The 2016 Concours d’Elegance of America at St. John’s took place yesterday and while muscle cars are fairly scarce in the incredibly diverse show field, the Mopar community was well represented with cars from Dodge, Plymouth Chrysler and Jeep. For those who didn’t make it to the high end car show, here is a quick look at the most recognizable Mopars from the Concours d’Elegance.
First and foremost, we have the muscle car category – including the 1970 Barracuda shown leading the field above, the 1971 Hemi Cuda shown below, a 1970 Plymouth Superbird and a 1969 Dodge Super Bee. The image above shows the award ceremony for the muscle car class and, as you can see, there are three Mopars, one Camaro and one Mustang.
The vintage pro stock drag racing class was topped by a pair of Dodge Challenger race cars, including the Red Light Bandit and the Motown Missile.
A 1966 Dodge Charger and a 1965 Plymouth Barracuda were on display in the Evolution of the Fastback display while a 1958 Plymouth Fury and a 1961 Chrysler 300G were located in the American Post-War class. The 300G won the category.
Finally, the classic SUV section had an old school Willy’s and the modern Mopar world was represented by a pair of Dodge Vipers –one privately owned SRT model and one ACR owned by the M1 Concourse racing facility.
Check out the gallery below for a closer look at the leading Mopars from Concours d’Elegance!
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
