Palm Springs provides the perfect setting for an outstanding collection of more than 100 vintage cars in the Mecca of mid-century design.

With the thermometer tapping 90 degrees, Sunday was a great way to kick off the West Coast 2009 car show season with the second annual Desert Classic Concours d'Elegance. The organizers, led by Paul Merigan, assembled a strong field of cars, both prewar classics and moderns from the postwar era about evenly split between domestic and foreign marques.

The best of show winner--selected by the designers on the judging team from among all class winners--was Scott Gauthier's stunning 1961 Alfa Romeo SZ (Sprint Zagato) Coda-Trunka, which is Italian for "cut tail." When I spoke with Scott before the awards, I told him that as an Alfa Romeo his SZ was one of my personal favorites at the show. In a competition with cars of the obvious high standard of this show, and with judges like Chief Judge John Clinard (Ford), Freeman Thomas (Ford), Frank Sausedo (GM), Ron Hill (GM), and Jason Hill (BMW), Scott's was a well-earned honor.

If your tastes tend towards the prewar classics, you wouldn't have gone home disappointed with Cadillac, Packard, and even Mercedes-Benz well represnted. Being a woody fan, one of my favorites was Donnie Crevier's rare 1942 Hudson station wagon which graced the cover of last month's Cars and Parts. On the postwar side, while there weren't any of what we would call muscle cars, there were many foreign and domestic classics, like John White's hand-built 1954 Chrysler New Yorker Ghia and Chris Menrad's 16,000-mile 1967 Cadillac Eldorado.

The grounds of the O'Donnell Golf Club are a spectacular venue for such an event and the dry air of Palm Springs has made it the home of many extensive collections. One example is the collection of Robert Pond, co-founder of the Palm Springs Air Museum, who brought out several prewar classics. The Riverside International Raceway Museum displayed many historic Gurney-Eagle open-seat racecars. And of course there were the people, many in period-correct attire, like Cathy Gauche, who was a class winner with her stunning two-tome blue 1948 Dalahaye 135 MS.

In just its second year, the Desert Classic Concours d'Elegance is already on its way to top-tier status among west coast automotive events. With perfect weather combined with an exceptional venue, we're certain that next year's event will surpass what was a wonderful day in the sun.

Since you want to see the photos, we're glad to oblige; visit the Automotive Traveler image gallery for free, downloadable high-resolution images.

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