Geneva car show forum for elegance
"Anything in your back pockets?" John Roberts of Winnetka asked as he invited young children to sit on the leather front seat of his 1910 Packard.
"Don't touch anything gold," he warned them.
Parents snapped photographs while the youngsters sounded the classic automobile's horn, and Roberts explained that touching the ornate brass work on the car would cause tarnishing.
Roberts' Packard was one of more than 150 vintage automobiles that attracted a large crowd to downtown Geneva Sunday for the Geneva Concours d'Elegance car show, featuring dream machines in pristine condition.
Some of the most legendary creations on four wheels were on display, including numerous examples from Porsche, Ferrari, Cadillac, Mercedes Benz and Duesenberg, many looking like the glamorous vehicles people usually see only in the movies.
Other cars were more contemporary, but no less classic or rare.
Michael Martin of Batavia showed off his 1970 Oldsmobile 442 W-30, one of only about 1,000 manufactured.
Martin and his father bought the car about 15 years ago and put the gold-colored muscle car through a complete restoration.
"Every bolt has come out of it," Martin said.
Any replacement parts Martin used in his car were "NOS," or "new old stock," meaning original spare parts that had had never been used before.
Like Martin, Brian McCarthy of LaGrange had put up the hood to his British-made 1963 Triumph Spitfire. Visitors to the show admired the car's clean engine.
McCarthy bought the sporty convertible in 1973 for $60. He started to restore the car but lost interest, and left it in a garage, never even taking it out for a drive.
"In 2003, I decided to finish what I had started," McCarthy said. Two years later he had completed the job.
"Having a car like this makes you put things in perspective," McCarthy said, noting that the vehicle has no amenities like power windows. "It makes you sit back and just enjoy the feeling of driving."
McCarthy proudly displayed an original document for the car, showing that it had been shipped to the United States from the English port of Liverpool.
When Arthur Swanson of Hampshire brought home a beat-up 1942 Cadillac on a trailer, his wife, Marge, was not very pleased.
"I wanted to kill him," Marge said. But now, the completely restored car has grown on her, and the couple enjoys showing it off together.
"Now he says, 'I told you so,'" she said.
Arthur Swanson determined that the car was manufactured in October of 1941, just a few weeks before America's entry into World War II. Therefore, the car features a stunning array of chrome work that is not found on other 1942 Cadillacs.
Bob and Jan Vanlten of Naperville were showing off their 1934 Pontiac Cabriolet Straight 8, one of about a dozen vintage cars in their collection.
The convertible with a rumble seat retailed for $985 when it rolled off the assembly line in 1934, Bob Vanlten said. The car features classic art deco lines.
"Style was the big thing," Bob Vanlten said. "I like the rare ones."
Sunday's event was the third annual showing for Concours d'Elegance. On Saturday, show participants attended a $200-a-plate formal dinner to raise money for the American Diabetes Association.