Classic My Favorite Ride: Auburns and Packards and Fords, oh my, topless at car show

Twenty years ago this month, I took a road trip to West Baden Springs to see some vintage cars. Convertibles, all, spanning six decades — from a 1901 Huntingburg horseless carriage to a rare 1961 Lincoln Continental 4-door.

And there they were, 17 shiny metal works of automotive art, parked inside the spectacular West Baden Springs Hotel ballroom. Packards and Auburns. William Randolph Hearst's 1930 Duesenberg.

A car girl's dream.

We're republishing that column this week, since many of you probably weren't reading My Favorite Ride in 2004. The March 7 headline was kind of racy, but it likely drew readers in.

Let's step back two decades ...

20 years ago: Topless at West Baden Springs Hotel

There's something about being parked beneath the West Baden Springs Hotel dome that brings out the elegance in classic cars.

Especially when they have their tops down.

Especially when you are peering down at them from six stories up.

"From the sixth floor, they look like Franklin Mint models," said Tina Connor, vice president of marketing and special projects for the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana.

She is referring to the 17 "topless" vintage vehicles from around Indiana on display through the end of the month in the expansive ballroom under the dome at the West Baden Springs Hotel in Orange County.

Among the convertible and touring cars is a 1901 Huntingburg horseless carriage, complete with a primitive emergency brake — a hunk of iron attached to a leather strap — that can be tossed out the side to slow the vehicle. The car also features a buggy whip to keep chasing dogs at bay.

The newest car in the collection is a cool pale aqua 1961 Lincoln Continental 4-door convertible.

"There is perhaps room for more, but we don't want the cars to be crowded. We want people to have room to walk around and get a good look at them."

The car show came about in part because of the success of last summer's Made In Indiana display of 14 Hoosier-manufactured automobiles from the past. "We are always trying to think of ways to use that enormous space," Connor said. "We may be having a vintage fire engine show next." She's not kidding.

Four Packards and three Auburns currently grace the ballroom floor. You also will find William Randolph Hearst's 1930 Duesenberg J254 Imperial Cabriolet that was outfitted in Paris, a 1933 Chrysler Custom Imperial Phaeton, a 1923 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost once owned by Howard Hughes and a 1913 Rambler Cross Country Tourer. The Rambler and a 1931 Ford Model A Phaeton are from the collection of Bloomington's Norman Deckard.

Connor's favorite is a sporty butterscotch-colored Auburn. "People are surprised at the colors, because there's this thinking that older cars were mostly subdued. But these elegant and expensive cars mostly are restored to their original colors. The 1913 Rambler is bright blue."

Connor is no car aficionado, but she had come to appreciate the historic cars that have graced the hotel. "I knew nothing about cars, but have done a lot of reading about them since we have been having these shows. I love meeting the owners and learning the idiosyncrasies of their vehicles."

Indianapolis businessman and car collector Timothy Durham loaned all six of his vintage convertibles for the show. He drove each one onto the ballroom floor the day before the show began.

The cars are roped off and are for viewing, not touching — except for a yet-to-be-restored 1947 Jaguar Drophead Coupe provided by an anonymous collector. "All of them are pristine, but we do have this one car people are allowed to look inside and to touch," Connor said.

Have a story to tell about a car or truck? Contact My Favorite Ride reporter Laura Lane at 812-318-5967.