Another amazing Art Deco Weekend Classic Car Fest. The weather was perfect on both Saturday and Sunday, a little warmer on Sunday but beautiful South Florida weather.  The event as amazing as always, vendors, artists, artisans and many others lined the East side of Ocean Dr. from 5th street to 14th street. Yes this years event was extended all the way to 14th street unlike the past 30+ years it ended on 10th street.  Unlike previous years there were no food street vendors and the local restaurants were invited to participate in the event, all those choosing  to participate had tables and chairs out on the street and many had special menus just for the event, with surprisingly decent rates.  On the West side of Ocean Dr. the spaces in between the restaurants the classic  cars  were lined up all the way from 5th street to 14th street on Saturday and to 13th street on Sunday.  The display and almost everything about the event had a new clean and appealing layout, the cars were better setup with protection from the strollers, cyclist, and scooters.  The one thing we all agreed that was a drawback was the change of dates, as the Art Deco Weekend has always taken place on the long weekend of MLK but this year due to the Orange Bowl and National Championship game taking place on the long weekend the festival was forced to move to the weekend ahead. We are assured the Festival will move back for next year to its original long weekend. 

In no particular order these are the cars that received awards each day, keep in mind these are popular awards. 

Saturday: 1995 Porsche 911 by Bernardo Abello, 1973 BMW 3.0 CS by Drew Gregg, 1966 Ford Thunderbird by Eddie Gil, 1981 Chevy Camaro Z28 by Carlos Alvarez, 1967 Chevy Corvette by Terry Cullen, 1952 MG TD by Francisco Matallana, 1986 Buick Grand National by Peter Rodriguez, 1969 Plymouth Road Runner by Jay Pilch, 1992 Mini Cooper by Henry Gonzalez, 1967 MG B by Peter Lacao, 1975 Chevy Corvette by Art Fernandez.

Best of Show Saturday: 1930 Rolls Royce Phantom by Henry Kohn

Sunday: 1959 Ford Fairlane 500 by Bob Mayer, 1969 Pontiac Firebird by Mike Penn, 1936 Ford Roadster by Diane Ash, 1959 MG A Roadster by Luis Fernandez, 2000 BMW Z8 by Eduardo Areas, 1970 Chevy Corvette by Julio Martinez, 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 by Bruno Zayas, 1955 Chevy Corvette by Henry Kohn, 1934 Buick 56C sport by Larry Epstein, 1964 Ford Thunderbird by Jose Trujillo, 1929 Ford Woody by Ross Battaglia, 

Best of Show Sunday: 1958 Cadillac El Dorado Brougham by Junior Valdes

Awards and Club Support by Williamson Automotive Group

AACA South Florida Region would like to also extend a thank you to the Miami Design Preservation League for hosting the event and always having AACA as the classic car show representatives. 

A special thank you to Ira & Jorge who chaired and organized the event and to Angel, Tony H., Junior, Millie, Manny, Tomas,  Al,  Alejandro. Hector,  Ed,  Anthony N., and  Art F. for helping out and donating water and ice on Sunday. 

Another amazing year and weekend for the annual Art Deco Weekend Classic Car Show on South Beach.  Saturday was a slightly overcast day but still a beautiful day with temperatures in the high 70’s to low 80’s. Many cars turned our for the open car show on Saturday but we could have used a little more, some people might have shied away because of unsure if it would rain or not.  As it turned out to be a great day for a car show. Sunday was even better, we had around 90 classics lined up from 5th street to end of 10th street, adorning Ocean Drive as thousands of spectators enjoyed and marvel at the collection of automobiles.  The Miami Beach city mayor even stopped by and spent a good time enjoying the classic cars. 

In no particular oder here are the cars which received awards on each day.

Saturday January 18; Anthony’s 1957 Bel Air, Richard’s 1962 Corvair, George’s 1974 Triumph, Lee’s 442 convertible, Tony’s 1966 Shelby GT350H, Irwins 1972 MB 280 SL,  Mike’s 1974, Pantera,  Artie’s 1975 Corvette,  Octavio’s 1948 Buick Super,  Urshula’s 1967 Velvedere,  Ricardo’s 1955 Star Chief and Best of Show went to Pedro’s 1959 ElDorado

Sunday January 19: Jeffrey’s 1974 Corvette,  Bob’s 1959 Fairlane,  Juan’s 1960 Austin Healey,  George’s 1964 Alfa Romeo, Jorge’s 1968 Porsche, Jose’s 1974 BMW,  Hector’s 1969 VW Beetle,  Barry’s 1966 Corvette,  Irwin’s 1955 Town & Country,  Al’s 1955 Buick convertible, Danilo’s 1985 Porshe and Best of Show went to John’s 1925 Alvis also celebrating its 100th year of existence, The Alvis has been in John’s family since it was brand new. 

This was an amazing show, the weather could not have been any nicer, a bit chili in the early morning on Saturday and Sunday but once the sun came out it was absolutely fabulous.

Am outstanding display of automobile history throughout time was on display from 1928 to 1998. American, European, sedans, muscle cars, sports cars, any and everything imaginable.

Saturday trophy winners in no particular order were; Josh’s 1968 Dodge Charger, JC Simon’s 1969 Shelby GT 500, Ivan’s 1978 Chevy Corvette, Ana’s 1966 Chevy Corvette, Augusto’s 1934 Ford Coupe, Steve’s 1969 Mach 1, Robert’s 1970 Mustang, George’s 1974 Triumph TR6, Rob’s 1966 Mustang coupe, Sergio’s 1967 VW Beetle, Eduardo’s 1973 BMW 2002, Irwin’s 1955 Chrysler Town & Country Wagon and Best of Show went to Manny’s 1979 Trans Am

Sunday trophy winners in no particular order were; Hank’s 1957 Volvo PV44, Irwin’s 1956 Chrysler New Yorker, Joe’s 1966 Chevy Corvair, Carlos’s 1964 Rolls Royce PV, Bruno’s 1969 Mach 1, Andres’s 1964 Fiat Spider, Ruben’s 1994 Porsche RS America, Jorge’s 1971 BMW 1600, Pedro’s 1969 Chevy Camaro Pace Car, Jorge’s VW Type 2 Deluxe Van, Daniel’s 1928 Model A Ford, E.C.’s 1987 SAAB 900 and the Best of Show going to Albert’s 1977 Toyota Land Cruiser.