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The 2006 Concours

Sunday September 24, 2006: the fourth annual Concours d'Elegance on the grounds of the Governor's Mansion in Oklahoma City. Again at the same splendid location but one week later than last year. The weather was much nicer, clear skies and temperature in the mid-seventies instead of over 100 as last year. Again, it was one of the finest car shows in this part of the country, bigger and better than last year. The only distraction was the public parking lot just across the street from the entrance to the grounds. Through some failed communication, a contractor started tearing out the lot early on the morning before the show. Spectators were redirected to other lots on the Capitol complex and the Governor graciously provided free shuttle service so all worked out reasonably well.

I don't know the official count of cars entered or present but I did hear one of the chief organizers mention 175. That looked like a reasonable number and the field could still easily handle 100 more. There were a few outstanding examples from last year that were notably missing this year. I particularly missed the Duesenberg, the Packard Town Car that had won twice at Pebble Beach, the 300SL roadster and the Delahaye that won Best of Show. I also hoped to see the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren that was entered but delivered too late to make the show last year. It was not here this time either. The Judging Classes this year were:

Additionally, there was a Peoples Choice Award. So, there was something of interest for almost anyone.

The "back lot" of the Governor's Mansion is an ideal location for a concours. It is about a city block wide and three long, nearly all grass with a small paved pavillion and a few paved walkways. The fenced grounds are surrounded by trees and are meticulously kept. Of course, the security is exemplary. It could easily handle an additional hundred cars without crowding.

The spectator crowd did not seem as large or congested as last year. I suspect that was due to the arrangement of the classes this year. Last year, the classics and brass were on opposite sides of the entrance driveway. This year, the classics were spread out on grass at the opposite end of the display area. I think these two classes probably draw the most interest since shows like this are the only place where the public gets to see them. Like last year, this is just a small sampling of what was there but still only so much time can be devoted to a hobby web page. Sorry if I didn't show what you were interested in but I took pictures mostly of what interested me. These are the groups I photographed. Each group has a separate page. Click any link to open the corresponding page.

Note: You can click on any of the small photos to view a larger version.