Observations From Our Chief Judge

Mark Moskowitz

Motorcar Cavalcade Chief Judge

One might wonder what brought this group to the Turnberry lawn...

Without the backdrop, one might wonder what brought this group to the Turnberry lawn. Among them one of the 75 greatest basketball players of all time (according to the New York Times), award winning composers of New Age and classical music, a three-time grammy winner, the Heat’s DJ, a couple of special forces guys, a producer responsible for multiple great entertainment series including reboots of Magnum PI and Hawaii 5-0 and a journalist for the Hollywood Reporter.

The sheet metal sculptures present make it obvious; they are avowed or closet gear heads and enjoy the finest examples of cars, fabulous cuisine and engaging company. Along with other luminaries, similarly dressed in Miami versions of Derby finery, they surround strategically placed groupings of pristine vehicles with at first no obvious relationship to one another.

Thoughtful owners, who along with their vehicles are the stars of the show, have brought the best of their collections to participate in a garden party and an event that breaks tradition. As those with eyes and ears and even smell developed from a variety of mostly non-automotive disciplines bring their talents to appreciate cars for the unique features for which they have gained fame.

As those with eyes and ears and even smell developed from a variety of mostly non-automotive disciplines bring their talents to appreciate cars for the unique features for which they have gained fame

Will an interior designer prefer the brass finish of a Pierce Arrow, over the nickel of a 1927 Buick, the silvered radiator of a vintage Mercedes or the chrome of a 1956 Cadillac? Will a movie director take to the sound (exhaust note) of the highly engineered Lexus LFA, a Lamborghini V-12, or a 427 Cobra?

Will a painter of note prefer the sight and smell of the Connolly Leather of a Rolls Royce Silver Cloud interior to that of the sumptuous surfaces of a Pagani Huayra?

In case I haven’t relayed the message well (and I ask you forgive my few uses of first-person singular), the Motorcar Cavalcade is about cars, fun and great relationships. Nearly 200 vehicles are on display with most divided into groupings of 8-10. Classes are characteristics. And the preferences of celebrity judges determine those that will make it to the stage. Though many do, and perhaps all should, consider being on the field and interacting with those that appreciate their mounts recognition enough.

Motorcar Cavalcade is about cars, fun and great relationships.

Guiding the action throughout the day are our docents, some of America’s most notable concours judges. Together they have served scores of times as Chief Judge at major American concours d’ elegance, recorded multiple appearances at Pebble Beach as well as at international concours including UK’s Salon Prive’ and India’s 21 Gun Salute, and have made countless contributions to the compendium of America’s automotive literature.

They’ve helped Jason, Warren, Floyd, and Russell assemble three years of stellar fields, but they do not judge at the Motorcar Cavalcade. Rather they will be ever present on the lawn guiding the teams, acting as virtual encyclopedias and displaying the impeccable field manners for which they are renowned.

Our docents, some of America’s most notable concours judges.

I double back to those mentioned in the first paragraph. I served as docent while they admired (ogled) the cars and conversed with owners and their families. Along the way I was able to relive and discuss the moment when I sat twenty feet away, watching a Charlotte Hornet hero save its playoff hopes in the waning seconds of the game.

I learned about collections; one of our number built his own fifties drive-in. After many minutes of conversation, our Hollywood Reporter revealed that her mom was the long-time girlfriend of Jim Clark, my boyhood hero and perhaps the greatest motor racing driver of the twentieth century.