Jul 9, 2007

Concours continues driving tradition

By Janet Duca Norton / Society Columnist

The 41st annual Palo Alto Concours d'Elegance was "the best ever in the history of the show," said Concours Executive Director Gil Gilfix.

The June 24 Palo Alto Lions Club car extravaganza had it all: great cars, big crowds and perfect weather. The show, displaying 378 American and European classic cars, marked the 37th year of the successful partnership with Stanford University.

In honor of the luxury car's 60th anniversary, Ferrari was the European marque. The record-setting 104 Ferraris on display, described by Gilfix as a "field of red," included models spanning the years from 1952 to 2006.

The Cord, the 1930s luxury car synonymous with the Art Deco era, was the featured American marque with 9 cars, 7 companion Auburns and a Dusenberg.

Special exhibits consisted of 30 travel trailers, 18 tractors, a "Gallery of the Greats" collection featuring 12 hot rods, exotic supercars and nine memory lane classic toys, including bicycles and go-karts.

When the Concours began, it featured 100 cars, and is now nationally recognized as one of the largest shows in Northern California.

The Concours exceeded its goal, raising $100,000 for Lions' charities. In its 41-year history, the show has raised more than $2 million for 25 local charities, some of which include Jeanne Weingarten School of the Deaf, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Lions Eye Foundation and Lions Hearing Foundation of California, and also funds a four-year athletic scholarship (in association with the Stanford Buck Club).

For exhibitors, Concours is a weekend that starts with a Saturday drive and ends with lunch and a tour of the Candy Store car museum in Burlingame. About 50 cars, ranging from new Ferraris to vintage models, departed from the Stanford Shopping Center for a challenging 50-mile drive.

The Concours furnished honorary judges with high-performance cars for the drive. Honorary judge Ray Purpur had fun driving a 2008 Audi TT convertible, while Union Bank sponsor Terry Negendank tried out a 2008 Porsche Boxter.

A hot auction prize was the "Indy experience," which gave the highest bidder the opportunity to ride in a two-passenger Indy car at racing speed on the Infineon Raceway track.

The sold-out Concours dinner at the Stanford Faculty Club attracted 300 Lions, exhibitors, honorary judges and friends. Once again, the evening's highlight was the exhibit of special cars that were candidates for the Patrons' Choice Award. The cars included a 1937 Cord Phaeton, owned by honorary judge Sid Colberg; a completely restored 1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS, owned by Conrad Stevenson and Geri Schaff; and a 1932 Ford Roadster, "Seduced," owned by father-son duo and first-time exhibitors Paul and Erik Hansen.

Kevin Enderby said he grew up with his 1929 Ford Model A and took his driver's test in it. He purchased the car from his dad and spent 3 1/2 years restoring it, doing most of the work himself, and chose to enter it in the evening's competition. Enderby displayed three Ferraris in the Concours and won first in class for his red 1984 Ferrari 308 GTS.

Ken Tibbut received the Patrons' Choice Trophy for his 1932 German Ford V8 Victoria Convertible. Some of the honorary judges casting votes were Martin Swig, Candy Store board member Joe Brilando, former chairman of the Pebble Beach Concours J. Heumann, automobile photographer Ron Kimball, Motor Trend magazine's Matt Stone, honorary judge chairman Purpur and his wife Terrie, and Terry and Paula Negendank. Also casting ballots were Larry and Carolyn Gibb, Chuck and Sandy Perry, Phil Roussey (representing sponsor Bell Micro) and Executive Director Gilfix and his wife Vicki.

Interesting stories accompany each car and owner, and first-time exhibitor Fran Cochran was no exception. She showed her turquoise 1961 Ford Thunderbird, which has been in her family for five generations.

Cochran's great-granduncle purchased the car for his 63-year-old niece, Cochran's grandmother, Nina Sohlberg-Fry. Nina drove her uncle around their hometown of Lindsborg, Kan., and kept the car until her death. It then became the family car for Cochran's mother, sister and herself until 1984, when it was sold to a local auto parts dealer. Cochran, who learned to drive using this car, was able to repurchase the heirloom 20 years later, and brought it home to Menlo Park where she once again shares it with her sister and nephew. Cochran received the George Paddleford Trophy for the most interesting postwar American-manufactured car. The win was sweet, despite the program mistakenly listing the owner as Frank Cochran.

Each year a red car has won the Stanford Cup, and judge Purpur continued the tradition. William Brooks of Santa Cruz took home the prize for his 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 Cabriolet. The honorary judges trophy (deemed "The car I would most like to drive home" by the judges) went to collector Larry Carter for his blue 1967 Ferrari 275 GTS/4 NART Spyder. Woodside collectors Bob and Ellen Cole's black-and-yellow 1952 Ferrari 212 Inter, "Bumble Bee," received the Spirit of Mille Trophy.

The grandson of Cord founder William Cord Hummel was the surprise presenter of the Cord awards. Former Los Altos Hills mayor Steve Finn received second in class for his 1935 Auburn Boat Tail Speedster.

Janet Duca Norton's society column appears every Sunday in the Daily News. Send event information to society@paloaltodailynews.com or call 650-327-9090, ext. 334.