The Concours d’Elegance goes back almost to the start of the Langley Good Times Cruise-In.
The idea, says this year’s Concours organizer Al Ganske, was to highlight the cars that were all-original and unmodified.
If the cars were close to a century old, so much the better.
This year, 130 spots are set aside for the Concours d’Elegance in Douglas Park, and the oldest is likely to be about 103.
“We have one gentleman that comes every year with the 1912 Model T,” Ganske said. “I’m hoping to have another one from the year 1915.”
The Langley Mostly British Motoring car club is fond of the Concours and quite a few of its members are expected with their vintage vehicles.
Ganske himself will have one of his three classics in the Concours, this year his 1957 Oldsmobile.
“We always get a large crowd coming through there,” Ganske said. In fact, they have to make sure the walkways are wide enough to deal with a good-sized crowd.
People always mention that their uncle or grandfather had a car just like one of those on display, Ganske said.
Keeping up a car without modifications can be difficult for an older vehicle, Ganske said.
Finding replica after market parts for some vehicles can be difficult, and for anything before 1920, the car owner may have to have a new part custom built if the old one goes kaput.
That makes the cars in the Concours special – they’re often the product of a lot of care, especially if they have all-original parts and interiors.