This 1931 Duesenberg Beat Out 1,500 Vintage Cars to Win California’s Classic Auto Show
The third annual Classic Auto Show at the Orange County Fair kicked off in California last weekend, with an impressive 1931 Duesenberg Model J taking the top prize of Award of Excellence: Grand Boulevard Walk of History, beating out some 1,500 other rare vintage cars and trucks at the extravaganza.
The two-day event featured special appearances by Grand Marshal Adam Corolla and other automotive luminaries included Dave Kindig, Wayne Carini, Mark Worman, Mike Finnegan, Bogi Lateiner, and Lyn St. James. Corolla plucked two beauties from his private collection to display, both originally owned and campaigned by Paul Newman: a championship Triumph TR6 and a Datsun 510 “Different Drummer” Trans Am.
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A little bit of everything was on display for Southern California attendees, including antiques, pre- and post-war machines, hot rods, muscle cars, Japanese imports, low-riders, and more. Since the festivities occurred over St. Patrick’s Day, a “40 Shades of Green” collection showed off a number of green wheels. The star collection, though, was the Grand Boulevard, which is an assembly of 30 historically significant vehicles, including the 1931 Model J Duesenberg, a 1973 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona, a 1941 Tatra T87, a 1915 Pierce Arrow Model 48 Seven Passenger Suburban, a 1962 Fiat Jolly, a 1956 Cadillac Limousine 7533 which was used by Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, and a 1976 Bricklin SV1—a gullwinged sports car from Canada (powered by an AMC V-8!) that’s been likened to a Canadian iteration of the DeLorean.
The ’73 365 GTB/4 Daytona took home Best in Show: Foreign, Grand Boulevard while a 1955 VW Bus took home Best in Show: Foreign, Private Owner. A 1967 Pontiac Firebird 400 nabbed Best in Show from the 40 Shades of Green collection while a 1915 La Bestioni Boat Tail Speedster clinched the Best in Show: Antique award. The best classic truck went to a 1964 Chevrolet C10, and the best Japanese vehicle went to a 1972 Toyota Sprinter Trueno TE27.
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