Dar's Cars: Enjoying famous Hershey Meet in 21,856 steps

There were three major things that I wanted to do in my visit to the famous Eastern division Antique Automobile Club of America Fall Meet in Hershey last week. On Friday I wanted to enjoy the 1,000 old cars with price tags on the window in the event’s Car Corral and check out the swap meet, on Friday evening I wanted to attend the RM Sotheby’s fine car auction at Hershey Lodge and on Saturday I wanted to spend the day reviewing the 1,500 vintage vehicles in the show field.

With my grandson Kyle as my companion, I got to enjoy all my wishes. As is often the case with a trip to the Hershey Fall Meet, we had to deal with the elements. Friday was a nice day but Mother Nature got a little restless and there were raindrops to dodge on Saturday. Fortunately the rains were light. No Hurricane Matthew in PA.

Many auto enthusiasts who attend Hershey, said to be the largest outdoor event of its kind in the U.S., come for the swap meet. It is difficult to adequately describe the scale of this event.

This year over 9,000 vendors (that’s not a typo) set up shop for the four-day event on the acres and acres of asphalt-covered ground that normally serves as parking for visitors to the nearby Hershey Park and the Giant Center.

The reason the Hershey Fall Meet is held over four days is so that enough time is available for enthusiasts to visit all the vendor sites. It’s not unusual for a car buff to take a week off, drive to Hershey in a camper and spend all four days looking for a missing headlight or a replacement for a broken taillight.

Some of the folks who walk the site are creative in how they advertise the part they are seeking. I got a kick out of seeing one gent who was wearing a crudely made sandwich board made of cardboard. The words on both the front and back simply stated, “rumble seat for 37 or 38 Ford. Enough said.

Kyle and I both wanted to spend time traversing the swap meet site. Kyle was looking for a higher trim bumper cover for his 1999 GMC Jimmy SUV and I hoped to find a die-cast model or two.

We had lots of time so I thought this would be the year that I walked the entire site, something I had never tried before. Ha, that was a pipe dream. I’d guess we covered maybe 20 percent of the vendors before fatigue set in. To visit 9,000 vendors all in one place really does take four days to accomplish!

It was our time in the swap meet area that I accumulated most of the footsteps on my phone’s pedometer. I met my day’s exercise goal – about four times over.

We next headed for the nearby Car Corral. This is the horseshoe shaped venue that plays host to hundreds of vehicles, all with a price tag in their window. Each year I always a few cars that get my pulse going on this stretch of asphalt that must be a mile long.

There were dozens of cars that drew me for a closer look. Not surprisingly, for a guy that likes the rare and unusual body styles, I found little interest in the always-present display of muscle cars, Mustangs and Tri-Five Chevys.

The vehicles that said hello to me were models like a svelte 1961 Buick Special wagon, a glamorous 1960 Chrysler New Yorker 4-door HARDTOP wagon and a really luxurious 1962 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special.

Probably Dar’s favorite car at the Hershey Meet was this 1961 Buick Special “senior compact” station wagon. The Special was Buick’s entry in the fast emerging small car market at the time. Dar talked his dad into purchasing a ’61 Special sedan Deluxe and he recalls it with great fondness. This wagon was in the Car Corral and had a sold sign in the windshield before Dar arrived.

After a nice dinner in nearby Hershey, grandson Kyle and I headed to the elegant Hershey Lodge and spent a portion of the evening attending the RM Sotheby’s auction.

Robert Myers founded the high-end RM auction in 1991 in Blenheim, Ontario, Canada. Today RM (now affiliated with the famous Sotheby’s organization) holds ten auctions annually in overseas places as Paris, Monaco, London and at Amelia Island, Monterey and Plymouth (MI) in the States.

The company holds the record for the highest ever total for a single collector car auction when in August 2015 the company’s auctioneers gaveled “sold” vehicles that totaled $172.9 million.

Two hundred and sixty six items were consigned for auction at Hershey with many being offered at no reserve. The affair is held over two nights and attracts a wonderful variety of automobiles and auto memorabilia.

As at past RM Sotheby’s auctions, I was entertained watching both the persuasiveness of the auctioneer to squeeze every last dollar out of the eager bidders and seeing the many stunning vehicles on the brightly lit stage.

A large number of bidders were from foreign countries as well as from many of the states in the U.S. The best seller was a 1930 Duesenberg Model J Dual-Cowl Phaeton with body by Murphy. The high bid was a lofty and impressive $2,090,000.

Dar has noted that each year at the Hershey Meet Saturday car show there is an “IT” car. You can spot the “IT” car by just looking for a larger than average crowd gathered around a particular vehicle – all day long. A few years ago it was the mid-30s Railton owned by the Hostetler Hudson Museum in Indiana. Dar invited that car to the Lake Bluff Concours the next year. Last year’s “IT” car was a one-of-a-kind limousine built for Mrs. Walter P. Chrysler. This year the “IT” car was a luxurious 1938 Packard 160 Convertible with an unusual removable roof. Seeing the car’s hood ornament was worth the drive to Pennsylvania.

Saturday was the big AACA car show held in a huge grassy field adjacent to the swap meet and car corral area. It was my assumption that the raindrops put a dent on the number of vehicles that showed up for the judged show.

For attendees like me who like to take a lot of photos, the unfortunate weather made it hard to keep the camera lense dry. Also disappointing was the owner’s use of a plastic covering that protect some of the vehicles on display.

Despite the moisture, there were still over a thousand cars to enjoy and the variety of vehicles easily please visitors regardless of their automotive preferences. Space doesn’t allow me to comment on all the cars that caught my eye. Readers who have never attended this AACA event must understand that the large assortment of vehicles on display will surely include styles and eras that will be appealing.

Hershey never disappoints. This year was extra special because I got to enjoy my visit with my wonderful grandson Kyle. If you have never enjoyed a Hershey visit, put it on your calendar for next year. Go to www.aaca.org for information.

The RM Sotheby’s auction at the Hershey Lodge was the place to be on both Thursday and Friday evening. The best seller was a 1930 Duesenberg Model J Dual-Cowl Phaeton with body by Murphy. The high bid was a lofty and impressive $2,090,000. Someone had the privilege of driving (more likely trailering) this remarkable automobile home. Also receiving top dollars were a number of Packard models and an Auburn Eight Supercharged Speedster.

Some of the folks who walk the site are creative in how they advertise the part they are seeking. Dar got a kick out of seeing one gent who was wearing a crudely made sandwich board made of cardboard. The words on both the front and back simply stated, “rumble seat for 37 or 38 Ford.

Other favorite vehicles at the Hershey show.