The history of the CLC (Cadillac & La Salle Club) Grand European is based on the large Cadillac meeting in the USA, where brand enthusiasts meet once a year. In Europe, the non-annual meeting began in 2006 with Belgium, followed by Germany in 2008, France in 2010, the Netherlands in 2013, Switzerland in 2015 and in 2017 it will take place in Copenhagen from August 23 to 27, 2017; the Danish club is already making preparations.
Fin to fin
Around 100 vehicles gathered at the Seedamm Plaza in Pfäffikon on Lake Zurich on August 26, 2015. The parking lot looked really full, as practically all the vehicles took up far more than just one parking space.
Long, longer, longest - 80 years of US automotive history were presented on the "Sunset Boulevard" in central Switzerland.
Preferring to drive on main roads
By now, people are used to classic car excursions always being held on side roads with little or no traffic. It was different here. Presumably the oversize of the vehicles does not allow for side roads, as even crossing with a tractor can be a problem.
So we drove on the very busy main roads to Appenzell, then to Lucerne to the Museum of Transport, to Einsiedeln Abbey and finally to the traditional barbecue in Brunnen.
Lifestyle
Most car owners live the tradition of their car by not only dressing in style, they also play Elvis songs from various loudspeakers, carry Coke bottles (not yet cans) in appropriate holders and even the burger with chips is ready, albeit only in plastic.
80 years of Cadillac diversity
The diversity of the vehicle range began with the LaSalle from 1937 and moved through the icons of the fifties, sixties and seventies to the most recent car, the ATS-V.
The variety of shapes of tail fins, tail lights and bumpers is unbelievable. Even the vehicle faces changed their appearance at least once a year, in keeping with American tradition.
Their unbelievable size and the associated confusion would probably require special courses for driving through a parking garage today. For once, however, everything was organized, and in a very generous way, so that such problems did not even arise in little Switzerland.
Good atmosphere
Arion Scheifele, President of the Cadillac Club of Switzerland for 20 years, put it in a nutshell: "The quality and variety of the vehicles were extremely high. But what counts even more was the atmosphere. I believe that the teams were able to experience the landscape and hospitality of Switzerland in its most beautiful form."
Best of Show for 1952 Caddy
The Dutchman Floris van Os certainly put on a super show. The mint green 1952 convertible made its maiden voyage to Switzerland after around 20 years of restoration. The car appeared in absolutely new condition and also offered various features, such as the perfectly dressed woman with a complete set of suitcases and pick-nick accessories from the period. Logically, they won the "Best of Show" award.
The "President's choice" awarded by Arion Scheifele remained in Switzerland and went to Heinz Simonet and his 1958 Eldorado Biarritz Convertible.
The problem of size
An old man stood wistfully in one of the parking lots and said: "I used to have one of these. But it was a long time ago. It barely fitted into our garage, i.e. it was so small that I could only get in and out via the open roof, opening the door was out of the question. The garage door could also only be closed two-thirds of the way and required a special lock to prevent damage to the front of the car. Yes, sometimes you have to be able to suffer to drive something special ...
