Geneva Concours 2025

2025 marks the 4th year for our participation in the Geneva Concours. This year, the plan was to display Jim's 1935 Citroen Traction Avant 7C Convertible and his 1954 Mercedes Pickup truck. As I detailed in an earlier post, we spent many late nights getting the Mercedes assembled and ready for the show. In the end, we made it!

Originally, the plan was to have the Mercedes truck ready for the show in 2024, when the featured marques included both Mercedes AND pickup trucks. Although the truck did not make the show in 2024, there was no way we could miss bringing it in 2025. So Greg, Silvano, John and the rest of the crew at Speakeasy Customs pulled a lot of late nights getting the truck ready for this show. The end result was stunning.

The Mercedes shared the stage with about 8 other exquisitely restored pickup trucks right at the front entrance of the show. It's amazing how much lower and sleeker the Mercedes looked compared to the domestic trucks, no doubt because of its sedan platform roots.

The 1935 Traction Avant Convertible was looking sharp with its shiny black paint and contrasting red interior. This car has an aura of originality that cannot be replicated. With its perior-correct aftermarket accessories and rear rumble seat, it is a charming and sophisticated way to cruise the countryside or a car show.

Produced just one year after our Citroen, this 1936 Mercedes-Benz 540K roadster was the exotic car of its time. The restoration on this car was the best of the best from interior to underside. With its long hood and sweeping lines, it continues to make a statement.

Sharing the center stage with the Mercedes was this 1939 Maybach Roadster with bodywork by Spohn. Like the Mercedes, the restoration work was next level, with oodles of chrome and long-hood presence that has not been replicated since.

The third exceptional car in this trio was this 1936 Horch Roadster. The Auto Union brand consisted of 4 different German manufacturers: Audi, Horch, DKW, and Wanderer. The fog light details on the fenders and the engine compartment vent doors were the standout details on this amazing automobile. All three of these roadsters were owned by Dana and Patti Mecum. It was truly incredible to see them all assembled together at the show.

Volkswagen was another featured marque at the show this year. This 1956 VW Beetle oval-window rag top was a perfectly restored example with flawless green paint that elevated this example above the rest.

Another standout in the Volkswagen display was the 1958 Karmann Ghia convertible. These early chrome bumper cars have clean, simple lines and an understated elegance. The color and presentation of this car were perfect.

Chain-driven automobiles were another feature at the show. This 1936 Frazier Nash Shelsley racer was a single seater with extremely narrow bodywork and very cool details.

I love visiting Geneva Concours because I get the opportunity to experience rare cars I don't get to see outside of museum collections. This 1935 SS Coupe was striking, with low, long bodywork that made it appear sleek and fast. After WWII, SS (Swallow Sidecar) changed its name to Jaguar. The proportions of this car can be seen in the recent brightly-colored Jaguar concept cars.

In addition to classic cars, Geneva Concours always has a good selection of modern supercars as well. I loved the deep blue paint of this 2008 Lamborghini Murcielago.

Another supercar standout was this 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder. It is hard to believe these cars are already 10 years old! They still look as sleek and modern as ever.

It is no secret that i LOVE Shelby Mustangs. This 1967 GT350 was perfect in Wimbledon White. This was an early production model with red marker lights in the upper side scoops and the grill with the close-together fog lights. Perfection!

John has started to invite more JDM classics to the show. I was happy to see this 1998 R33 Skyline GTS25t. I did not get a chance to talk to the owner, but it appears this car had a R34 front conversion. I'm hoping that I can get my own Skyline GTR finished and accepted at the show next year.

There were also a couple of Toyota NR2s at the show. I like them both, but as the years have passed, I find myself more captivated by the early wedge styling of the early cars.

We spent a lot of time admiring this orange 1956 GMC pickup truck. This design is very similar to the 4x4 GMC truck Speakeasy is currently restoring for Fred!

We spent most of the day hanging out by the Mercedes truck, but I did check in on the Traction Avant. There were many interested onlookers and I spent about 45 minutes answering questions. I look forward to driving this car more in the future.

After a long week of wrenching on the truck, it was nice to spend some time relaxing at the show with freinds and family, including my wife Cindy. My son Clay was off at college starting is freshman year studying engineering at U of I.

I'm closing out this blog post with a picture of the Oles boys in front of the Mercedes. It was a monumental effort to get the truck put together for this show. I am happy to share moments like this with my Dad Stanley and Uncle Jim.