Judging Standards

The new Judging Standards (those that have been completed to date) are presented here for the use and review of members of the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Club in a single source location. These forms are a 'living document' in that they are reviewed annually and any changes or improvements will be made on an as required basis.

The need for these new standards are the result of a combination of factors.

One is that, sadly, we are slowly loosing those who really know the correct and authentic features of these automobiles from new that our club is centered around.

Secondly, despite a lack of solid guidance, owners and restorers in the past-in most cases with the best of intentions-have made a sincere effort to be correct in their work. In the worst case scenario some restorations in the past were carried out to make the cars ‘more striking’ or attention getting with non-authentic colors, incorrect finishes and chroming which takes us further from original and portray the cars in a fashion that never existed.

With a newly developed focus hobby-wide on authenticity, our own movement began in 2014 to redesign the judging cards which had been in use for 50 years (or more !) and that were shared across the board for each and every marque. They were changed into Make and Model specific cards with much more detail and in the form of a ‘checklist’ to guide the judges.

Our intentions were two fold. Those seeking awards in judging competition have a clear set of standardized guidelines to go by and have no worries how a particular judge views a particular component on any given day. For those who have no intentions of competing but rather strive to make their cars appear the way that they did the day that they were delivered now have that guidance.

The procedures for constructing the new standards started with a small committee of 3 to 5 sources who were well known experts in the chosen marque. They each supplied their interpretations of finishes, correct components, etc, gained from years of knowledge and experience. Those results were then compiled and sent out to a second larger group of members who were well versed and well respected for their review and comments.

Once that document was completed, it was published in the Newsletter for the review of the general membership. All inputs were carefully weighed and amended if needed and at that point the document was considered ready for a ‘field test’ by the established judging teams at the Auburn Reunion. Once that test was complete and the document was considered fully developed it became the new standard for judging that particular marque and that is what is found here. Each card is printed specifically for the particular car being judged. These samples show the Car Number, the Division (Primary, Senior, etc) and VIN number as it would appear before being judged.

Please forward any comments, corrections or additions to the Office of the Chief Judge.