Forest Grove Concourse d'Elegance

Usually I write about electric cars, but this post is just for the love of cars. Over the weekend, I attended the Forest Grove Concourse d'Elegance. Forest Grove is a small town in Oregon with a Rotary Club that has raised $1 million for charity and scholarships by putting on this show for 40 straight years. I was quite impressed. This is no Pebble Beach Concourse d'Elegance, but it sure has a lot of wonderful cars to admire. Let me tell you about a few of them.

The Star of the Show -- This 1952 Mercedes-Benz W194 300SL won LeMans. It was the first German racer to win at LeMans and became the inspiration for the Mercedes Gullwing and SL cars for decades to come. It was fantastic to see such a historic vehicle. This was the car they put on all the t-shirts and was an appropriate car given the show featured many Mercedes-Benz collector autos.

My personal favorite -- One of the most beautiful cars ever made, the Jaguar XK140. The XK120 is more famous because it is the 1st XK model that many desired after World War II, but I think the XK 140 (as seen to the right) is the very best. This 1955 entry was superbly restored and won its class at the Concourse d'Elegance. In fact, it was one of the four finalists for the "best of show" award. The sloping wheel wells and signature Jaguar touches make this a must see. I was told the Jaguar engineers worked nights during the war to create the 6 cylinder engine that makes the car purr.

The Big Healy -- The Austin Healy 3000 is often referred to as the "big" Healy when compared to the tiny Austin Healy Sprite. This is another of the most desirable British cars of the '50s and '60s. I really like the 2-tone paint on this 1961 car. You can see some of the influence from the Jaguar XK140 from the side. I don't have a picture of it, but a 1953 Allard won this class. The Allard is one of the British cars shipped to America without an engine. The dealer would add the engine, and the winning Allard had a Cadillac V8 installed. It must really move!

1959 MG MGA -- Another superb British car. You may notice by now that I am a fan of the British car. I think they look great and they are so fun to drive. This MGA was superbly restored down to each and every bolt. The luggage rack on the back of the car was a nice touch. The picture came out way too dark, but you can get the feel for the pearl blue color that graced this father/son restoration project.

This 1967 MGB won it class -- I had to have a picture of this car since I owned a 1967 MGB-GT in high school and college. Mine was the GT coupe model. It was a fun to drive car. However, I didn't have the money to deal with the many repairs the car required so there were times I cursed the car for falling apart. But I have fond memories of driving it.

1962 Mercedes-Benz 190SL -- A superb car. Great styling with great German engineering. Today I own a 1999 Mercedes-Benz SLK to enjoy the top-down feel of a well-built German automobile. I think the SLs, like this one, from the '60s are the most magnificent.

American Beauty -- This 1957 Chevrolet Corvette is a real head turner. Again the two-tone paint, much like the "Big Healy" above, really catches the eye. Some say this Corvette was a response to the popularity of the Jaguar XK120 which took America by storm. This Chevy was so successful it launched generations upon generations of Corvettes. The winner of this class was a 1964 Corvette with a huge 454 V8 engine.

The People's Choice -- While I voted the the Jaguar XK140 for the "People's Choice" Award, the winner was this 1930 International. We like our pickups here in the great state of Oregon. The restoration work on this car was stellar. The wood box was wonderfully done and the red frame and wheels are real attention getters.

I so enjoyed my trip to the 40th annual Forest Grove Concourse d'Elegance, that I hope to make it an annual event. My pictures covered a small portion of this 300 car event. You can find out much more at  the official website.