American Collector Cars At the Cincinnati Concours

Most likely because of the threatening weather and what followed, many of the very popular American Collector class cars at the 45th Annual Cincinnati Concours d'Elegance did not attend. Which is a shame because this is always a popular group of vehicles. In the morning the threat of rain was high and Mother Nature didn't disappoint. Even before the gates opened to the public or the judges started about their task the rain was pouring down. Still, the handful of cars in this class did not disappoint either. One such car was this 1963 Studebaker Avanti. Raymond Loewy designed what was the first mass produced fiberglass bodied four passenger car in the USA. It was powered by a 289 cubic inch V8 that made 240 horse power.

Not all vehicles at a concours are cars. This 1958 Dodge D100 Sweptside pick up truck is a perfect example of that. Dodge only offered this truck for three years and it had some unique styling touches such as the small fins on the rear fender. This particular truck also came with factory power steering and brakes and an three speed automatic push button transmission. It had a beast under the hood, a 315 cubic inch, 204 horse power Hemi V8 engine.

This 1969 Chevrolet Kingswood station wagon also braved the rain to make its way to Ault Park for the concours. This was the first year for the second generation Kingswood. With room for eight this was a true family hauler. It is powered by a 396 cubic inch Turbo-Jet V8 engine that puts out 265 horse power.

Also defying the rain was this Chrysler Windsor which was one of the last of the company's "big fin" cars that surfaced in the 1950s. Having spent most of its life in a museum this Windsor only has 50,000 original miles. It is mostly original, including the interior and the 383 cubic inch, 305 horse power V8 engine.