DeSoto and Hudson conventions Awesome!!!

[marcapra]

I haven't attended a National DeSoto convention since 1991, but I was very impressed with the DeSoto convention in San Diego this weekend.  The cars were just awesome with about 40 on display.  It proved to me that the single marque original car club is not yet dead.  It was amazing when at the awards banquet one of the hosts started talking about the origins of DeSoto and introduced Hernando DeSoto himself in full armor, helmet, and battle axe to address the convention!!!  It turned out that San Diego had an advantage with that since San Diego was discovered by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo and our "Hernando" portrays him on the replica of Cabrillo's ship in San Diego harbor. 

 Just 20 miles away in Poway was the Hudson, Terraplane, Essex convention which was even more impressive with about 85 cars on the field.  I've never thought much about Hudsons before because you never see them.  But you sure could see them here in fantastic restored condition.  I never knew Hudson's were so beautiful!  

[keiser31]

NICE! Thanks for sharing those photos. Were the DeSotos in Mission Valley? It sure looks familiar.

[marcapra]

Yes, the DeSoto's were at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Mission Valley near the old Town and Country Hotel.  Next August the convention will be at Branson, MO.  The modified 51 DeSoto was purchased by the owner from a hotel in Hawaii that used it as a Saipan or shuttle bus.  They put bench seats going sideways with a another bench seat in the back.  The impressive thing was the Koa wood roof, which my photo doesn't really capture very well.  It was impressive.  Also I won A DeSoto sign made by the president who made about 15 or 20 of these beautiful signs out of plywood in the difficult DeSoto script letters.  It's about three feet wide and I'm going to mount it on my garage wall in front of my DeSoto. 

[Marty Roth]

Very Nice - and thanks for sharing these photos.

... wish I could have been there with our 1915 Hudson Six-40 Phaeton

[Xander Wildeisen]

Straight up eye candy. Thanks for the pictures.

[marcapra]

Here are some addition photos of the DeSoto and Hudson conventions in San Diego.  Marc.