Elegance Reigns Supreme at the Concours d’Elegance
July 22nd, 2009 by Sylke Neal-Finnegan
Photo courtesy of Paul Luffburrow (c) 2007
I fell in love at the annual Concours d’Elegance , which was held last Sunday on the Pacific University campus in Forest Grove. The objects of my affection were the beautifully restored cars representing the many eras of automobile history, from the refined elegance and timeless classic cars from the 1930s and fun convertibles from the 1950s to the cool sophistication of sports cars from the 1960s and beyond.
And, yes, there were the “muscle” cars, much to the delight of the thousands who gathered to see the hundreds of classic cars on display. I laughed when I caught a glimpse of the 70s- and 80s-era cars, such as the Chevy Camaro, and Trans-Am, both of which bring to mind the long hair, mullets and denim cut-off shorts of yesteryear. If only the Concours had an AMC Pacer or Gremlin, then my trip to the memory lane would have been complete.
But the Concours is all about elegance, and my favorite car at the show was the BMW Isetta, a mini-car reminiscent of stylish 1950s Europe. This nifty little car, which looks like a big bubble, reminded me of a toy car, complete with seating for two very small people, the only door being the front of the “bubble,” and an escape hatch, er, I mean sunroof on top. A passerby commented that he once saw a Sophia Loren flick with her exiting an Isetta. If it is classy enough for Sophia Loren, then, certainly, it must have been a pretty cool car back in the day.
My daughter and I had a ball at the “exotic used car lot,” where dozens of classic cars were on sale to interested buyers. As expected, there were plenty of 60s-era Ford Mustangs, Mercedes from the 1980s (in the requisite muddy brown color that was ever so popular at the time) and even a muscle car or two; however, two cars caught our eyes, attention and laughter: an AMC Delorean (best known as the time-traveling car in the film “Back to the Future”) and a 1950-something Ford pick-up truck my daughter and I lovingly called the “Sanford and Son” truck.
Before we left, we couldn’t help but notice a BMW Isetta on the used car lot. The owner was asking $15,000 for this once-pristine vehicle, which, to my surprise, gets 60-80 miles per gallon. For a brief moment, I imagined myself, a la Sophia Loren, glamorously driving around Washington County in an Isetta. Then I came back to my senses and hopped into my own version of Euro-coolness: my Volkswagon Rabbit.
Tags: car shows, cars, Concours d'Elegance, Events, Forest Grove
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