by Bradley S. Pines
DeutscheMarquesAG.com
The tall silver trophy was named after the local dealership who helped make the inaugural DeutscheMarques German auto event a reality. The Orrin B. Hayes Mercedes-Benz Cup would bear the name of the owner of the car judged Best Mercedes-Benz in Show. The winner would take home a beautiful crystal Best in Show trophy.
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| The Orrin B. Hayes Mercedes-Benz Cup. |
The competition was stiff, with an official count of 88 cars on the DeutscheMarques show field in triple-digit temps at the Gilmore Car Museum on July 7.
Orrin B. Hayes Mercedes-Benz displayed a trio of new models right across from the DeutscheMarques registration station for the event participants to see.
Most of the Cup-eligible cars were well-loved and cared for by members of the Western Michigan Section of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America. Its president, Marv Berkowitz, was one of the six event judges.
Also on his team was Michael Betz, webmeister of the West Michigan Region of the Porsche Club of America and John A. Lacko, local automotive expert and former PCA and KAZOOM officer. Harvey Nuttal, president of the Michiana Chapter of the BMW Club of America, Lindsay Draime, past Michiana president and current board member, and Gary Apps, a longtime Michiana member, made up the other team.
When the judges were done, Jon and Jan Smucker’s anthracite gray 1970 Mercedes-Benz 280SL was named the Best in Mercedes-Benz in Show. They’ve owned their roadster with red leather interior for four years and say they don’t know how many original miles are on the car. It looks, however, as if it just rolled off the Hayes M-B showroom floor.
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| Jon and Jan Smucker smile with of their 1970 Mercedes-Benz 280SL, judged Best in Show Mercedes-Benz. |
The Highest Mileage Mercedes-Benz was Richard Vaughn’s smoke silver 1990 300CE with 186,008 miles on the clock, and also won Best Mercedes-Benz of the 1990s. Scott West’s 1980 SEL, silver blue with velour interior, won Best Mercedes-Benz of the 1980s.
Marv Berkowitz took home both Best Daily Driver Mercedes-Benz and Best 21st Century Mercedes-Benz with his 2011 E 550. The Best Classic Mercedes-Benz was won by Frederick Nugent’s 1969 280SL while the 1966 230SL of Kevin Bornhorst, unrestored with only 60k on the odometer, won a Special Judges’ Award.
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| Emily Michaelis holds the Best Special Feature & Cleanest Concours Awards her 2005 Chrysler (M-B) Crossfire won. |
Under the skin of Emily Michaelis’ 2005 Chrysler (Daimler-Benz owned) Crossfire, lives the mechanicals of the M-B E-series. Her red crystal beauty won her both Best Special Feature and Cleanest Concours Mercedes-Benz awards.
Thanks to event sponsors Orrin B. Hayes Mercedes-Benz of Kalamazoo, Harold Zeigler BMW of Kalamazoo, and Delta Porsche of Grand Rapids area M-B owners took home eleven awards in all.
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| Bill Tower, sales manager and Amy Krone, general manager, smile with The Orrin B. Hayes Mercedes-Benz Cup in the downtown Kalamazoo dealer's showroom. The first DeutscheMarques Best in Show Mercedes Benz winner, Jon and Jan Smucker, are the first names engraved on the trophy. Orrin B. Hayes was the exclusive Mercedes-Benz dealer sponsor of the DeutscheMarques German auto event at the Gilmore Car Museum. |
Please click on the sponsors' names, or on the links at right, to go to the sponsor websites. When choosing your next new or preowned German car, please buy local, and support the dealers who've supported local German car enthusiasts.
A picture gallery with all of the images from the event not yet published may be found here:
