Eye-popping Concours field layouts

The Radnor Hunt I think has one of the best layouts with the terraces over looking the polo field. But that would be hard to duplicate.

 

It may help to know the number of cars expected for an event. A few suggestions from shows I have attended as a spectator.

Mix up the cars. It is good to have things organized, but seeing 15 328s side by side isn't really that interesting (no offense to 328 owners, just an example).

Think about the route that people will take to see the cars. Some of the bigger shows I have been to have been like a maze. You start on one side, end up on the other, and have missed all the cars in between.

Hope this helps in some way..

 

Some of my criteria for holding a concours would be:

1) Pick a place where there is enough shade and places for people to sit down/rest. Walking around in the hot sun all day can be too much for some people.

2) Have the cars on grass, or have walk-on-able grass near by. It is prettier and more special for many people, but more importantly, people's feet hurt less.

3) Pick a setting that is beautiful and unique to the area, if you can. Mansions and golf courses have grown stale for some time now. Consider beautiful historic landmarks, gardens, geological features, picturesque neighborhoods (like maybe a Little Italy), an old town square, an old seaside establishment or pretty coastline, a yacht club, etc. Something that is unique to the area and/or gives people a taste of the local flavor makes their visit to the city that much more memorable and enjoyable.

4) Make it easy to get to. For local residents/in-towners, nothing sucks like having to drive an hour out to the middle of nowhere where there is nothing else of interest to see or do; for out-of-town visitors, nothing sucks like thinking "we're going to get to visit _____ city," only to find out that you never get anywhere near the city or anything interesting about it. In hand with that, there should be multiple roads/routes to get there, to relieve traffic congestion.

5) Make sure parking is available. Unless it is in a city center, it should be free. Many people don't mind paying $15-$25 just to see some cars if they know the money goes to a good cause, but it is unreasonable for a parking lot or garage to stick them for another $5-$10.

6) Make sure there will be plenty of room for people to see all sides of the cars, and the owners won't be freaking out.

7) Make sure that cars with low ground clearance and long overhangs can enter the premises without worrying about damage. There is no better way to make it unpleasant for an exhibitor (and make them not want to come back) than having difficulty driving their car onto the premises without scraping it.

8) Establish a light and welcoming atmosphere; don't let people get haughty or snooty.

9) If you hire a band, don't play 1950s music. This is not cruise night at the Doo-Wop Diner.



You asked for examples of councours; here are two -- one I like and one I don't:


LIKE: Ault Park in Cincinnati -- the park/gardens are beautiful, and give the wives/girlfriends something to do. It is in town. The surrounding neighborhood is very picturesque, and scared suburbanites are not afraid to leave their cul-de-sacs to venture there. You can walk right up to the cars. People pay admission to see them -- they're not just wandering in off of the streets -- so you can expect they will show a certain amount of respect for other people's machinery. Many of the owners are around to tell you about their cars. There is lots of grass, shade, benches, etc. Refreshments are not a far walk. After the event, you can grab a bite at a decent restaurant, and take advantage of what the city has to offer. There is a convivial spirit to the whole event, which ultimately is what makes it a lot of fun. "Fun" and "elegance" are not mutually exclusive!

DISLIKE: Meadow Brook -- another stale mansion or golf course -- I don't even remember, because nothing stands out about it. When I last went there several years ago, the visitor parking was in a huge field -- think a shopping mall parking lot size, but all mud and grass. It had rained the day before, and we ruined our shoes just walking out of the parking lot. The cars on display were roped off like at an old bank or theater. The ropes were kept far enough from the cars that you couldn't get close to them to really get a sense for them; you may as well have just looked at pictures in a book, or seen one driving by. It is rather insulting to the patrons to do this, given that they charge admission and hold the show in a "select" location. The selection of cars itself was snooty; every car in the show was so rare and significant that most people could not relate to it; you have to have production cars (as in, say, production totalling three digits) mixed in at least 50/50 with the one-offs from 60-70 years ago that 95% of the people at the show never heard of. People dressed very pretentiously -- for example, lots of women wearing big hats like it were the 1920s, and men wearing clothes they would not wear on even Sunday -- and there were enough noses in the air to create a breeze.


Cheers,

Tony

 

Bella Italia in San Diego was a wonderful experience this year. First time for me. I will be back. Organization was almost flawless. Site was a Public Park between the SD Airport and the SD harbor/large marina. Exotics were clustered, mass produced cars were in rows. Good parking for visitors but lots of visitors were exhibitors and already parked. Food and drink were plentiful, good and fast. It was a charitable event and a little too much mike time was alocated to volunteers with no mike experience. Awards went without a hitch. Exhibit went from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Just right for a total of maybe 150 private paid exhibitors, maybe another 50 commercial/collector's exhibits and maybe 500 visitors. Fun for all including, I believe, FOC of San Diego and Jim H., their chairman. They should be proud.
Thanks,
John

 

We did motorcycles and cars at Radnor and they have been a great success mixed in with the cars. We also had vintage dirtbikes mixed in. The dirtbikes had some of the biggest crowds around them because the guys 40-55 could relate them. The Dusenburg and Packard guys complained but the Ferrari guys liked the bikes. Keep things intesting as the Black Tie /Rally/Concour thing is getting kind of boring. Be creative and have some fun with your show. Keep costs down as most concours have been losing $$ int he last few years.

 

You need more than 50 cars. Shoot for 75.

 

Long curves of cars in a row are most appealing and easiest to view. We had about 30 cars at our 2nd Derby Q 2 years ago and it worked out great. The SF shield would maybe be appreciated by anyone arriving by helicopter, but would likely just look confusing on the ground.

BT
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Hey Dave, where did you get all those white Ferrari's?