Geneva Concours, August 2011

If you drive a 356 much, you’ve had this encounter.  You stop at a light, and the person in the car next to you says, "That's a neat car!"  More often than not they then ask, "What year is it?"  You supply the number, and the other person may have time to begin telling you about a Porsche they or someone they knew had many years ago before the light changes and the conversation ends.  It's a gratifying experience, and not just because we all like to receive praise.  It is also nice to be reminded that we are not alone in our fascination with these odd little cars—that at least some people outside of our enthusiast circle actually find them interesting too.  Their interest may not be as obsessive as ours, but it's a fact:  a lot of people out there are curious about 356s, and when they see one they want to know its model year.

It was on the assumption that many people, and especially the kind of people who like to go to classic-car shows, would like to know more about the 356 than can be conveyed in a stop-light conversation, that we decided in 2005 to use the Club’s collective resources—our cars and our knowledge—to create a presentation designed to satisfy that curiosity.  The result was the historical car display that we first put up that year at Crystal Lake, with an array of cars and signs.  In 2011, we brought the display to the kind of event it was meant for from the beginning:  the Geneva Concours in Geneva, Illinois, where the police estimated 20,000 spectators to be present.

We were given a parking lot behind the court house to use for the display, and we posted signs and distributed flyers to let the Concours crowd know what we were doing and how to find us.  That seemed to do the trick, because we saw a steady stream of visitors for the five hours the display was open.  Who knows, maybe the next someone pulls up next to your 356 at a light they will say, "That's a T6 B, right? I could tell by the twin grilles and the drum brakes."

Because the cars had to be arranged in chronological order, each space was reserved in advance.  And every space was duly filled, because every person who agreed to bring his car came through as promised.

Here are some comments that Pat Yananhan reports having heard from members of the crowd:


Creating this display was very much a team effort.  The volunteers from the Club who helped organize and set up the display were Curt Crowell, Ron Felson, Tom Funk, Jim Hinde, Bill Van Nortwick, Hank Weil and Wally Wright.

And, most important, there were the 16 owners who generously offered to put their cars into the display:


The Club extends its thanks to everyone who contributed to this event's success.

Put it right over there, Ed.  Over there?  Yeah, over there.  Okay, I'll put it over there.
photo by Wally Wright




Mike McGinty arrives in his Beck Spyder, always a crowd pleaser.
photo by Wally Wright




Tom Klingbeil's Speedster is reunited with the camera that took its 356 Registry cover story photos for the Sept. 2008 issue.
photo by Wally Wright




George and Meg Peirce move their Convertible D into position.
photo by Wally Wright




Kevin Murray checks the mirror of his 1954 Coupe, which he has owned for over 30 years and has finished restoring this year.  That deep, deep Azure Blue paint does a nice job of picking up reflections, don't you think?
photo by Wally Wright




Hmmm, Panama plate, red paint...Panama...Red — wasn't that the name of a song or something back in the Seventies?
photo by Wally Wright




Chuck Staes brought his bright red 1960 Cabriolet.
photo by Wally Wright




Meanwhile, a block to the east, the Geneva Concours judging was under way, under the direction of Chief Judge Pat Yanahan, who had enlisted several members of our Club to wear the red shirts.  Here Bob Follmer inspects a T-bird.
photo by Jim Hinde




This is the entrance to our display area.  In the background is Dan Bell's 1953 Cabriolet, the earliest car in the display.
photo by Wally Wright




There's nothing like a bright orange Speedster when it comes to getting the crowd's attention.
photo by Wally Wright




Kevin shows Tim and Doug some finer points of his 1954 Coupe.
photo by Wally Wright




Julia and Alan have it made in the shade.
photo by Wally Wright




The wall between the court house and the parking lot was a favored spot to congregate.
photo by Jim Hinde




Jim Ozimek's 1959 Coupe attracts a shutterbug.
photo by Wally Wright




The crowd thickens.
photo by Wally Wright




Mike Southard's car gets judged for the PCA Chicago Region's concours.
photo by Wally Wright


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