This year we had the honor of being invited to show two of our cars at the prestigious
Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. When we have a car restored, it is done in the Lower 48 by either Al Murray (Murray Motor Car in Monroe, WA) or Allan Schmidt (Horseless Carriage Restoration in Escondido, CA). We highly recommend both. On top of their outstanding work, it is an added bonus if we can display a freshly restored car at a show before we ship it north to Alaska.
We spent two hours polishing the
1918 Biddle Town Car and
1919 McFarlan Sport Touring the day before the show. Although we arrived early at the Pebble Beach Golf Links the next morning, we delayed moving the cars onto the show grounds. It was foggy and we could literally watch the cars' brass tarnishing before our eyes from the high humidity, so we kept them inside the trucks until the last minute. Judging started at 8:30 AM and included a very thorough inspection and questioning by a team of three judges.
The Pebble Concours is among the most elite car shows in North America and features some of the most beautiful classic cars in the world. There were numerous celebrities and even a Maharaja or two among the well-dressed crowd of spectators this year (Jay Leno refers to the event as "Tailgating for Billionaires"). Then there were the Alaskans and their friends--having the biggest lawn party on the 18th Green. The only thing missing to make it a true Alaska campout was a bonfire.
After a long wait that included a second visit by the judges to inspect the McFarlan, we were told to take it to the winners circle. At this point we knew we were in the top three for our class. The stage director then told the 3rd-place winner
(a 1905 Clément) to go first, and when he directed the 1911 Isotta Fraschini to go 2nd we knew we had earned the coveted First in Class for A-2 Antiques. There was an audible gasp in the crowd when they learned that the car belonged to a museum
in Alaska. We were also thrilled to receive the Ansel Adams Award for Most Desirable Touring Car of Its Era. What an honor! Museum owner Tim Cerny looks pretty pleased with the prizes. For some reason, the bottle of Champagne didn't make it back to Fairbanks...
 |
1919 McFarlan Sport Touring
First in Class, A-1 Antique
2012 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
Photo by Murray Motor Car |
Both the McFarlan and Biddle will be shown at the
Kirkland Concours d'Elegance on September 9. This year's event will take place at the new LeMay Museum in Tacoma, WA. Please stop and say hello if you attend! Otherwise, expect to see the beautiful Biddle and McFarlan at our museum around mid-October.
We want to send out a big thank you to Al and Paul Murray of Murray Motor Car for the great job on the McFarlan, and to Allan and Beth Schmidt for their amazing work on the Biddle. Both of the cars are show stoppers and will be welcome additions to our collection here in Fairbanks. Hopefully they will arrive before the snow falls so we can get them out on the roads around town.
*Update* The McFarlan also won the Best in Class - Antiques award at the Kirkland Concours d'Elegance on Sept 9, 2012!
