It was a whole year spent as an automotive portraitist and as a globe trotter loving to visit world-class automotive events in top-class destinations to receive those events!

LEMIRE AUTO MEDIA’S 2019 COVERAGES

The year of Lemire Auto Media began with a visit to the Montreal Auto Show, bringing the Montreal premiere of the Corvette ZR1 C7, the one with the big wing in the back. The Camaro SS with its controversial front of the brand’s fans, the beloved by the French, the Mustang Bullitt, the new version of the Dodge Charger Daytona and the Dodge Challenger Hell Cat Red Eye with its new double air intake hood were also on display for the first time in Montreal Auto Show.

Exotic cars were no exception like the Lamborghini SVJ the Urus, and the Porsche 911 in the Carrera 4S version.

The next Toyota Supra also made its Canadian premiere at the Montreal show.

The highlight of the Montreal Auto Show was undoubtedly the presence of the Bugatti Chiron, all dressed in white and the Koenigsegg Agera RS white and red.

Both cars received a worthy presentation being placed in lighted edges boxes.

THE RETROMOBILE WEEK

This was followed by the most incredible car exhibition of all the interior exhibitions I have seen in my life, Paris Rétromobile which, with these three car auctions organized by Bonhams, RM/Sotheby’s and Artcurial offering a unique collection of F1 drivers' helmets and combinations as well as a collection of Italian motorcycles from the Agusta brand.

It just took four days to see everything! 30 publications on the website of the VAQ were made there and Gilbert Bureau, one of the founders of the classic club VAQ was able to see one of his ex-pre-war cars, the 1922 Hudson Super Six tourer be offered at the auction of the Grand Palais, the most beautiful place for an exhibition of antique cars I ever saw.

The Grand Palais was used at the Paris Motor Show between 1901 and 1961.

RM/SOTHEBY’S AT LES INVALIDES

In Rétromobile it's possible to find everything, that has to do with classic and modern cars, up to racing cars, which had a themed exhibition on the McLaren team and its most mythical Formula 1 team, which included four single-seater cars bearing the title of World Champion.

Visiting Paris during what is now called “Retromobile Week” is a very striking experience and it is here that the difference between the automotive history between the United States and Europe is more striking.

The prestige of seeing a car champion in the queen class of car racing, Formula 1 has more prestige in my opinion than to see a car winning the 500 miles of Indianapolis or the Daytona 500 in NASCAR.

<span '="" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" data-mce-style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">

The artist's area was very interesting to see by the diversity of the automotive subjects affected as well as the artistic techniques offered to the greatest pleasure of the collectors. There were many more artists working digitally than I would have imagined.

The Automobilist impressed me with their kiosk visible in the third photo.

There was even Jay Koka, a Canadian artist who exhibited his most recent paintings! Having seen Koka’s work during my visits to the Cavallino Classic between 2000 and 2009, I was pleased to see his novelties.

FERRARI EXHIBITION IN MONACO

The last day of my French stay was at… Monaco. There was an exclusive hand-picked Ferrari exhibit at the Prince Rainier Motor Museum.

There were quite a few Formula 1 single-seater, one of which was never entered into competition and the nickname was the Snow Plow!

You can see it in the fourth and fifth pictures.

AFTER PARIS, TORONTO

Once back in Canada, this is the ever-shining Toronto auto show I will be heading to.

The Canadian premiere of the 2020 Shelby GT500 was the primary motivation for new cars.

A retouched front Camaro was also shown. It was a RS model.

There was an exhibition under the theme of Barrett-Jackson auctions in which featured muscles because of the 60s and 70s as a BOSS 429 and a 1969 Chevelle Copo and another 1970 Chevelle SS convertible.

The Canadian Racing Point F1 team took the opportunity to unveil its 2019 Formula 1 Championship single-seater during the Toronto show.

As every year, the Cobble Beach Concours d'Elegance organized a thematic exhibition, ICONS. These are select vintage cars that were featured and paired with characters or events from their respective eras.

An article in the December 2019 issue of the VAQ magazine features the most beautiful cars I’ve seen in photos and text.

THE ISCA QUEBEC CITY EVENT

Blowing out its 50 candles, promoter Martin D'Anjou and his team pushed the level of the event further by welcoming about 500 vehicles.

There was something for everyone. The highly modified car of Metallica’s singer was well featured with 2 of his sisters created by Rick Dore.

Also of note is the area «Tuning» which was established in an arena located opposite the Centre des foires de Québec.

Chantal Lafleur with her 1932 hot rod was awarded the «Best of Show» award.

THE SUMMER OF 2019

From May to September, a few car events were covered in the summer of 2019.
- Laval and the Corvette Plus Open Door event
- Corvette-Camaro Festival in Victoriaville
- The Granby International, still as big as always
- The Rouville Car Show, Camping Rouville
- The Baie d'Urfé VAQ exhibition and its many British classic cars
- Beaconsfield VAQ classic car exhibition
- Saint-Lambert VAQ classic car exhibition
- Mont Tremblant's Sommet des Légendes (Vintage racing)
- Mclaren Montreal Exotic & Expresso
And to conclude, the memorable Super Mustang Show from the Montreal Mustang club for the epic wheater that made when the event was held at ICAR where it was possible to see in Quebec exclusivity the 2020 Shelby GT500.

Here is a pictures selection of the events I loved most during the season.

CORVETTE PLUS, LAVAL

INTERESTING MEETINGS

The visits of the classic car night cruise of the Montreal Julep and Laval Auto Sport were nice to great owner meetings as the one of a black 1977 Camaro Z28 with its original tires and its body painting, as well as a 1970 orange Ford Torino GT with a 429 engine that created a sensation for visitors with a car that was rarely kept well for this type of model.

A duo of Ford products and especially SVT caught my attention. The 2014 <span '="" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" data-mce-style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">SVT Cobra and the SVT Lightning truck made me react when I found out they belonged to the same family. The best part is they’re both white!

During one of my visits to the Montreal Julep, I liked the little London sign that a British car owner had put on his picnic bag! The photo was taken a few weeks before my trip to this city!

TRIP TO LONDON

The month of September brought me back to the European continent for the second time this year with a visit to London.

On the program, the Hampton Court Palace Concours of Elegance, Private Lounge and the spectacular commemoration of Bentley’s 100th anniversary at Salon Privé, Bond in Motion and a visit to the Ace Café to see how an European classic cars cruise night takes place in England.

Here are some photos of the mobile beauties seen at Hampton Court Palace which had some exceptional exhibitions. There was that of the Aston Martins built by Zagato, the supercars of the 90s and the most significant Ferraris, those that brought the first prestigious victories to the Italian manufacturer as the first post-war race of the 24 hours of Le Mans.

HAMPTON COURT PALACE CONCOURS OF ELEGANCE

So it was 2 great events held in outdoor courtyards of palaces and castle that I have visited with great pleasure, especially since it was not raining! I even got a sunburn on my head at one of these events.

The most interesting thing to see during these 2 days was the presentation of the Aston Martin bodybuilt by Zagato, the supercars of the 90’s previously seen on this page, the 3,200 Bentleys commemorating the brand’s 100th anniversary at Salon Privé and the 20th anniversary Pagani display, not to mention the GT Tour cars parked in the Palais’s courtyard.

SALON PRIVÉ

BOND IN MOTION

Having the chance to see some of the most famous cars in James Bond’s films was an interesting experience full of nostalgia for looking some vehicles in action, at the cinema…

The exhibition brought together 2 and 4-wheel vehicles as well as underwater and on-water watercraft.

ACE CAFÉ

It was on the theme of English and European cars that the evening meeting I went to took place.

The Ace Café is a bit like the Orange Julep in Montreal. There are weekly or monthly thematic night cruises. Just choose a theme and we’re sure to have a nice evening!

So that concludes my overview of 2019, a year that will be difficult to beat by the quality of cars seen and people met!

To see the complete event coverages I have visited in 2019, please take a look at the following links:

- EXOTIC & EXPRESSO

- VAQ, BEACONDSFIELD

- VAQ, BAIE D'URFÉ

- VAQ, SAINT-LAMBERT

- SOMMET DES LÉGENDES, MONT TREMBLANT

- CORVETTE PLUS, LAVAL 

- SALON DE L'AUTO SPORT DE QUEBEC, ISCA 

- RÉTROMOBILE, PARIS 

- FESTIVAL CORVETTE-CAMARO, VICTORIAVILLE

- SUPER MUSTANG SHOW, ICAR, MIRABEL

- HAMPTON COURT PALACE CONCOURS OF ELEGANCE