlisle Import & Performance Nationals, May 14-15, featuring a “big” Volvo celebration, 20 years of the Honda K-Series and 30 years of the Toyota 2JZ engine, as well as a special Opel Nationals meet and the 50th anniversary of the Opel Manta.

* Carlisle Ford Nationals, June 4-6, with the inaugural Comic-Car Con, Pinto’s 50th anniversary, a Stroppe Reunion and a celebration of the 1971-73 Big Horse Mustangs.

* Carlisle GM Nationals, June 25-26, with another Comic-Car Con, a Solid-Lifter Showcase, and the 50th anniversary of the Vega and H-Platform.

* Carlisle Chrysler Nationals, July 9-11, with a showcase of 1971-model-year vehicles, a feature involving “Dirty Birds” (derelict Superbirds), Chrysler Survivors, Demons and a celebration of “Old Skool” paint at least 40 years old.

* Carlisle Truck Nationals, August 6-8, featuring Big Rigs, vans, Cylcones, Typhoons and more.

* Corvettes at Carlisle, August 26-28, honoring the 1971 Corvette, a 25th reunion of the Grand Sport, the Solid Axle Corvette National Convention, and a special salute to law enforcement.

* Fall Carlisle, September 29-October 3, the 48th annual celebration of the automotive flea market that was Carlisle Events’ first event back in 1974.

Carlisle Events will be staged following current coronavirus guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control. For more information, visit the Carlisle Events website.

McCall’s Motorworks tickets on sale

McCall’s Motorworks Revival began as an unofficial kickoff party to what was once the Monterey Car Weekend. The 30th such event is scheduled for August 11 at the Monterey Jet Center and remains the must-attend soiree during what has become Monterey Car Week.

Tickets are not inexpensive, but the evening includes cars, aircraft, gourmet food and beverages, and should the virus continue to raise its ugly head, tickets will be refunded or applied to the following year.

VIP tickets are $450 each, Red Carpet treatment is $595 and there’s a $1,290 Superticket that includes both the Jet Center event and the fabulous food, beverages and amazing cars and other machines at The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering on August 13. 

For details, visit the McCall’s Events website.

Quail motorcycle event canceled for 2021

While putting tickets on sale for events during Monterey Car Week, McCall’s, Peninsula Signature Events and Quail Lodge have announced the cancelation of the The Quail Motorcycle Gathering and Ride, scheduled for May 14-15. 

Easter Jeep Safari back on for now

It appeared that the annual Easter Jeep Safari in Moab had been canceled for 2021 because of worries about the coronavirus pandemic, but the latest report on the Red Rock 4-Wheelers’ website is that the event most likely will take place, pending approval February 16 by the Grand County (Utah) commissioners.

The event was launched in 1967 by the Moab Chamber of Commerce, subsequently has been managed by the Red Rock 4-Wheelers Club, and has grown into a major off-roading event that features the unveiling of several concept and prototype vehicles by Jeep and Mopar.

Chattanooga Festival selects grand marshal

Corky Coker

In a move that likely results in responses such as “duh,” organizers of the Chattanooga Motorcar Festival have selected Joseph Coker as grand marshal for the event scheduled for October 16-18. 

Oh, we should mention that if you don’t know a Joseph Coker, you may know him as “Corky,” probably his second-favorite nickname after “Grandpa.”

Working with his father, Corky Coker made the family tire business, a BFGoodrich dealership, into Coker Tire, the global leader in producing vintage-looking tires for classic and collector cars. Though the family sold Coker Tire in 2018, it retains the Honest Charley Speed shop.

Seal Cove sets cars ’n’ coffee calendar

Virus permitting, the Seal Cove Auto Museum on Mount Desert Island in Maine, has set its 2021 cars and coffee show calendar: Big Displacement cars, May 1; Drop Top Showcase, June 12; Steam Day, July 10; and Import Showcase, July 24. 

Updated 2021 concours, car show calendar

In addition to the Carlisle Events schedule above, the following are dates currently set (but subject to change) for a variety of concours d’elegance, car shows and driving tours scheduled during the next few months of 2021:

February

13 – California Automobile Museum Docents car show, Sacramento; 20 – Winter Motoring Meet, Hickory Corners, Michigan

March

10-12, AACA Western Spring Nationals, Las Vegas; 12-13 – Goodguys Lone Star Nationals, Fort Worth; 13-14 – Taste of Motorsports, Chandler, Arizona

April

8-11 – Charlotte AutoFair, North Carolina; 9-11, Goodguys at Scottsdale, Arizona; 19-22, AACA Southeastern Division Chain of Lakes Tour, Florida; 21-25 – Spring Carlisle, Pennsylvania; 23-25 – Derbuy GT tour, Belgium; 25 – Simply Aston Martin, Beaulieu, UK; 30-May 1, Darryl Starbirds National Rod & Custom Show, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

May

1 – Big Displacement Showcase, Seal Cove, Maine; McPherson College CARS Club, Kansas; 9 – Simply Vauxhall, Beaulieu, UK; 14-15 – Carlisle Import & Performance Nationals, Pennsylvania; 15 – Vintage Travel Trailer Rally, Hickory Corners, Michigan; 15-16, Goodwood Members’ Meeting, UK: 16 – Simply Audi, Beaulieu, UK; 20-23 – Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, Amelia Island, Florida; AACA Founders Tour, Davis, West Virginia; 23 – Simply Electric, Beaulieu, UK

Have an event to add? Email details to journal@classiccars.com.

Larry Edsall
Larry Edsall
A former daily newspaper sports editor, Larry Edsall spent a dozen years as an editor at AutoWeek magazine before making the transition to writing for the web and becoming the author of more than 15 automotive books. In addition to being founding editor at ClassicCars.com, Larry has written for The New York Times and The Detroit News and was an adjunct honors professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Recent Posts

spot_img