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Cars

Celebrating the Centennial of Chrysler

November 20, 2025

Pictured above: Steer clear of this beast if it heads your way—the 1948 Chrysler Town and Country Convertible from The Keller Collection.

We celebrated the centennial of Chrysler with several classes on our show field this year.

Our formal Chrysler Centennial class focused on the classics that brought Chrysler to the fore of automotive excellence in the 1930s. Another class celebrated the Chrysler Town and Country woodies of the 1940s that were meant to ferry people to sporting activities and the great outdoors. Additional classes showcased the creations of Chrysler design great Virgil Exner.

The Chrysler Centennial class focused on Custom Imperials, and two such cars that previously won Best of Show returned to be showcased together; the General William Lyon Family brought their 1931 CG LeBaron Dual Cowl Phaeton, and Sam & Emily Mann brought their 1932 CH Speedster.

*This 1931 Chrysler Imperial CG LeBaron Dual Cowl Phaeton, shared with us this year by the General William Lyon Family, was the first Chrysler to win our top award, in 1979.*

*The 1932 Chrysler Imperial CH Speedster of Sam & Emily Mann also won Best of Show, in 1991.*

Placing First in Class was a 1933 Chrysler Imperial CL LeBaron Phaeton owned by Dave Kane and Donald Ghareeb, with Stephen & Susan Babinsky’s 1937 CW Airflow LeBaron Limousine placing Second, and John Allen’s 1939 C-24 Derham Touring Phaeton placing Third.

*Dignified black paint serves to amplify the striking design of this class-winning 1933 CL LeBaron Phaeton.*

This class also displayed a pair of amazing 1941 LeBaron-bodied Chrysler show cars; a Thunderbolt Convertible shared by the Roger Willbanks family in Roger’s memory, and the Newport Dual Cowl Phaeton now in the care of the National Automotive Museum.

*The Thunderbolt pulls onto the show field, to the be viewed by an adoring crowd.*

*The Newport also draws looks of appreciation and admiration.*

A second Chrysler class focused on the sporting wood-bodied creations that were the delight of active, outdoor-loving car enthusiasts back in the 1940s and remain much-loved today: Town and Country station wagons, sedans, convertibles and coupes. Placing First in Class was the 1942 station wagon of Valerie & Aaron Weiss, with the 1948 convertible of the Academy of Art University in Second, and the long-horned convertible of The Keller Collection, a true fan-favorite, in Third.