Concours déplacé - To err is human
05/07/2023
Contrary to popular belief, spontaneous decisions are not always the best. I experienced this at last year's Opel meeting in Hoch-Ybrig when the nice young lady at the entrance asked me with a smile whether I wanted to take part in the show-and-shine contest with my Omega B. And since my chubby little car with its abundance of factory Irmscher accessories, wooden steering wheel and full V8 regalia of six-arm wheels, honeycomb grille and tinted rear lights is one of the most beautiful representatives of its series in my not entirely objective eyes, I agreed without further ado.
When I parked my automotive beauty queen-to-be next to a finely restored '52 Olympia, I had my first doubts about my plan. But the baroque post-war vehicle would certainly be competing in a completely different category. There would certainly be a separate Youngtimer category. And nobody would fool me about that. But I still don't know whether there was actually a separate Youngtimer classification (or which and how many categories in total). But it didn't matter either. Because my confidence finally vanished when two Germans rolled in with their Manta B and Kadett D.
The lock latches of the two eighties Opels were shinier than my brand new cheap chrome plastic wheel bolt caps from the mail order business, and all the visible bolt heads were gold-plated and polished to a high gloss. And because there was still some time left after cleaning the engine compartment with the ear swab, the spare wheel was given a fresh coat of tire shine. The owners were obviously the kind of car enthusiasts who take their floor mats to the village barber at least once a week to have the bristles washed, blow-dried and laid.
My fate was sealed. For an everyday used car, my Omega is very well maintained, but certainly not immaculate. The judges obviously thought so too. Because after a curt greeting and an equally curt look at the flaws in the sunroof frame, they laughed briefly, thanked me politely and moved on to the next candidate. Perhaps I should try my luck at the Concours d'Lemons next time.
