Last year Charlie Goodman, car collector, former Mayor of Ross and a doer of many good works, decided to organize a Concours d’Elegance at the Marin County Civic Center.  Hospice by the Bay is the beneficiary.  This setting, with a grassy park and a lagoon surrounded by Marin hills and Frank Lloyd Wright’s design masterpiece, is an ideal car show site.

In its first year it was a big success, but nothing like the recent 2010 follow-up.  Many towns seek to have car shows, but most attract only very average, local cars.  In contrast, shows like Marin-Sonoma that are respected by collectors attract the best and most interesting cars.

A look at some of the winners:

Bob and Ellen Cole of Woodside brought their 1935 Bentley 3.5 coupe, a one-of-a-kind Bertelli-bodied Bentley that may be the most attractive enclosed body Bentley ever built.  This car received the Tom Price Award.  Tom, of Belvedere, is a noted car collector, historic racer, and owner of several Marin County new car dealerships.  Those dealerships are a major sponsor of the Marin-Sonoma Concours.  Tom has a very keen eye for beautiful cars, so to be the recipient of his award has real meaning.

John and Betty Fitzpatrick of Redding (and Russian Hill) were recognized with a First-in-Class for their 1958 Aston Martin DB 2-4 drophead.  John and Betty truly enjoy their cars.  They are often seen on tours in their Mercedes-Benz 300SL roadster, and John races a pre-war BMW 328 roadster.

The practice in Concours d’Elegance is to have a winner and two runners-up in each class.  From the class winners, an overall Best-in-Show is chosen.  In the case of Marin-Sonoma, we choose two bests: one in the sports/sporty car category, and one in the traditional car category.

Marin-Sonoma made history by choosing an unrestored car as the Concours d’Sport winner.  The Mallya Collection of Sausalito exhibited a 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder that, while well-preserved, was very evidently a car that had been used.  But it has never been restored.  The saying among car aficionados is “It can only be original once.”

The Concours d’Elegance winner contrasted nicely with the Porsche.  Aaron and Valerie Weiss brought their 1930 Cadillac V-16 roadster from San Marino (CA), finished in silver-gray over maroon.  This long-wheelbase roadster represents the very epitome of the American classic car era.  The Weiss car has been correctly and meticulously restored and deserved to win, even against stiff competition.

The Marin-Sonoma Concours d’Elegance, in only its second year, attracted a huge crowd, much to the benefit of Hospice by the Bay.  The presence of wood boats in the lagoon, and antique planes flying overhead only emphasized the romance of motors.

Two Collector Cars of Tomorrow

While some collectors close one eye to the costs of car collections, and might not actively seek price appreciation, others enjoy seeking out future collectibles whose value has not yet escalated.  Here are two, at very different price levels, that are significant:

At $50-60,000, or maybe less:  1992-2002 Bentley Continental R.  This is a big, beautiful, super-powerful (and thirsty) turbo V8.  Built in only 1,290 examples, sold new for around $300,000, you won’t find one on every corner.  The body shares nothing with contemporaneous Rolls-Royces or Bentleys.  The tasteful, could-only-be-British shape was the work of two of Britain’s best designers, John Heffernan and Ken Greenley.  While performance was almost in “supercar” territory, materials and refinement were as good as it gets.  Past Bentley Continentals, such as those from the early 1950s, have moved rapidly into six-figure price territory.  So, if you’re tempted by a later Continental, its value and desirability as a collector car are likely to increase.

At under $10,000, the Giorgetto Giugiaro-designed Subaru SVX is one of the most interesting Japanese cars ever.  It reached production almost unchanged from the “dream car” design study.  Like so many sought-after collector cars, it was not a sales success.  Its quality and style were unquestioned, but the Subaru brand name wasn’t quite ready at that time to support a relatively expensive car – even though a German brand name on an identical car could have easily been priced 50% higher.  SVX is a 230 hp flat-six, all-wheel drive, very high performance coupe.  Its lines are timeless, production was limited (by sales!).  All the ingredients for a successful collector car.