Classic Car Club of America

Classic Car Club of America
Name	Classic Car Club of America
Formation	1952
Headquarters	Pomona, California
Type	Automobile enthusiasts' organization
Membership	Selective
Leader title	President

Classic Car Club of America The Classic Car Club of America is a selective organization dedicated to the preservation, appreciation, and documentation of fine and distinctive automobiles from the early 20th century. Founded in 1952, the Club has influenced standards for historic vehicle recognition, collecting, and restoration across North America and internationally. It engages collectors, restorers, museums, concours organizers, and historians to promote exemplary examples from marque producers and coachbuilders.

History

The Club was established amid postwar collecting trends by a group of enthusiasts influenced by figures associated with Automobile Club of America, Society of Automotive Historians, Hagerty Insurance Agency, RM Sotheby's, and personalities linked to Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, Amelia Island Concours, Goodwood Festival of Speed, Sotheby's, and Bonhams. Early leaders drew on practices from institutions such as American Automobile Association, National Automobile Museum, Antique Automobile Club of America, Automobile Quarterly, and collectors connected to Brooklands Museum, National Motor Museum (Beaulieu), Henry Ford Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and Getty Museum. The Club's criteria and events were shaped alongside restorers, appraisers, and dealers who worked with marque houses such as Packard Motor Car Company, Duesenberg, Cord Automobile, Stutz Motor Company, and coachbuilders like Fleetwood, LeBaron, and Weymann.

In subsequent decades the organization interfaced with auctioneers and promoters including Bonhams, Christie's, Gooding & Company, Barrett-Jackson, Mecum Auctions, RM Auctions, and museums and foundations like The Henry Ford, Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile, Deutsches Museum, Louwman Museum, The Petersen Automotive Museum, and Blackhawk Museum to help codify standards. Influential collectors and patrons linked to the Club have included heirs, industrialists, and enthusiasts associated with families tied to General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Chrysler, Studebaker, and European marques represented by Rolls-Royce, Bentley Motors, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Alfa Romeo.

Organization and Membership

The Club operates through regional chapters modeled on nonprofit associations akin to American Association of Museums, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Smithsonian Institution, and The J. Paul Getty Trust in governance. Leadership roles echo those in established cultural organizations such as Board of Trustees of the British Museum, Trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum, and executive committees similar to Metropolitan Museum of Art governance. Membership selection reflects standards comparable to specialty societies like Living History Foundation, Royal Automobile Club, Fondation du Patrimoine, and private clubs such as Automobile Club de France and Royal Automobile Club (UK), and involves vetting by curators, historians, and recognized appraisers from institutions including Sotheby's, Christie's, and Bonhams.

Members often include collectors, restorers, museum curators, journalists from periodicals like Hemmings Motor News, Classic & Sports Car (magazine), Autocar, and historians from Society of Automotive Historians, Automotive Hall of Fame, British Heritage Motor Centre, Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile, and corporate historians connected to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Volkswagen Group, Daimler AG, Stellantis, and Toyota Motor Corporation.

Classic Car Designation and Criteria

The Club's designation of "Classic" encompasses vehicles produced by manufacturers such as Packard, Duesenberg, Cadillac, Lincoln (company), Pierce-Arrow, Auburn (automobile), Cord, Studebaker, Marmon, Bugatti, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Mercedes-Benz, BMW (Bayerische Motoren Werke), Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Isotta Fraschini, and coachbuilt examples by LeBaron, Fletcher, Lea-Francis, Vanderbilt (Yacht and Automobile)-style builders. Adjudication draws on reference works and registries maintained by scholars affiliated with Society of Automotive Historians, Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, The Horseless Carriage Foundation, Classic Motor Hub, and expert committees with ties to RM Sotheby's and Gooding & Company.

Criteria consider provenance parallel to museum accession standards at The Henry Ford, Petersen Automotive Museum, and technical authenticity documented in archives like National Automotive History Collection, Library of Congress, and corporate archives of General Motors Heritage Center, Ford Archives, Chrysler Archives, Mercedes-Benz Archives, and BMW Group Classic. Restoration ethics align with guidelines from International Council of Museums, Historic Vehicle Association, and conservation practices observed at Brooklands Museum and National Motor Museum (Beaulieu).

Events and Activities

The Club organizes and endorses events comparable to Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, Amelia Island Concours, Concours d'Elegance of America, Greenwich Concours d'Elegance, Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, Goodwood Revival, Goodwood Members' Meeting, Le Mans Classic, and rallies such as Mille Miglia, Targa Florio, Colorado Grand, Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional-type gatherings. Activities include judged shows, driving tours, educational lectures with speakers from Society of Automotive Historians, British Motor Museum, RM Sotheby's, Bonhams, and workshops hosted with restoration firms linked to Ettore Bugatti (company), Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Bentley Motors, Mercedes-Benz Classic Centre, and independent specialists from Brooklands, Donington Hall, and Le Mans teams.

Members participate in competitive and noncompetitive touring events influenced by historic races and demonstrations such as Mille Miglia Storica, Targa Florio Storica, Goodwood Festival of Speed demonstrations, and preservation seminars like those at Smithsonian Institution and The Henry Ford.

Museums and Collections

The Club collaborates with and loans vehicles to institutions including Petersen Automotive Museum, Blackhawk Museum, The Henry Ford, National Automobile Museum (Nevada), Louwman Museum, Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile, Brooklands Museum, Deutsches Technikmuseum, LeMay - America's Car Museum, National Motor Museum (Beaulieu), and private collections displayed in events organized by Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and Amelia Island Concours. Collections often feature marque histories tied to manufacturers such as Packard Motor Car Company, Duesenberg Motors Company, Cord Corporation, Stutz, Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company, Rolls-Royce Limited, Bentley Motors Limited, and Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S..

Exhibitions curated in partnership with museums draw on archival materials from Library of Congress, Smithsonian Institution, National Archives and Records Administration, and corporate archives like General Motors Heritage Center and Mercedes-Benz Archives.

Publications and Media

The Club produces periodicals and bulletins similar in scholarly intent to Automobile Quarterly, Hemmings Motor News, Classic & Sports Car (magazine), Road & Track, and engages with broadcast and digital media outlets such as Motor Trend, Autocar, Top Gear, BBC Radio, BBC Television, Discovery Channel, and documentary producers akin to National Geographic and History (TV network). Its publications reference research by historians associated with Society of Automotive Historians, curators from Petersen Automotive Museum, The Henry Ford, and registrars from auction houses like Christie's and Sotheby's.

The Club's media presence includes event coverage coordinated with organizers of Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, Amelia Island Concours, Goodwood Revival, and auctioneers including RM Sotheby's, Gooding & Company, Bonhams, and Barrett-Jackson.

Category:Automobile associations