McHenry County Vintage Car Gazette

Geneva Concours d’Elegance 2010

With some 166 notable cars lined up along the tree-lined streets of downtown Geneva on Sunday, August 29, it was a grand show despite the hot weather. I was there for three hours and still didn’t see everything! Spectator parking was abundant as long as one was willing to park along a side street and walk a few blocks. As a result, the place was mobbed.

This is Roy Margenau's Isotta Fraschini, with accessories.

The Geneva Concours touts itself as an upscale show, and it is. I’ve only seen cars of this caliber at three other events: the Father’s Day Classic Car Club Oakbrook show, The Milwaukee Masterpiece, and the Miller’s at Milwaukee event for Indy Cars on the Milwaukee Mile track (which is for vintage Indy cars only). Read more…

Kroozers Cars For Kids! 2010

This little cutie was enjoying the antique pedal car that Jerry Horne got to match his 1955 Studebaker Speedster. He mentioned that kids love it, but "most of them don’t want to get out of it, then that makes me feel bad." She was fine.

On the evening of Saturday, August 21st, Woodstock’s historic square was packed out with vintage cars courtesy of the Kroozers of Northern Illinoiz Car Club. This was a benefit event for the Youth Services Bureau. My barber claimed later that there weren’t as many cars there as at previous events, but it beats me as to how that would be physically possible – both sides of the square were filled out, every entry street was full, and a ring of cars ran halfway around the center of the pavement as well. There were so many spectators that surrounding parking lots were 95% full, and I barely got any clear shots of anything at all. It was great.

Darren Smith's big 1974 Plymouth Roadrunner was a hit with the ladies.

As I walked in, I recognized a metallic gray 1974 Roadrunner I had last seen six feet up on a lift at Classic Ventures, Inc. in Woodstock. Owner Darren Smith of Woodstock confirmed that this was the same car. “Yes, it got done at Classic Ventures in April,” Darren told me, “Steve Koepke’s right around the other side of the square.” One of the things I had been amazed at is the Read more…

Micro/Mini Car World Meet 2010

This combination says it all. People? I waited several minutes to get a clear shot, then this moment was gone.

The Micro/Mini Car World Meet held on August 21-22 was a special gathering, since the previous one was held in 2006! Organized by Ken and Sylvia Weger and three other couples, this most recent meet was mobbed with people, and for good reason. Most of the cars were cute, and the rest were so ugly that they were cute. All were powered by engines 1500cc or smaller. Micro Cars are considered to have engines of less than 500cc, with Mini Cars filling in the rest. What I will cover here are vehicles ranging from bizarre to irresistibly cuddly, and you can see a lot more in the video at the end of this post. Also, I’m hoping that Fred Blumenthal will be highlighting his own picks and insights on this same show in a second article to follow! We don’t normally double up on event coverage, but that just gives you an idea of how special this show was. The organizers and every single volunteer I came across seemed happy, and pleased that the event was on. Boy, was it on!

Paul Vogel passed his Citroen HY through Vintage Sports Car, and some project photos are on their website.

First, I saw a gray van out in the parking lot unlike anything I had ever seen, except for a photo of one torn to pieces on the Vintage Sports Car website. True enough, Yves Boode of Vintage Sports Car in Woodstock later confirmed that it was the one that had been restored at his shop. Seems that it’s a Citroen HY short wheelbase, and with its corrugated sides certainly looks utilitarian. Vintage Sports Car is an honored sponsor of the McHenry County Vintage Car Gazette, and I recommend using the link on their sponsor page (to the right) to dig around Read more…

Waitin’ for Somethin’?

Yes, yes, it’s happened again. Three events in one weekend, and the Gazette is stopped up, much like…well, never mind. Those events are the Mini/Micro World Meet, The Kroozers on the Square Show, and the Geneva Concours. Each involves a couple hundred photos. The problem is that, in addition to the usual transcribing long audio recordings, editing photos, assembling a (great) slideshow for the Mini/Micro Car article, and actually writing, I’m also having to conduct interviews and photo shoots for owners and their cars that will be featured once the event season ends. Oh yeah, plus blowing a day at the fabulous Autobahn Country Club in Joliet. Feel sorry for me.

Kroozers on the Square Coming Up, Too!

Yes, as if there aren’t already too many choices this weekend, here’s one more – but it starts late in the day, so it’s a great way to end your day in the shade and the cool of the evening. The Kroozers of Northern Illinoiz club is hosting a major automotive gathering right on the downtown square of Woodstock. I can guarantee that plenty of great cars will be wrapped all the way ’round the pavers from 5-9PM Saturday, August 21.

If you want to bring your vintage masterpiece rather than just spectate, you can register right at the show when you Read more…

Micro/Mini Car World Meet Coming Up

A car built just for me!

Yup, right here in Crystal Lake on August 21 & 22, hundreds of irresistibly cute little cars will descend on the University Center grounds, (100 S. Main Street, just South of Crystal Lake Ave). This is not to be missed because it is not an annual event. The previous one was in 2006, with some 300 cars. This one may hit 500.

This event features all those little sleds like the Austin Mini, The Citroen 2CV (so ugly it’s cute), Crosley Read more…

Geneva Concours Coming Up!

Yup, Sunday August 22 is the date to see a gathering of some high-end vintage automobiles, and I’ll be there, too. I don’t say that as some kind of added bonus (it isn’t), but rather to let you know that I consider this a Priority One event.

As the organizers say, their mission “is to produce the best classic, exotic, and race automobile event that showcases the heritage, artistic and engineering significance of the automobile in the Read more…