Mark McAlpine

I know it's a bittersweet occasion for you, Victoria, but your father is looking down and smiling at you. He appreciates all you've done. I hope it works out that you get to keep the 1957 Skyliner.

If you contact AACA HQ, they may be able to help you. If would help if you have the name of the previous owner (assuming they were an AACA member and owned the car when it received its award) and the car's VIN.

Registration forms for the 2020 Winter Nationals (to register vehicles, register to participate in activities, or register to judge) are online at aaca.org. Look under "Shows & Tours," click on the "Nationals (Meet) Registration," and sign in to register. You can pay for Judges Breakfast online, but if you register a vehicle or register to participate in any of the great activities the South Florida Region has organized, you'll need to print the registration form and mail it in (with a check). This is going to be a fun show (and, for those of us living in the snow belt, it will be warm). See you there!

You could try searching the Detroit News newspaper archives (it was established in 1873) or Detroit Free Press newspaper archives (it was established in 1831). They operate jointly now, so I don't know if they've combined their archives, but there may have been something about the tour in one or both of the newspapers back then. (If you have access to Lexis-Nexis, you should be able to run a search of these two newspapers and others sources.) Another possible research resource would be the Detroit Historical Society. With nothing to base my opinion on other than geographic proximity, I lean toward Joe Konarowski's suggestion that the tour was from Chatham, Ontario, to Detroit. First, Chatham is only about 60 miles from Detroit. LaPorte, IN, and Traverse City, MI, are considerably farther. Obviously it was a different time in 1910 (I'm old, but not that old), but I remember taking day trips to Chatham with my parents and/or grandparents many times as a child. (We lived in Detroit and my grandparents lived in Windsor, Ontario, just across the river from Detroit.) Second, the maple leaf on the pin is pretty prominent--as a national symbol of Canada, I'd think that would be more reflective of the tour originating in Canada than in LaPorte, IN, or somewhere near Traverse City, MI. Good luck on solving the historical mystery, Terry. Let us know how it turns out.

They're lever action shock absorbers. I found info on Delco-Remy's acquisition of Lovejoy, but could find any part reference numbers. Sorry. http://delcoremyhistory.com/Products/shockabsorbers.htm

Hello Joe. I haven't heard anything about a meeting yet, but Marion & I look forward to seeing you & Lynne in Philadelphia--have a safe trip!

Buying a car at auction is just like buying a car from an individual or dealer--inspect it closely, decide if the condition it's in is worth the price to you (don't forget the 10% commission!) plus the additional cost of fixing or correcting whatever is wrong with it. Determine your max price and stick to it--don't get caught up in the bidding frenzy. (And don't try to compete with the millionaires.) Sometimes you can get a good deal, but many times the cars sell for more than they're worth--at least more than they're worth to me. A big difference, as Matt and others pointed out, is you usually don't get to test drive vehicles at an auction. You're relying on what the consignor tells you (if you're fortunate enough to speak with him/her in person, and not just reading the auction description) or what you can glean from your own personal inspection. Given the option, I'd much prefer to buy from someone I know who has owned the car for a while, knows its faults and will disclose them to me, and compromises on a price that's agreeable and fair to both parties. Some of the auction companies do give you some recourse if the car is misrepresented--e.g., it has some major mechanical issue that the consignor did not disclose and could not be detected by visual inspection. (Barrett-Jackson has a 30-day mediation window.) I don't know if all auction companies do this. The thing I like about watching the auctions on TV, and occasionally in person, is they're big car shows and you get to see a variety of vehicles and can dream about which you'd like to buy given the money and opportunity. (I like to "bid" aloud at home and see how close I come to the selling price or final bid. Then I wonder what I didn't see that caused the vehicle to sell for what at times seems like an outrageously high or low price.) Auctions on TV are entertainment and, to me, better than a lot of other "entertainment" on TV. One thing I find interesting with the Mecum auctions is that they seem to be willing to compromise on the commission (at least for the seller) on many vehicles to close the sale (and maintain a high "sell through" rate). I don't see that with the other auctions, although I don't doubt that the auction companies work out special deals with their repeat, big dollar clients. (Somehow I doubt that Rick Hendrick, John Staluppi, Ron Pratt, etc., pay the same selling or buying commission I would. And I understand that--they buy and sell millions of dollars of high-value cars a year, whereas the average buyer or seller deals with one average price car every year or two or three.)

Sorry to hear about this. My condolences to his family.

Have a safe trip, Joe! (Miami is a long trek for you.) I think there are others besides you taking advantage of the show's location and taking a cruise out of Miami or Ft. Lauderdale after the show. I wish Marion & I could, but I have to be back home for school that Monday. I hope you're still looking at holding a national or divisional tour out your way. I think a tour in the Pacific Northwest would get great participation. Have a great Christmas!

Hello Charlie. Yes, the info brochures for all the shows & tours should be posted before the Annual Convention. There are a few activities that have not submitted their info trifolds yet. For members that participate in the tours, we are also going to have available in Philadelphia brochures with info on all the tours. You are correct--2020 is the AACA's 85th anniversary. (Happy Birthday to us!) Right now I'm not aware of any of the Nationals doing anything special to celebrate or recognize this milestone. The KYANA Region in Kentucky hosts a Nationals every five years (to coincided with the AACA's anniversary) and is doing so again this year. (They're hosting the 2020 Southeastern Fall Nationals on 20-22 August in Elizabeth, IN, right across the river from Louisville, KY.) They usually do something to recognize the club's anniversary. It's not noted on their dash plaque, but I think they're looking at doing special t-shirts and other memorabilia reflecting the club's anniversary. And I echo your thanks to all the regions and chapters (and, for the Reliability Tour, individuals) who are hosting national activities in 2020. I also thank in advance all the members who are going to participate in these activities. We can't have car shows and tours without regions & chapters to host them and members & antique vehicles participating in them. Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and Happy (and safe) New Year everyone! (To you Seinfeld fans--Happy Festivus!)

Hello Phillip, The Western Spring Nationals & Founders Tour being held in Show Low, AZ, in April are intentionally back-to-back. Both are being hosted by the Phoenix Region, and we hope by combining the two it will encourage more participation in both activities. The Reliability Tour and Grand Nationals originally were not scheduled to overlap, but it ended up happening when we had to push back the Grand Nationals two weeks because of an issue with the availability of trailer parking for the original dates. We discussed possibly changing the dates of the Reliability Tour, but by that time most of the details for the tour had been locked in, so the decision was to not change the dates. It's unfortunate that the last day of the Reliability Tour is the Friday of the Grand Nationals--so the day of Zenith Award Judging--but it could not be avoided. We realized this will impact some Reliability Tour participants and apologize, but, again, it could not be avoided. For those members on the tour who want to enter a vehicle in the Grand Nationals or judge at the show, Allentown is about 2.5 - 3.0 hrs from Lock Haven/Wellsboro, PA. They could depart the tour on Friday afternoon (and, unfortunately, skip its closing banquet) and arrive in Allentown late in the afternoon or early evening in order to be on the show field Saturday morning.

The new year is almost here. If you haven’t already planned which AACA national activities you’re going to attend in 2020, it’s time to start doing it. Car season will be here before you know it. The AACA has a great calendar of national activities lined up for 2020. (And your local regions and chapters have additional fun activities to do in between the national activities!) Thank you to all the AACA regions, chapters, and individuals that stepped forward to host these activities for the rest of us to enjoy: - February 6-8, 2020: AACA Annual Convention in Philadelphia, PA - February 27-29, 2020: AACA Winter Nationals in Miami, FL - April 2-4, 2020: AACA Southeastern Spring Nationals in Concord, NC - April 23-25, 2020: AACA Western Spring Nationals in Show Low, AZ - April 26 – May 1, 2020: AACA Founders Tour in Show Low, AZ - May 7-9, 2020: AACA Central Spring Nationals in Auburn, IN - May 13-16, 2020: AACA Eastern Divisional Tour in the Eastern Shore of Maryland - June 7-12, 2020: AACA Sentimental Tour in Davis, WV - June 24-27, 2020: AACA Eastern Spring Nationals in Beckley, WV - July 19-24, 2020: AACA Reliability Tour in Lock Haven/Wellsboro, PA - July 23-25, 2020: AACA Grand Nationals in Allentown, PA - August 20-22, 2020: AACA Southeastern Fall Nationals in Elizabeth, IN - September 13-18, 2020: Revival AAA Glidden Tour® (hosted by the VMCCA) in Saratoga Springs, NY - October 7-10, 2020: AACA Eastern Fall Nationals in Hershey, PA - October 19-23, 2020: AACA Central Divisional Tour in Broken Arrow, OK The host regions and Nationals/Tour Chairpersons have put a lot of time and effort into planning and organizing these shows and tours. Please support them by registering to participate in these shows and tours. We’re holding activities in a number of places we haven’t been to before and others we haven’t been to in years. This year is the time to visit & explore new places and return to some old favorites. Again, please support your fellow AACA regions and members by participating in these national activities—let’s set participation records at each!

Looks like a great swap meet--thanks for sharing the photos with us! Wish I lived closer. (It's a long way from southeast Virginia.)

CJEs are not offered at Grand Nationals, only at the regular Nationals shows. If you want to earn your annual judging credit for attending a CJE lesson, you'll need to attend one of the seven 2020 Nationals and attend CJE there. (CJE is offered on Saturday immediately after the Judges Breakfast, except for Hershey where both CJE and Judging School are offered on Friday afternoon.) Thanks for being a judge! We can't have a Nationals show without cars and judges.

One minor point of clarification--you don't have to wait until the next year to enter your vehicle for a Senior Award. You can try for it at the next Nationals convenient for you to attend (if registration is still open). Of course, I'm commenting two months after the original post, so at this point it will have to be next year if you didn't attend either the 2019 Southeastern Fall Nationals in Mobile, AL, or 2019 Western Fall Nationals in Fallbrook, CA.