The Ultimate Gathering of Connecticut-made Automobiles
June 18th, 2022
at the Klingberg Pre-war Concours d’Elegance
In 2022, we will be celebrating our 30th anniversary of great motorcar events with a very special gathering of CT-made automobiles and motorcycles in The Ultimate Gathering of Connecticut-made Automobiles.
It all began when Lou Biondi’s 1908 Corbin Touring was shown at the first Klingberg Auto Show in 1992. The following year, after a thorough search, we found and had on display five of the six remaining Corbins, built by the Corbin Motor Vehicle Corporation in New Britain, CT. Besides attracting to our events other automobiles of the same vintage, we began to find other automobiles manufactured in the state of Connecticut and gather and celebrate them, one make at a time, over the following years.
Over the past 30 years I have been researching the manufacturers of the early 20th-century Connecticut automobiles and writing about each of them, documenting this important aspect of Connecticut history. You can find a brief written history and photographs of most of these automobiles here on this website.
I believe The Ultimate Gathering of Connecticut-made Automobiles will be the largest gathering of these unique automobiles since the Klingberg Pre-war Concours in 2012, when 14 Connecticut-made automobiles were on display together on our hilltop campus. Our invitation list is much larger now and we hope to more than double that number.
Our zeal to accomplish this is for two reasons. One is to help bring awareness to the incredible but unknown history of the Connecticut automobile industry. We hope to document it with the gathering of the cars in one place and share the information each of the owners carries with them about their automobiles. We have contacted the Connecticut Historical Society and other similar organizations inviting them to participate. Local history groups, especially in the towns where these automobiles were made, will also be invited. We want this event to be filled with Connecticut automobile history.
The second reason to accomplish this is to bring awareness to the 20 vital programs Klingberg offers to help children and families who have been negatively affected by all sorts of trauma. The Klingberg Motorcar Series events have raised over $4 million over the 30 years for these programs, and for this we are indebted to so many who have shown automobiles that attract many spectators and, in turn, many business and individual financial sponsors.
If you own or know of a Connecticut-made automobile that you don’t think we know about, please contact me at markj@klingberg.org.
Mark H Johnson, M.A.
Vice President
Klingberg Family Centers
370 Linwood Street
New Britain, CT 06052
Email: markj@klingberg.org