Where Can You Find the Best Classic Car Shows?

As the weather warms up nationwide, classic car enthusiasts are beginning to attend or participate in classic car shows. There are many types of car shows out there, from those that focus on showcasing vehicles, to others that involve trading and selling parts. No matter where you live, there is bound to be a great classic car show around your area this summer. Many sites, including AutoTraderClassics.com, list a vast amount of car shows; below are some of the best in the U.S.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance

This annual car show is a charitable event, held in Pebble Beach, California on the third week of August. The event is split into various sections; a fundraiser, auction, and social event. Considered the most prestigious event of its kind, attendees must be invited to the show.

Wells Motor Company Car Show

Held in Avon Park, Florida, the Wells Motor Company car show is an opportunity for classic car enthusiasts to get a glimpse of more than 150 classic cars in various makes and models. Wells Motor Company is the only Jeep, Chrysler, and Dodge dealer in the area, and this car show is free for attendees and registered vehicles.

Cars and Coffee

This informal classic car show originated in Irvine, California, and has turned into a staple activity for Southern California classic car enthusiasts. It occurs every Saturday, year round. Cars and Coffee is currently expanding into many metropolitan areas throughout the country.

Charlotte Auto Fair

This event is held in the Spring as well as the Fall, with the next one occurring September 20-23. Taking place on the 1.5 mile stretch of the Charlotte Motor Speedway, it is one of the largest classic and customer car gatherings on the east coast.

The classic car shows mentioned above are just a few of the great events throughout the country. No matter what type of classic car you own, or if you are thinking of purchasing a classic or collector vehicle, Condon Skelly has the insurance policy you need to financially protect your investment. We can insure a wide variety of vehicles, from original antiques to brand new exotic sports cars, as long as the vehicle is a true collectible. Please contact us today to learn more.

The Rising Value of Japanese Classic Cars

The last decade has seen the introduction of many notable classic and antique cars. Some of the most iconic antique cars just celebrated their 50^th anniversary this year, including the Pontiac GTO, 1964 ½ Mustang, and the ’64 Studebaker Excalibur. While all of these cars have their place in the hearts of classic car enthusiasts, there is a group that is becoming immensely popular in very recent years. That is, Japanese classic cars.

According to an article by reporter Charles Fleming of the LA Times, back in 2006 vintage car collector  Terry Yamaguchi paid $5,000 for a bright orange 1973 Datsun 240Z, to sell it a couple years later for only a little more than she paid for it to begin with. What’s it worth now? A surprising $20,000!

This significant price hike is not limited to the 240Zs either, according to Fleming. He reports that the value of Japanese classic cars has skyrocketed in recent years, noting that a 70’s Toyota Celica could cost up to $20,000 and a well-maintained Datsun 510 has the potential to go for as much as $25,000!

Ironically, the growing popularity in Japanese collector cars is due in part to the fact that they’re cheaper than American or European classics. Mike Malamut, a retired car dealer who’s been collecting for 35 years, calls collecting Japanese classics a “way to enter the collector hobby for relatively little money”.

This idea of collecting Japanese classics is still foreign to many, however many classic car events on the West Coast are now centered around Japanese “nostalgic” cars. A few Japanese classics that stick out to collectors in particular are Mazda’s rotary-powered pickup trucks, 80s Mistubishis, and old Skylines.

Whether your Classic Car is American, Japanese, or European, we can insure it at Condon Skelly. Since 1967, we have been helping our customers protect their classics with affordable, industry-leading insurance coverage. We are a group of collectors, enthusiasts, and professionals who specialize in insuring all types of collector vehicles. Please contact us today for more information.

Classic Motorcycles: The History of Board Track Racing

If you are an avid antique motorcycle fan, you’ve likely heard of the popular motorsport, Board Track Racing. Prevalent in the U.S. during the 1910s and 1920s, this event was a competition that took place on circular or oval race courses with surfaces composed of wooden planks. The reason for the use of these board tracks were in part because they were not expensive to construct. Unfortunately, they did lack durability, and because of this they required a great deal of maintenance to remain in use. Most tracks only lasted for three years before being abandoned.

Due to the lack of safely built tracks, called motordromes, the sport of Board Track Racing was a risky one. Riders were able to reach speeds of more than 100 miles an hour, meaning that when a crash happened, it was devastating. Crashes weren’t rare either; riders who went down faced being pelted with splinters from the boards and often times spectators were injured as well. Some crashes were even fatal.

Despite all this, people flocked to the races at board tracks from Denver, to Milwaukee, to Long Island. By the mid-1920s, however, the novelty of the sport began to wear off and it was losing its appeal. Newspapers had begun to refer to motordromes as “murderdromes,” and local governments even starting closing some of the tracks. Race officials and the motorcycle manufacturers that sponsored racing teams tried to implement safety measures, but it didn’t help. By the early 1930s, Board Track Racing became obsolete.

At Condon Skelly, we appreciate the history behind antique and classic motorcycles, trucks, and cars. Since 1967, we’ve been helping our customers protect their classics with affordable, industry-leading insurance coverage. We’re a group of collectors, enthusiasts, and professionals who specialize in insuring all types of collector vehicles. Please contact us today to learn more at 800.257.9496. 

Which Classic Cars Have the Most Style?

An article published by fashion and style GQ Magazine in 2010 highlighted what their staff felt were the most stylish cars of the past 50 years. While every classic car enthusiast will have different reasons for loving one classic car over another, some of the vehicles this article noted were the:

1964-65 Buick Riviera- GQ staff felt that these cars offered the “smoothest brand of masculinity going” with its unique side-vents and bold front grill. The 64-65 Buick Riviera was among the first generation of Buicks, and is considered a styling landmark.

1966- 1968 Ford Mustang GT- Among the first generation of Ford Mustangs, these cars are perhaps the best examples of American Classics. The 1966 Ford GT 40 is actually the only American car to be overall winner in 24 Hours of Le Mans.

1969 Jaguar XKE- Italian race car driver Enzo Ferrari called this car “the most beautiful car ever made”. Are you inclined to agree?

GQ is not the only publication recognizing the pure sense of style that some cars seem to carry. The Huffington Post also recently released an article with their take on what the 10 best looking cars of all time are. A few of their picks included the:

1973 Porsche Carrera RS- Only produced for two years in 1973 and 1974, this car is considered to be the most popular classic model among collectors.

1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4- Many Ferrari fans will tell you that this car, of which only 330 were made, were “the best looking and performing variant of the late-1960s V-12 berlinetta.”

1964 Aston Martin DB5- This car has an iconic place in film. Most movie buffs don’t need to be told that Sean Connery drove this vehicle while he was playing James Bond in Goldfinger. The Bond car sold in 2010 for $4.6 million, and a non-Bond car sold for $833,000 just a few months earlier.

These are just a minimal sample of the many different models of classic cars of which car enthusiasts and critics alike define as “stylish”. What do you think; did we leave any game-changers off the list?

At Condon Skelly, we understand the appeal of and desire for classic cars. We are able to insure a wide variety of collector vehicles, from original antiques to newer exotic sports cars, as long as the vehicle is a true collectible. For more information, please contact us today at (866) 291-5694.

We recently attended the 2012 Northeast Rod & Custom Car Show in Oak, PA. The quality and variety of customs and hot rods was impressive, so we thought we’d share some with you. It’s great to get out and visit car shows whenever you can – there are great ideas for your own collection, and an opportunity to meet other and share your passion. Now that spring is underway, we hope to be visiting many more car shows in the upcoming months. We’ll keep you posted!

For more on insuring your collector car or hot rod, visit Condon Skelly today.

The 2010 Explorer was actually the last Ford to use the Cologne V6. What’s interesting about this engine? It was produced, in various iterations, continuously since 1968. With a displacement range from 1.8 to 4.0 liters, it fulfilled a diverse role in motivating Fords throughout the late 60s, the 70s, and the 80s. Early models were mostly European Fords (thus the plant in Cologne, Germany). But later models started making their way stateside, until the Cologne V6 powered every small truck Ford sold. The latter-day explorers are the first and only iteration of the Cologne (aside from the specialty Cosworth) to eschew pushrods in favor of single overhead cams. So even drivers buying SUVs just a few years ago were buying into a family of engines dating back over 40 years. An interesting notion about where we came from, and where we’re going.

I think we all know this week’s vehicle. It’s one of the best-selling trucks of all time – a household name for several decades. But hardly a collectible, one might say. Especially this model – produced through 2010. What makes this truck interesting, unusual, and in some ways a collectible car at heart? Check back next week to find out.

As always, for more on collector car insurance and collectible cars, visit Condon Skelly today.

All hail the DAF! The DAF 600 set the world on fire in 1958, introducing several clever design features, but more importantly – the world’s first CVT! A good forty years before CVTs became popular in mainstream vehicles, DAF was blazing the trail with a transmission that had no gears. The CVT, or continuously variable transmission, operated on a belt that would infinitely adjust the transmission ratio to keep the engine in the power band whenever it was needed, and reduce the engine revs for maximum economy when the power wasn’t called for. A brilliant design that can now be found in trucks, sedans, sports cars, and hybrids, owning a DAF is truly owning a notable piece of car history.

There are so many things that can make a car special – the way it looks, the way it drives, the way it was built… and all of these are great reasons to own a classic. What makes this car special? Find the answer next week!

Perhaps the most iconic era for American collector cars – the muscle cars of the 60s. Before technology, emissions, and other concerns entered the picture, there was one goal – power. In the late 1960s, Motown produced some of the most memorable engines – and beloved shapes – that we’ve seen to this day. Here are a few we’ve fallen for: