Today we open with a different sort of car show. This isn’t a show you drive to attend. You attend this show right in your own home, by going to YouTube.com and working your way through John Wise’s video travelogue as he travels Route 66 from Chicago to LA.
As Ron Warnick alerts us on the Route 66 News website, YouTuber John Wise “tries to visit everywhere in the world and drink every flavor of slushie.”
Warnick notes that Wise completed his Route 66 drive recently, and his video series not only provides a glimpse, sometimes very fleeting glimpse, of every town along the way, but includes him backtracking at times to cover alternative routes the Mother Road followed through the years.
I write this after watching the first of the nine videos — there’s one for each state and another featuring nearly four minutes of drone footage — but I plan to take time soon to watch the others.
Wise’s 3-day drive through Illinois is condensed into 18 minutes of video and includes 59 communities, many roadside attractions, and some drone footage of such things as an original bridge no longer open to vehicular traffic.
I grew up about 1½ miles from one of the old Route 66 alignments in Illinois and particularly enjoyed Wise’s inclusion of the White Fence Farm restaurant, Lake Renwick (where we used to sneak in to go fishing), and the Old Joliet prison (where my grandfather was the warden) in the pre-Blues Brothers era.
Hilton Head announces featured classes
The Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance, scheduled for November 5-7 in South Carolina, has announced its featured classes for 2021. There will be three separate classes for honored marque Stutz, including Bearcats from 1911-1925, 8-cylinder open cars from 1926-1935 and 8-cylinder closed cars from 1926-1935.
There will be an Anniversary Classes of Duesenberg 100 years, “Little Brothers – American Compacts 60 Years,” Jaguar E-Type 60 Years, Jaguar E-Type 12 Cylinders 50 Years, an Automotive Beginnings class of Brass Era cars to 1922, an Electric Evolution class, and special classes featuring Micro and Mini cars.
In addition to such standard classes as Open 1923-1932, American Performance, etc., the concours will feature three classes of future classics — one of European sports cars post-1973, one of homologation specials and another as part of the Driving Young America program.
For more information, visit the concours website.
Glory days revisited at Shelsley Walsh
Shelsley Walsh, the British hill climb venue first used in 1905, and in continuous use since, will host a Classic Nostalgia event July 17-18 that will celebrate “the glory days of motorsport” with a classic and sports car concours d’elegance, a showcase of Formula 1 and Can-Am racing cars, and a group of cars driven by rally stars Richard Burns and Colin McRae.
Also planned are races up the hill climb course, car-club gatherings, live music and a swap meet, and visitors are encouraged to wear period attire.
For details, visit the Shelsley Walsh website.
Auto Royale adds Maharaja Cars class
Auto Royale, the “Modern, new take on the traditional concours d’elegance,” drew attention with its recent announcement of a featured class for women-owned cars. Now it follows up with a statement that another featured grouping July 16-18 at Waddesdon Manor will be The Maharaja Cars, a class that “will celebrate the epitome of colonial elegance with a hand-picked selection of 10 incredible automobiles, some of which will be taking the long trip from India for the very first time.”
“In the first half of the 20th century, wealthy Indian regional rulers competed with each other to acquire some of the finest automobiles of the time, resulting in opulent collections which ranged from the exotic to eccentric,” Auto Royale organizers said. “While those Maharajas might have lost their official powers when India gained its independence in 1947, the glorious vehicles that marked the days of the Raj have achieved royal status in the concours world, and have been celebrated at events from California to Paris.”
Auto Royale also announced general admission tickets to be priced at £48 ($67).
2021 car show and concours calendar
The following are dates currently set (but subject to change) for a variety of concours d’elegance, car shows and driving tours scheduled during 2021:
March
24-27 – Ponies in the Smokies, Sevierville, Tennessee; 27-April 4 – Easter Jeep Safari, Moab, Utah
April
2-4 – Mustang Club of America, Braselton, Georgia; 8-11, Charlotte AutoFair, North Carolina; 9-11, Goodguys at Scottsdale, Arizona; 10 – Meadowbrook Park, Prairie Village, Kansas; 19-22, AACA Southeastern Division Chain of Lakes Tour, Florida; 21-25 – Spring Carlisle, Pennsylvania; 23-25 – Goodguys North Carolina Nationals, Raleigh; Derbuy GT tour, Belgium; 24 — Caroline Cruise, Kannapolis to Concord, North Carolina; 25 – Simply Aston Martin, Beaulieu, UK; 30-May 1, Darryl Starbird’s National Rod & Custom Show, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
May
1 – Big Displacement Showcase, Seal Cove, Maine; McPherson College CARS Club, Kansas; 9 – Mother’s Day, KC Auto Museum, Olathe; 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; 21-23 – Goodguys Salt Lake Nationals, Utah; 23 – Simply Electric, Beaulieu, UK; 28-30 – Goodguys Nashville Nationals, Tennessee
Have an event to add? Email details to [email protected].
How I love these retro cars..they are something like pieces of art!