Did Detroit just lose its classic car show, or will it be back bigger and better in 2025?
Another automotive tradition in Detroit just hit the reset button.
The Detroit Concours, a classic car show with roots stretching back 45 years, to the 1979 Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance, is taking 2024 off. Its return in 2025 isn’t assured, but Hagerty, the automotive lifestyle firm that owns it and two other leading classic car shows, is evaluating new dates, locations and a general reboot.
The show relocated from a golf course at the Saint John’s Resort in Plymouth to the Detroit Institute of Arts museum on Woodward Avenue in Detroit’s Cultural Center in 2022.
The goal was to make the show, which attracts classic cars of all types and eras, more a part of Detroit’s culture and history than the rolling greens of a suburban resort. Attendance at the new venue has been less than impressive, however.
The show initially moved from Plymouth in July to Detroit in September in part to create synergies with the North American international Auto Show, which also moved to September 2022, after a pause for the pandemic.
The Detroit auto show is also taking 2024 off, and moving back to its longtime dates in January.
Party at the river
Hagerty will concentrate this year on its Radwood event, a boisterous celebration of 1980s and ’90s cars, clothes and music scheduled for Sept. 14 at Hart Plaza on the Detroit riverfront.
The Detroit Concours’ future may become clear later. Hagerty also owns classic car shows on Amelia Island, Florida, and in Greenwich, Connecticut. The Traverse City-based company has been in growth mode as it evolves from a family-owned insurer of vintage cars and boats to a broad automotive lifestyle firm with investors including State Farm Insurance and Markel Group.
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The 2023 Detroit Concours attracted fewer visitors than the most recent Amelia Island or Greenwich shows
2023 attendance:
The Amelia, March 2024: 27,000 attendees
Detroit Concours, September 2023: 5,000 attendees
Greenwich Concours, June 2023: 10,000 attendees
Radwood 2023 (across 7 events): more than 16,000 attendees
A car show in Corktown?
Long considered one of America’s leading classic car shows, the Detroit Concours is at a crossroad.
Hagerty appears committed to raising its profile with the general public as well as well-heeled car collectors who travel the country to exhibit vehicles and compete for trophies.
Coming up with a location and theme that capitalize on Detroit’s history of automotive design and innovation and attracts a broad public audience, in addition to millionaire collectors, will be a challenge.
People close to Hagerty say the preference is to keep the show in the city of Detroit, but success drawing crowds and showstopping cars will determine its future.
The Cultural Center setting was appealing for its proximity to the DIA and its stunning Diego Rivera “Detroit Industry” murals, but the museum’s grounds present challenges for displaying dozens of vintage cars.
In addition to the DIA, other possible venues in the city of Detroit include:
Belle Isle, a sprawling 995-acre park in the Detroit River.
Corktown, a bustling tech and entertainment hub anchored by the newly renovated Michigan Central Station — soon to host offices for Ford Motor Co. and a bevy of tech companies — and its adjoining Roosevelt Park.
“A car show today has to be more than just vintage automobiles,” said Larry Printz, a Florida-based journalist and car authority who regularly judges classic car shows, including the 2022 Detroit Concours. “You have to know your audience: What will attract people to your show?
“Great cars are a must, but they’re not sufficient alone.”
Contact Mark Phelan: 313-222-6731 or mmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Reshaping Detroit's classic car show may mean a change of location
