Imagine it’s 1908. The automobile has barely been around for a decade, and driving one at all is thought to be radical. This unproven bit of technology may well leave you stranded, and most people -- sensible people -- believe that horses are a far more trustworthy means of everyday transportation. However, you’re not only going to drive a car, but you’re going to test it, far past the limits of what could be considered sane.

You’re embarking on the Great Race from New York to Paris, a 22,000 mile trek. You’re going to tackle muddy ruts in the Midwestern United States that have optimistically been called “roads.” Alaska and Siberia are going to challenge you with freezing temperatures and snowdrifts. Locals will “help” you by giving you intentionally false directions to get you and the other teams lost. Marauders freely roam the territory; you will have to fend them off.

George Schuster did lots more than imagine this scenario. He lived it. He was in the winning U.S.-entered Thomas Flyer for the entire 169 days it took to reach Paris -- the only member of the Thomas team that can claim this distinction.

You can hear his enthralling story at Friday’s seminar at the 13^th Annual Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, March 7-9, 2008, when Shuster’s great grandson, Jeff Mahl, gives his acclaimed presentation “Recollections of the Winner.” Mahl uses actual photographs and commentary to help the audience understand what these daring drivers faced on this 100^th anniversary of the Thomas Flyer’s victory.

Mahl’s presentation will be just one of the exciting happenings at The Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. This inspired vintage auto event, held annually the second weekend of March, features over 250 extraordinary classics from seldom seen private collections. It’s held at the Golf Club of Amelia Island at Summer Beach adjacent to The Ritz-Carlton. Amelia Island is only 30 minutes north of Jacksonville.

At the 2008 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance you can:

• Grab a glimpse of the 1907 Thomas Flyer, which won the New York to Paris Race in 1908. The race was more than a race; it was about national pride and the quest for automotive superiority among the leading “modernized” countries of the era. The Flyer weighs 4,000 pounds fully loaded. It could reach 60 mph, and finished 26 days ahead of the second place German-entered Protos. This national treasure is on loan from the National Automobile Museum (formerly the Harrah Collection) in Reno, Nevada.
• Attend Saturday’s seminar. It’s about the Trans-Am series of the late sixties. Some of the series’ top drivers will describe their experiences in a panel discussion; a question and answer session will follow. The drivers include Parnelli Jones (the 1970 series champion) as well as Dan Gurney, George Follmer, Sam Posey, and John Morton.
• Cheer for motorsports icon Parnelli Jones, this year’s honoree. His career included racing sports cars, sprint cars, Indy cars, midget racers, stock cars, and off-road competition, a form he helped to popularize in the sixties. He’s been inducted to the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame, the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.
• Admire some T’s. Henry Ford’s Model T will be celebrating a century of motoring in 2008. A class of special Model Ts will be on the “Field of Dreams” to acknowledge this notable vehicle and its part in America’s emergence as an industrial power.
• Play at a party. General Motors will be celebrating 100 years of automotive history in 2008, and Amelia is among the first stops for its year-long tour. They’ve been busy planning this birthday party for several years – it should be memorable!
• Bid at a Silent Auction. From balloon rides, original paintings, a Dan Gurney-autographed item, a Ferrari 250 GTO poster printed over 30 years ago, signed prints, one-of-a-kind sculptures to sports memorabilia, even the most discerning collector can find that one special item to complete their collection.
• You can even feel good about going! The show’s Foundation has donated nearly $1.5 million to Community Hospice of Northeast Florida, Inc. since 1996.

For more information, visit www.ameliaconcours.org or contact them at 904-636-0027.

For more information on Mahl and the New York-to-Paris Race, go to www.TheGreatRace.com.