An Enthusiastic Thanks! To All That Supported The Automotive Heritage Awards!

UPDATE July 31st, 2018 VISIT WEBSITE AUTOMOTIVE HERITAGE AWARDS

Our 2018 Automotive Heritage Awards program reached its apex on Sunday, July 29th. A buzz filled the Brembo media hospitality tent on the Concours d’Elegance of America show field at 10AM, just as they opened the public gate to the Concours. AHA producer, Steve Purdy, leaned into the microphone, offered a welcome, introduced and thanked his team, then introduced Master of Ceremonies, well-known automotive heritage expert, original voice of the Meadow Brook Concours, Amelia Island and other major shows, Ed Lucas.

Ed ran the show masterfully with his relaxed, articulate style and deep, melodic voice. He began by introducing our first guests Diane Flis-Schneider to talk about the Concours’ role in birthing this project and Alex Buchan, creator of the trophies - a version of the historic Buick Bug - that commemorate all our major awards. Alex also happened to be exhibiting in the Art Tent next door.

Richard Kollins, president of the Board of Trustees at the National Automotive History Collection (a special collection within the Detroit Public Library) named their traditional Future Collectible Vehicle of the Year, for that new vehicle we’ll likely see at car shows 25 years hence - the 2017 Corvette Z06. We were thrilled to have GM’s executive vice-president, Mark Ruess, there to receive the award, since he was already pretty busy showing his own cars in the Concours and judging. The Concours also honored Mr. Ruess as Enthusiast of the Year.

Brian Baker, retired GM designer and now director of the Leeland Chapter of the Society of Automotive Historians, managed our AHA Concept Vehicle of the Year award. His team narrowed nominees to a dozen, finally choosing the strikingly sleek, beautiful piece of automotive aesthetics – Mercedes Maybach 6 Cabriolet first seen at the Pebble Beach Concours last summer. While we were unable to secure anyone from Maybach to accept the award at the ceremony, our friends from The Star, M-B’s national club magazine, promised to deliver it.

Ed Lucas then announced the Automotive Heritage Journalism Competition winners. With 42 entries from journalists representing a variety of media outlets, more than two dozen awards resulted. Veteran auto journalist, Gary Witzenburg led the judging with a team of more than a dozen experienced journalists. Of our 10 categories, six received “Best” in category trophies along with a Gold Medal. Gold, Silver and Bronze medals recognized other worthy entries. The AHA Journalism Competition results are on our Website along with photos and links to the entrants’ works.

We’ve often said: the most important honor we bestow is for Lifetime Achievement. Tony Swan, previous honoree, assembled a panel of his peers to make the decision. The 2018 AHA Lifetime Achievement Award goes to long-time columnist for Road & Track and Cycle World Magazines, Wisconsin-based, Peter Egan, known for remarkable story-telling, often about motorized adventures. Peter has been entertaining and broadening the knowledge of his appreciative audiences for over 30 years.

The results of all our competitions are on the Website including pictures and links.

An enthusiastic THANKS! to you all - supporters of this project. We’ll continue these updates as planning evolves for the 2019 AHA. We encourage your participation in whatever way suits your circumstances. And, please, continue to help us spread the word.

The Team:

Alex Buchan is making the trophies.

Tony Swan, is managing the judging for Lifetime Achievement.

Ed Lucas will MC the awards event.

Brian Baker and the Society of Automotive Historians are managing the judging for the Concept Vehicle Award.

Gary Witzenburg is managing judging for the Journalism Awards.

Angie Bournais is managing sponsorships and is Concours liaison.

Lead Sponsors:

The Concours d’Elegance of America at St. John’s

Brembo

The National Automotive History Collection

This project is also supported by:

America’s Automotive Trust and the LeMay-America’s Car Museum

MotorCities National Heritage Area

Society of Automotive Historians

The Individual Communicator’s Network

Automotive Women’s Alliance Foundation

The Detroit Press Club

A portion of the net proceeds of the AHA project will be shared with the Concours and the MotorCities National Heritage Area.