Concept Car Winners & the Concours d’Elegance of America

This past weekend the Concours d’Elegance of America at St. John’s was held in Plymouth, Michigan. That’s over, obviously.

But one thing that occurred at the venue where more than 300 cars were on display in some magnificent glory—not only the likely suspects like Duesenberg, Auburn, Pierce Arrow, and Bentley, but also Muscle Cars, Drag Cars, and Bonneville Streamliners—was the awarding of the 2015 North American Concept Car of the Year Awards.

(Full disclosure: I’m a judge.)

And this year’s awardees are nothing short of conceptually impressive.

The 2015 Production Preview Concept of the Year went to the Ford GT:

The 2015 Concept Car of the Year was awarded to the Mercedes F 015:

And the 2015 Concept Truck of the Year was bestowed on the Hyundai Santa Cruz:

(Here’s an interesting thing to note: While the Mercedes was unveiled at the 2015 CES in Las Vegas, the other two had their debuts at the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.)

However. . .

If you’re interested in learning about what goes into a concurs in general and the Concours d’Elegance of America in particular, then you will be want to watch this edition of “Autoline After Hours,” where Larry Moss, chairman of the event, talks about how the event is orchestrated every year.

Moss, in conversation with host John McElroy, Edward Niedermeyer of the Daily Kanban, and me, describes how it isn’t merely a car show, but actually includes aspects of fashion, art and education.

In addition to which, McElroy, Niedermeyer and I discuss a range of topics including Tesla’s battery swap station in Harris Ranch, California, and the hacking of the Cherokee and its implications for the auto industry.

And you can see it all here: