The Museum On The Grass
When my father and I arrived at the first of two days of Greenwich, American day, I knew this weekend would be better than the twenty-five days of Christmas. We started the day off by helping the one and only flying car, the Terrafugia, position it’s self so it could stretch its wings. While I steered the proto type my father and Carl, the founder of Terrafugia, pushed it. Then my father and I headed to the judges building to pick our judging classes and attend a brief meeting. This meeting was run by Paul Sable, Bruce Wennerstrom and Wayne Carini. After the meeting, I ditched my father to be with my own group of judges, Bob Austin and John Russell. Shortly after, we walked outside to catch another glimpse of the vast majority of American muscle and classic cars. We judged about eight cars. I really liked the 1913 Pope-Hartford, which was a suitable bright orange! A couple other cars that I really enjoyed were the 1930 Packard 733 coupe and the 1915 Dodge-Brothers Five-Passenger touring. This five-passenger car was displayed with a complete package of periodic items such as a picnic with period style food, and people doing a classic 1915 two-step dance! Another cool car was the 1914 Detroit Electric which was designed for women who couldn’t start a gas powered car! The really unique part of this car is in the interior design, which looks more like a living room than the interior of a car! The driver sat in the back left-hand corner while the passengers sat in the front, facing the driver! The field was packed with many, many Cadillac’s and Mercedes-Benz’s, including a legendary Gull-Wing!
After many of the gorgeous cars rolled by to collect their awards, the moment everyone was waiting for finally came, Best in Show. This year it happened to be a 1935 Duesenberg SJ562 owned by Sonny Abagnale! This car had an exquisitely beautiful beige leather trunk in the rear to match the beige top and pin striping! The coolest feature of this classic was definitely how the running-lights moved as you steer it, aiming to the direction you will be traveling!
I knew European day always has significantly more cars and people than American day, because the cars are much smaller, making it easier to display many more cars on the field. For the judges, this is not such a good thing. More cars mean you only spend a limited amount of time with each owner and their baby.
When we woke up and finished breakfast, we headed to arch street, where I ditched my father for a second day in a row to be with Bob Austin and John Russell. After a quick judges meeting, we went to the field to get going. We were to judge some gorgeous cars, such as a beautiful 1935 Rolls Royce 20\25 with every original tool it came with, and gorgeous pin striping! We also go the opportunity to judge some beautiful Aston Martins and some elegant Jaguars!
After we finished judging, Charles Wild, a fellow judge and friend of mine, and I put on a youth judging program. We took some kids around for a judging experience. This consisted of four different cars, a Spiker, a Saab, a German police Porsche and a Ferrari. It was fun to see the excitement in the kids while we were teaching them how to critique a car’s paint, interior, and body work! We then gathered around to tally the children’s votes. The Ferrari was the clear winner!
All of a sudden, the music got louder and random people emerged from the audience, and then started singing and dancing! They put on a great flash mob! Then as fast as they appeared, they vanished back into the unsuspecting crowd! Genia Wennerstrom would be proud to have been part of this first annual Greenwich tradition!
During the awards ceremony my eyes laid upon a rare, 1 of 8, 1957 Volga, which was a normal commuter by day but a racer by night! This car also had a lot of unique features which gave it an edge in racing. The headlights were located behind the grill for maximum aerodynamics, and the spare tire, which was located in the rear, acted as the rear bumper to reduce weight! After most of the awards were collected, I realized, this year had a first. This year the People’s Choice wasn’t a car, but a motorcycle, a Ducati. Never in the 19 years of Greenwich, has there been a motorcycle that won people’s choice! The Best in Show was a 6000 pound Belgian 1930 Minerva owned by Joseph Cassini III. With 125hp under a never ending hood, this Minerva is the only one to exist in the world. I could tell the crowds eyes, including mine, were feasting on the beauty of this classic! Then I decided to head to the auction tent to see what was going on, where I found my good buddy Wayne Carini making another episode of Chasing Classic Cars!
As I stated in the beginning, the two days of Greenwich would be better than the twenty five days of Christmas… Well, I was right. It was!
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About The Author
Christopher DeMarey
When I was just seven years old I started judging at the world-renowned Greenwich Concours d’Elegance. Since then I have become a regular contributing author to the Classic Car Club of America New England Region magazine and I have been published nationally on multiple occasions. I am now fifteen and on the board of advisors for the Classic Car Club of America NER. From Amelia Island to the Boston Cup I have attended many car shows, tours and events along with helping in the process of planning the Classic New England CARavan for this coming September. I look forward to one day owning my very own classic and I hope to enter my vehicle in one of the various events I have attended throughout my childhood. E-mail - chris@demarey.net