EyesOn Design 2012 - A Classic Father's Day Tradition

By Steve Purdy
TheAutoChannel.com
Michigan Bureau
Photos by Bob Benko and Steve Purdy

Are you looking for something more to do on Father’s Day? Do you love old cars, boats and motorcycles? Are you anywhere near Detroit?

This is the show for you!

Well, maybe I’m being a bit presumptuous. This is certainly the show for me as I haven’t missed one in over twenty years. It’s one of the best collector car shows anywhere, partly because you’ll see and experience more than just old cars and you’ll probably learn something fun along the way.

This is the 25th EyesOn Design show at the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan less than a dozen miles up the shore of Lake St. Clair from downtown Detroit - a beautiful setting with expansive lawns among huge trees in front of one of the most beautiful and significant auto-baron homes in the area.

The name comes from both the theme of the show and its founding charity. EyesOn Design focuses on celebrating design excellence and it benefits the Detroit Institute of Opthalmology, a charitable organization engaged in research and education for the visually impaired. While we haven’t the time or space to go into that connection here, I’ll just note that by focusing on design, rather than rarity, restoration and beauty the show has become an innovator among collector car shows being the first to feature such classes as hot rods, motorcycles, pedal cars, bicycles, station wagons and even rat rods while also featuring the pure classics and cars we see at other shows.

This is a juried and judged show much like a concours d’elegance and some of the judging is done by visually impaired folks wearing white gloves and being guided by someone who knows the car they are working on. Other judges are the most knowledgeable and respected designers, collectors and collector car experts.

Another innovation at EyesOn is that they feature an accomplished designer each year. The list of past honorees includes the biggest names in the industry all the way back to Harley Earl. This year’s honoree is the respected former BMW designer who took much flack more than a decade ago when he included a “bustle back” design on BMW sedans, called by some a “Bangle Butt.” That design was so influential that within a few years it became a common design detail on many cars.

Continuing the trend of presenting innovative classes not seen elsewhere, this year we’ll see a dozen old hydroplanes, more than forty cars built and marketed by the late Carroll Shelby, 1932 Fords every body style with a hot rod version of many, muscle cars taken beyond their origins, a class of popular woodies, along with the traditional classics and many more classes.

Perhaps most noteworthy will be a famous 1930 Packard 740 Roadster, the first car ever to garner a perfect 100-points by the Classic Car Club of America in a 1949 show, exhibited and driven by its 102-year-old owner and well-known collector, Margaret Dunning from nearby Plymouth, Michigan.

Every car has its story, of course, and we heard one at the press conference this morning. Brian and Renea Butler of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan are bringing their beautiful Coral Red 1953 Studebaker Starliner Hardtop.

This very car was featured in the 1996 EyesOn Design show when the featured designer was the famous Raymond Lowey, the Stude’s designer. Brian had a similar car in high school and couldn’t resist this sexy ride.

Along with the Sunday show there will be a Saturday afternoon visit to the world-class Stahl Foundation Museum in nearby Chesterfield and a black tie dinner honoring Chris Bangle at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club.

The EyesOn Design show opens to the public at 10AM on Father’s Day. Admission is $20 with children under 12 and active duty military folks free.

Get all the details at: www.eyesondesigncarshow.com