Around 5 AM on Thursday July 3oth three friends and I set out on a road trip to Detroit with the XM-800 in the enclosed trailer behind us. You see, Mr. Larry Moss, Chairman of car selection for the 2009 Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance invited the XM-800 to be displayed there. From Duluth MN we have basically two options for routes to Detroit, the most common being through Chicago because it's freeway all the way.  Well not really "free" way because as you may know the hiways in Illinois and Indianna are toll ways. The other route is the scenic route through Sault St. Marie crossing the Mackinac bridge in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan which is 2 lane hiway (one lane each direction) all through Wisconsin and the U.P. We opted for the scenic route. The roads were excellent except for about two  five mile stretches of road construction.  The Mackinac bridge is spectacular and is very similar in design to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. In all it was about a twelve hour journey and  was a pleasant uneventful drive.  Upon arriving at Rochester Hills around 7:30 PM we went to the Oakland University campus to the Meadow Brook Concours staging area and dropped the trailer and went and found our motel, checked in and then went to find a nice restaurant for dinner.  The XM-800 was also one of 10 cars from the field of about 220 that was selected to be on display on the lawn of the Dodge Brothers estate Saturday evening for the Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance opening night Gala which wasn't until Saturday evening so we had all day Friday to explore the area. We headed out the next morning for the Henry Ford Museum.  The museum and Greenfield village are way to large and interesting to see in one day but on limited time we scurried through them on Friday.  The highlight for me there was to see the 1952 Lincoln X100 concept car.  The way it was situated I couldn't get a very good picture but heres what I saw If you  like the X100 and the XM-800 you need to rent the 1954 Movie Womans World in which the X-100 is driving around with the top open and looks absolutely wonderful! Later this day we attended the opening night gala for the RM auction at Meadow Brook.  RM always does a first class presentation and had some wonderful cars to send home with new owners and it's aways fun to attend their events. Saturday morning we were waiting at the doors of the Chrysler museum when they opened at 10 AM. They have a very classy museum with wonderful cars including the 1963 Chrysler Trubine car but my favorite is the 1941 Thunderbolt concept car which they have on a revolving pedestal Later Saturday I had to get the XM-800 on the lawn of the Dodge Brothers estate and spotted for the evenings gala.  I had to drive the XM-800 approximately one mile from the trailer parking lot to the spot on the lawn where she would sit for the evening to be enjoyed by all attending.  This was the farthest she'd ever been driven in 55 years.

Sunday morning up early and to breakfast before dawn so I again make the mile long journey with the XM-800 from the trailer to the spot on the show field where she would spend the day. The debut of the newly restored XM-800  at the 2009 Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance  in Rochester Hills Michigan on August 2nd was a huge success. Special thanks to Mr. Larry Moss, chairman of car selection for the show for inviting the XM-800 and then for the wonderful spot the XM-800 was displayed. We were immediately inside the front entrance so everyone passing through could not help but stop and admire the XM-800. Crowds of spectators surrounded the XM-800 all day long taking photographs and admiring her and all of the positive comments were simply humbling. The best part of this day for me was the opportunity to meet Dan Brooks.  The guy who rescued the XM-800 from certain destruction alongside that barn in central Michigan circa 1979. Also attending the event was Mr. Concept Car himself, Joe Bortz. We all got together for a photo shoot alongside the XM-800.  It looked substantially different than either of them had ever seen. Dan said it "makes me want to cry". In this photo Dan is on the left, Joe in the middle and I'm on the right. Mr Richard Owen of SUPERCARS.net had this to say about the XM-800: "If we had to give an award for the top restoration debut it would have to be this Mercury XM-800. As one of the few surviving Ford showcars, it was never finished with a running engine and ran on its own power for the first time this year! Furthermore, Meadow Brook marked the XM-800's restoration debut." Phil Skinner wrote "30 YEARS OF HITS" in the September 3rd issue of Old Cars Weekly referring to the 30th Anniversary of the Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance. Within that story he wrote "In addition to the special sections, several "star" cars were invited to be displayed at the event, held Aug. 2, and the ultimate star of this show was the premier showing of the 1954 Mercury XM-800 concept car. Produced by Ford Motor Co. as a look into the future of automotive styling, this unique vehicle just recently completed a full restoration by its owner, Thomas Maruska (see page 7 of this issue)." On page 7 of the September 3rd issue,  Todd Haefer, editor of Quicksilver, The International Mercury Owners Association magazine, wrote a very nice story about the history of the XM-800 and my restoration. The XM-800 is now tucked away in a nice heated garage where she will spend the next five or six months of the long cold winter we're likely to get here in northern Minnesota. What's in store for the XM-800? Stay tuned right here!