Asian Collector Cars at the Cincinnati Concourse

 

Today, cars made in Asia, particularly Japan and Korea, make up a very large portion of the automobiles bought in the United States. The people behind the Cincinnati Concours d'Elegance felt that was significant enough to become one of the first such events to hold a regular class in Asian Collector cars. For this year's 48th annual event, that class included a 1994 Toyota Crown Wagon. The Crown is the company's flagship model, and this wagon is one of only 10 believed to be in the USA. The car runs on a 2.4 liter inline four-cylinder diesel engine.

This 1979 Datsun 280ZX coupe has only ever had one owner. The car has just 34,000 miles. When it was introduced Motor Trend named it the "1979 Car of the Year." The car has a 2.8 liter inline six-cylinder engine that produces 135 horsepower.

Japan didn't venture into the "supercar" market until Acua introduced the NSX. This 1997 NSX-T sports a 3.0-liter V 6 engine that pours out horsepower. There were many firsts introduced with this automobile including the first VTEC system and direct ignition.

This 1993 Mitsubishi 3000 GT VR4 sports a great deal of advanced technology for the time. Its 3.0-liter twin turbo V 6 engine sent power to all four wheels with 45 percent going to the front and 55 percent going to the rear. It has four-wheel steering and electronic suspension control.

The MR2 was Toyota's foray into the small sports car market, and this 2001 Spyder is a prime example of the quality of those cars. Powered by a 1.4 liter inline four-cylinder engine generating 138 horsepower, this was plenty of get up and go for a car weighing just 2195 pounds.

American Collector Cars at the Cincinnati Concours

 

American cars made following World War II have long been some of the most collectable vehicles. For the Cincinnati Concours d'Elegance the Collector American class is usually one of, if not the, largest class at the show and the 48th annual edition was no different. A 1955 Dodge Royal Lancer convertible, the model that introduced Virgil Exner's impressive "Forward Look" styling, was one of this year's entrants. This car sports a 270 cubic inch Hemi "Super Red Ram" V8 engine that can reportedly hit a top speed of 101 miles per hour.

This 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible was one of 14,268 manufactured that year. This Best of Class winner at the 2025 Hilton Head Concours d'Elegance is powered by a 265 cubic inch V 8 that turns out 205 horsepower.

A direct rival to the Chevy is this 1956 Ford Sunliner. This model introduced a number of safety features which Ford dubbed the "Lifeguard Design." It has a 312 cubic inch V 8 engine that creates 225 horsepower. 

Here is a 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk coupe which reflects the company's "Jet Age" design aesthetic. This car won the Antique Automobile Club of America Senior Grand National award in 2018. It features a 352 cubic inch V 8 engine that generates 275 horsepower.

This 1965 Buick Wildcat Deluxe convertible is one of only 17 of this model made that year. This was also the last year a four-speed manual transmission was available in the Wildcat. It is driven by a 401 cubic inch V 8 engine that churns out 325 horsepower.

The top trim package for Pontiac in 1956 was this Star Chief convertible. With a 316.6 cubic inch V 8 engine that creates 277 horsepower, this car has the "Strato Flight" Hydramatic transmission. There were 13,510 manufactured that year.

The first American front wheel drive car since 1937 was this 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado. Motor Trend named it the "1966 Car of the Year." With a 425 cubic inch V 8 engine that powers out 385 horsepower, the Toronado had a rare feature for General Motors cars in the 1960s, pop up headlights.

1953 was the last year that Buick made a real wood bodied wagon and this Woodie Estate Wagon wears that trademark well. Only 670 were ever built. The "woodie" has a 322 cubic inch V 8 engine that puts out 130 horsepower.

This Firelite Sportsman Coupe was the top-of-the-line car for DeSoto in 1956. This car was part of Virgil Exner's "Forward Look" styling and featured a push button transmission which marked the first year that Chrysler had this feature. It is powered by a 330 cubic inch Hemi V 8 motor that generates 225 horsepower.

In 1959 Cadillac unveiled the tallest tailfins in their history as is evident by this Series 62 convertible. Riding on a massive 130-inch wheelbase, the car is powered by a 390 cubic inch V 8 engine that puts out 325 horsepower. Elvis Presley is famed for owning and driving one of these cars.

The Bronco was the first SUV model manufactured by Ford. This is a 1973 example and sports twin fuel tanks. It runs off of a 302 cubic inch V 8 engine that generates 140 horsepower.

48th Annual Cincinnati Concours d'Elegance

 

As seems to have become the norm, the 48th Cincinnati Concours d'Elegance saw rain in the morning and the threat of storms moving in hovered over the rest of the show. For much of the event, though, the weather held under cloudy skies. The Cincinnati Concours d'Elegance is the fourth oldest in the United States and the oldest that is not on the West coast. Raising money for the Arthritis Foundation in its fight to battle juvenile arthritis, the concours is held on the grass at beautiful Alt Park. For the next three weeks plus I will be posting the beautiful machines that were all on display for the concours, starting with the Antiques class. This class features cars made through 1924. Starting off is a 1922 Packard Single Six Touring. This car is something of a star having appeared in the HBO series "Boardwalk Empire." It has a 268 cubic inch inline six engine that generates 54 horsepower.

This 1911 Stoddard Dayton is the last of its kind that is mostly original known to exist. A 1911 Stoddard was the very first pace car at the Indianapolis 500. It sports a 426 cubic inch inline four-cylinder engine that puts out 50 horsepower. With its hemispherical combustion chambers it could be considered a very early "hemi."

The Overland Automobile Company made cars from 1903 to 1926 in both Indianapolis, IN and Toledo, OH. This 1916 Model 86 sports a 224 cubic inch inline four engine that puts out 45 horsepower. When new it cost $1145 which is about $45,000 today.

Between 1916 and 1926, Detroit, MI based Liberty Motor Car Company turned out 9924 automobiles. This 1920 10 C five passenger touring car is one of only 10 known to have survived. With a 230 cubic inch inline six engine, this car generates 55 horsepower. This, it seemed, was perfect for the current owner's grandparents to drive it on their honeymoon. 

Wrapping Up the Shrine Car Show

 

Today is the last post from the annual Syrian Shrine car show. As always, please feel free to let me know what you thought of this event by either leaving a comment (no ads, please, they just get deleted) or by dropping me an email at turnerbudds@yahoo.com. For today's post we have a 1953 Buick Roadmaster, a Studebaker Commander, a 1950 Chevy 210, a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air station wagon, and Chevy Corvette, and a Ford Fairlane.

Classics At the Shrine Car Show

 

The Syrian Shrine hosted their annual fund raiser cars show recently and saw around 50 vehicles fill up their parking lot and spill out onto the lawn. Among those were some absolutely classic automobiles including a third generation or C3 Chevrolet Corvette, a first-generation Ford Mustang, a Pontiac Le Mans Sport convertible, an early V8 sporting Ford 100 pickup truck, a Jeep CJ-7, and a Pontiac GTO convertible. Classics every one.

Weather Didn't Ruin the Shrine Car Show

 

The threat of rain and bad weather can often cause car owners to keep their prizes in the garage and not attend a car event. Though it was very hot and humid in the morning with the predicted threat of rain in the afternoon, about 50 cars and trucks showed up for the annual Syrian Shrine Car Show. And while the rain didn't come until much later, the heat and humidity managed to stick around. Still, some cool cars were on hand including a 1960 Triumph TR3 A, a Chevrolet Camaro Z28, a 1955 Chevy 210, a Chevy 1500 pickup truck, a Chevy HHR, and a Chevy Corvette. 

Helping to Raise Funds to Support the Work of the Shriners

 

The Syrian Shrine holds an annual car show in order to raise funds to help support their philanthropic work, primarily the support of the regional Shriner's Children's Hospital. While the main tenants of the Shrine are fun and fraternity, giving back to the community is their main goal. For this year's car show about 50 cars and trucks filled their lot and spilled over onto the grass. Among them was a C 6 Chevrolet Corvette, a 1967 C 2 Vette, a 1966 Ford Mustang, a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, another first-generation Ford Mustang, a 2004 Pontiac Trans Am, and a 1949 Ford Tudor.