Concours d'Elegance takes over downtown Geneva streets

Three cranks of the flywheel, and Dave Shadduck's 1904 Cadillac sputtered to life Sunday in downtown Geneva.

The moment was met by cheers from a crowd gathered around the one-cylinder Model B, ranked the oldest antique car to compete in the sixth annual Concours d'Elegance fundraiser.

"It doesn't accelerate real fast," Shadduck of Kildeer said. "But if you were in the car with me at 30 mph, you'd ask me to slow down because it feels much faster."

About 170 vehicles participated in the invitation-only competition, which this year highlighted Cadillacs from the early 1900s to 2011 and raised money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Shadduck said his model was unique in that it has a rear-entrance door that predates parallel parking.

"They used to back up to the wooden sidewalk and let the women in from the rear entrance," he said.

The red, 8¼-horsepower car also is fully stocked with kerosene side lights, wicker storage baskets and an umbrella to fend off the elements.

Concours Director Patt Barrett of St. Charles said competitors were selected from a database of collector-car owners from across the Midwest and beyond. While most are there with hopes of winning one of the Concours' coveted Carl F. Benz trophies, she said, organizers focus on assembling an interesting cross-section of makes and models.

"If it's unique, we've got to have it," she said.

Keith and Eileen Carpenter of Denver traveled the farthest to display their 1974 Fascination, a 17-foot-long sedan that can go 130 mph and somewhat resembles the nose of an airplane.

Keith Carpenter said he and his wife own three of only five Fascinations that were ever manufactured. He said he still remembers the first time he laid eyes on one, as they passed a dealership in Denver some 30 years ago.

"I said, 'I'd give anything to own that car,'" he said.

Designed by Paul M. Lewis in the late 1960s, the Fascination is capable of making a 180-degree turn within its own length. Of the Carpenters' three, one is a prototype and one was never completed.

Carpenter said he can drive the model that was on display Sunday, but rarely does.

"It drives every bit as good as a normal car," he said. "But we don't take it out much because I can't replace it."

And the one that isn't finished? "That's the next project," Carpenter said.