The proposed changes to ch.2 of the concours rules advocate, among other things, combining and restructuring the concours classes. The first public notice on this was way back in July of '03 when Dick Cavicke put it up on the forum. Many of us, myself included, jumped right in with both feet and began debating the merits of combining this or that group of classes with other classes and why some are a better fit than others. The lengthly debate prompted the JCRC to revise the change and now there is a final version going to the AGM for voting. Looking back through the posts, it seems we never really debated the underlying question. Should we or should we not combine any of the casses? Why do we need to do this?
The class structure shouldn't be used to promote concours attendance. In my view, it's more important than that. We should set up the classes to realistically outline the changes and developments that occurred throughout Jaguar's history. We are the keepers of the heritage. We should be the ones who celebrate every little nuance of development from the earliest Swallow to the latest '04XJ. We sould leave the classes as they are. An SS100 IS different from a 47 2$1/2 saloon and a series 1 SWBXJ6 IS different from a 78 XJ12L. The differences may be small but shouldn't we care about this stuff? Aren't we the afficianodos? I think our Concours d' Elegance should reflect the attention to detail that we all lavish on our cars and this hobby. If the concours class structure becomes devoted to meticulous details of the cars, why is that a bad thing?
John Testrake
Jaguar Association of Greater St. Louis