French cars roll into Dayton

10th Concours d’Elegance celebrates French marques, 100 years of BMW Sept. 18

Oh là là!

The cars of France and 100 years of BMW will be featured marques at the 10th Dayton Concours d’Elegance at Carillon Park Sept. 18. Bugatti, Citroen and Peugeot are just three of the makes that will occupy the class for French machines, while the cars and motorcycles of BMW will be featured in the centennial celebration. There will be special classes for air-cooled Volkswagens and Black Cars and White Cars from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s.

The concours, presented by AAA Miami Valley, is limited to 200 antique and classic automobiles and motorcycles, all displayed on the grounds of Carillon Historical Park. The cars and motorcycles will be judged for awards in 30 classes.

In addition, a number of specialty awards are presented including the R.H. Grant Best of Show, Col. Edward Deeds Judge’s Choice, Charles F. Kettering People’s Choice, Jeffrey Siler Spirit Award, The Taj Ma Garaj Award and The Hagerty Youth Judging Award. Nationally recognized automotive artists will have a pavilion to display their work and hand-built model cars will be shown. In addition, there will be a reunion of Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild modelers exhibiting their hand-built models that embrace automotive-vehicle design creativity.

The weekend will kick off the evening of Sept. 17 with a casual preview party, open to the public, on the grounds of the Carillon Historical Park. The party will preview some of the Concours automobiles and feature an automotive art pavilion, music, silent auction, food and beverages. The preview party will be held from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $85 per person or $75 for Dayton History members. Reservations are required.

All proceeds from the weekend events support to Dayton History, Montgomery County’s official historical organization.

The concours will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 18 and will also feature live entertainment, an automotive art pavilion with nationally recognized automotive artists exhibiting and a variety of local food and beverages. All exhibits at the park will be open.

The parade of class-winning cars, motorcycles and major award winners will be presented at 3 p.m.

For more information regarding this event go online to www.daytonconcours.com. To nominate a car, contact Mike Edgerton, 937-866-2222 or autoedge@sbcglobal.net. To nominate a motorcycle, contact Dan Thornton, 937-266-2397 or Dan.thornton@aol.com. For sponsorship opportunities, contact Lauryn Bayliff, 937-293-2841 or lbayliff@daytonhistory.org.

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