2014 #greystoneconcours Greystone Mansion Concours d'Elegance Beverly Hills Highlight Coverage

Beverly Hills, CA, by Py Pai / W&HM - The 2014 Greystone Mansion Concours d'Elegance at the historical Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, is a highly successful event.  This is their 5th year's great running, which also coincides with the hosting city of Beverly Hills' 100 years / centennial anniversary of its founding.  At this year's event, there was a record showing of the cars that attended the event to celebrate this great milestone.  These cars were all in their mint condition on display and created a feast to the eye, a treat for the vintage car enthusiasts, and perfect opportunities for parents and their kids to have fun and learn new things of the past as well.

The weather could not be more pleasant for this outdoor event.  The sun was clear and bright, setting off the festive vibes throughout the venue, and highlighting the chrome shines and paint colors of all these impeccably polished cars.  Upon arrival at the location, you would immediately encounter the warm and friendly staff and receive all the information related to the great event.  With all-car-related music and songs in the air, your would be dazzled by so many beautiful vintage cars that most likely you haven't seen them all in one place in your entire life.  These vintage cars had their showroom like appearances and yet you could come up close and have a really detailed look at them.  You cold also chat with the car's owner or guardian about the car's history and stories behind it.  With a bit imagination, you could almost reminiscence yourself back to the good old years that you may grow up in or fancied from the TV/movies' nostalgia.  It is the perfect car theme in this historical mansion that has close to 90 years of history of its own.

There were several categories of the cars in display, including Centennial (to celebrate the city of Beverly Hills' 100th anniversary), Porsche Speedster (honoring its 60th anniversary), Pre and Post American cars, Pre and post war European cars, Pre and post war British cars, as well as American "Muscle" cars like Corvette, Cobra, GT 500/GT 350, an more.  There were so many of the cars in each category, it's almost impossible to really check every single one of them and learn about them in a single day.  It's a very welcoming challenge to have for sure.

Once you immersed yourself in these highly ornate and exotic looking cars, you would start to feel something about them that are different than today's car designs.  The majority of the cars today share very similar design principles of fuel economics and lower costs of manufacturing and ownership, but at the same time losing their signatures of characteristics and uniqueness.  Today's cars are branded only by their logos, not by their car styling, shapes, details or even cultures.  However in the pre 1980 eras, it is the opposite case where grand designs were abundant, innovative curves and lines were constantly introduced, and they were not afraid of adding accessories or ornaments to make a statement.  We relate the loss of these uniqueness and characteristics to a loss of innocence, imaginations, and innovations.  All these made the cars here more precious and highly appreciated.  (We shall also dedicate an article to many bold designs and high aesthetics of these vintage cars spearately.)

After a good walk through the virtual memory lanes, it's perfect time to have hearty gourmet foods for the hungry body and mind.  Also there were plenty supplies of Stella Artois beers and Asombroso Tequila provided by the vendors too. All the patrons' all inclusive tickets covered everything and definitely would make them feel that they have had a great time!

The great event concluded with a beautiful vintage clothing line fashion show by ReVamp (web site: here), full coverage of the fashion show is published separately.)  The designer, Annamarie von Firley, introduced us the stories and details of each design, just like an old school personalized fashion show.  The models did a wonderful job showing the clothes and showcasing the intricate designs, as well as posing in classic model styles, which accentuated the vintage fashion show's authenticity to a new level.

The award ceremony was a fun and informational conclusion of the event.  There were many beautiful cars and abundant information and fun facts about the cars.  It was a perfect ending of a wonderful event.

The city of Beverly Hills, its Recreation and Parks Department, and Friends of Greystone have done a tremendous job, making it a wonderful time to all the people attended.  Everything was well planned and smoothly run.  The close proximity with those rarely seen vintage cars, arranged in such a well organized fashion, and the chance to talk to the owners, as well as the experts in the industry, all were a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  The fashion show and the award ceremony were brilliant ending marks for people to bring back home beautiful memories and a festive mood.  We look forward to the next year's 6th anniversary and bring more awesome vintage car photos and information back to all.

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