36th Annual Concours d’Elegance of America at St. John’s

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Quite frankly, the parking lot Citroën sighting might be my favorite. Not because a less than water tight top yielded a sweaty-gym-sock shoved in a leather bag, trapped inside a locker smell. Or because the tow hitch with dangling wiring might spark a ground fire that lights up the gas tank. Paint fade? Sure it’s got it. Mechanical issues? Bet you there are one or two. An old car driven to the show with all the crust and must simply entices me.

I know what you’re thinking, it’s only original once. That’s not the point here. Those original cars are out-pampering 100 point restored ones for collector status. The point is, a car on concours grass original or restored is less likely to be driven or enjoyed for the transportation it was built to provide. They are held onto by collectors, enjoyed for stunning beauty, glorious sounds, appreciated for heritage, honored. When driven, white knuckles prevail despite agreed value insurance because everyone else on the road that day is a jackass.

But parking-lot-tow-hitch Citroën is an old pair of jeans, your most comfortable shoes or favorite baseball cap. It has been along for the ride and then some. It’s a “go to” and maybe even a daily driver. It’s doesn’t pretend, it doesn’t worry. It doesn’t care that it’s going up in value any more than when its value tanked. Drive it, park it, forget about it until you come out of the grocery store to find it waiting faithfully amongst SUVs and minivans to take you home, again.

  1. Mike G

    Groosh – you are a man of great words… I so agree. I think the same thing when I see a guy with a Cobra replica. That guy gets to drive the car that looks and sounds like a Cobra, while the guys with the real-deal get to wipe the dust off while he tells his friends how Shelby once drove it.

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