[DML] Re: concourse

[Hank Breer <hbreer@xxxx>]

A Concours d'Elegance is the top level of an automobile
competition. Cars are judged with points being deducted for
any deficiencies. A winning Concours car does not have to be
completely original, but it should have only parts and
accessories that were available when it was produced. The
goal is to prepare your car to the peak of perfection. If
the car appears to have just come from the factory, this may
not be enough. The goal is to produce a car that looks the
way it SHOULD have come from the factory, with perfect fit,
finish, and functionality.

This leads to a problem. Many mixed marque car shows that
advertise a Concours competition actually use the term to
mean 'good-looking, clean cars'. They usually do not have a
judge knowledgeable about DeLoreans, so originality may not
be as much an issue as it should be. But if it is a
concours, the cars are judged by a group of judges. 

The alternative is a 'driver's choice' or 'people's choice'
style of judging. Here, either the other entrants or the
show attendees cast ballots. No rules on originality, just
appearance.

In a true Concours d'Elegance, since you do not have the
Goodyear NCT radial tires that came with the car, you would
lose a point for tires. If a headlight has been replaced,
you could lose another point if the replacement is not a
Sylvania. However, your DeLorean may not have had the DMC
luggage rack installed when it was first sold, but if you
added one, it would still be perfectly correct, since it was
available when the car was produced. 

There is a Concours d'Elegance for DeLoreans at the DeLorean
Owners Association Expo in St. Louis this coming weekend. 
The concours is sponsored by Stephen Wynne and DMC, Houston,
so the quality of the judging should be very good.

Hank Breer