Concours d’Elegance Benefit Is Classic
Aldrich Park at UC Irvine turned into an elite used car lot Sunday when exhibitors wheeled in more than 110 gleaming classic automobiles for the Newport Beach Concours d’Elegance.
About 4,000 car buffs turned out to ogle the rare autos and picnic in the park at the 10th anniversary concours, a benefit for the Assessment & Treatment Services Center in Santa Ana. The $10-per-person event raised about $80,000 for the ATSC’s Juvenile Diversion Program.
Parade of Elegance
Exhibitors came from as far away as Illinois to enter their vintage cars in the show, which has steadily gained prestige since its inception.
“Where else can you see $80 million (worth of) cars in one spot?” said Susan Bartlett, who co-chaired the event with Lynda Shea. “Many of these cars are worth $1 million apiece.”
Among the more unusual autos on display: A 1912 Rauch & Lang electric town car once owned by Thomas Edison.
“This car is ready to go right now,” said owner Robert Gottlieb of Beverly Hills. “All you have to do is touch the pedal.”
Gottlieb and wife Susie, the self-described “official car-polisher,” are the second owners of the car (it had been parked in the Edison Institute in the Midwest before they bought it several years ago).
Joyce Gooding of Marina del Rey sat in the shade minding her 1932 Packard Sport that was once owned by Jean Harlow.
“She bought it in 1933 from the Thompson Motor Company in Beverly Hills and had it until she died,” Gooding said. Gooding bought the car in 1964 from a dental technician who had acquired it in 1939 for $350. So how does it run?
“I drove it here from L.A.,” Gooding said proudly.
Dr. L. Dennis Smith, acting chancellor of UCI, presented the best-in-show award to Jim Hull and Peter Mullin of Los Angeles, who entered a 1939 Delahaye. Jim and Barbara Stovall of Orange took the trophy for most elegant entry with their 1931 Rolls-Royce.
Patriotic Theme
Because the concours chose to honor American Classics, many guests were dressed appropriately in red, white and blue. They strolled among the autos and sipped champagne on blankets spread out on the park lawn.
Patrons and underwriters of the event gathered under a white tent for a buffet luncheon of sandwiches, salads, fresh fruits and vegetables, brownies and chocolate chip cookies.
“We just made this an all-American picnic,” said committee member Sotera Townsend.
The Assessment & Treatment Services Center provides professional counseling to troubled youths and their families who are referred to the program by law enforcement or schools in five cities: Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Irvine, Tustin and Orange.
“Our motto is, ‘Arrest the problem, not the child,’ ” said Carol Berg, president of the ATSC board. “Clients often return to tell us that coming to us was a turning point in their lives.”
Other guests included Lloyd Aubert, Judy Dobbs, Charles and Nora Hester, Bruce Hughes, William and Willa Dean Lyon, Phil and Mary Lyons, Susan Mehrtens, Louis Nese, Pam Ramsaier, Candace Rice, Donna Schroeder, Richard and Lani Straman, Catherine Thyen, Bob and Ellen Wilcox, Kent and Carol Wilken and Eric Wittenberg.
