The Best of the Worst: 2025 Concours d’Lemons

A Concours d’Elegance is the highest level of car show, attracting the finest vehicles at the peak of perfection and often on an international level. Ontario hosts one each September at Cobble Beach, near Owen Sound in mid-September. But the day before, the city celebrates the opposite at the Concours d’Lemons.

This way-too-much-fun event draws in, as one sign says, “The good, the bad and the ugly.” Now in its fourth year in downtown Owen Sound, the show is for vehicles that might be undergoing restoration or never will be; vehicles that might have deteriorated over the years or were simply bad from the beginning. The one thing they have in common is that they’re all beloved by their owners.

The tongue-in-cheek show got its start in the U.S. in 2009, thanks to Alan Galbraith, who calls himself “the idiot behind Lemons.” He got the idea when attending the famed Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California.

“I’m a snarky jerk,” he said. “I went to Pebble Beach and there was a gate with no security on it, and I thought, ‘I could get a Pinto in here!’” 

Realizing he’d be banned for life, he postponed the Pebble Beach Pinto plan, and decided instead to set up a show that celebrated "the ordinary and terrible cars, because it’s more inclusive. You see a Beetle, and someone remembers piling everyone in to go to a drive-in. No one has a Duesenberg or a Ferrari story like that.”

Twenty-four vehicles sputtered their way to Owen Sound's River District to compete in the Concours d'Lemons this year. At this show, it's not just acceptable but encouraged to bribe the judges for awards in individual classes and the coveted top prize: “Worst in Show.” Here are some of the competitors this year, along with the ultimate winner.

1975 Reliant Robin

The three-wheeled Robin is a British creation, perhaps best-known on this side of the pond as the car Mr. Bean ran off the road in his Mini. Why three wheels? It could be driven on a lower-level motorcycle licence, and the owner paid less tax on it. Christopher James bought this one a month ago. He’d seen it online but it sold before he could get to it, and so he tracked down the buyer and convinced him to sell it. “I’ve never driven it,” he admits, as he replaced its non-functioning engine with an electric conversion that broke before the show. Sporting a fresh coat of paint, it now looks so good that he’s looking for an original engine – all 20-or-so horsepower – and hopes to make it good enough to qualify for the high-level Concours d’Elegance show. It took the “Better Than A Go-Kart” award.

1964 Ford Anglia

The Harry Potter series featured a flying Ford Anglia, and while John Strachan’s example doesn’t fly, it once came pretty close. He’s owned this car for 50+ years, and having raced Lotuses back in the day, he put a Lotus engine into this one shortly after he got it, and hit 239 km/h (148 mph) in it. While it’s still driveable, the retired shop teacher doesn’t do that with it anymore. Instead, he takes it to events to raise money for the local Saugeen Volunteer Fire Department to buy a new search-and-rescue boat. He also has a second one he’s fixing up to donate to the summer camp operated by Toronto’s Sick Kids hospital for the children to enjoy.

1987 AMC Eagle

Long-defunct, AMC – it stood for American Motors Corporation – once made a car it called the Concord and it owned Jeep. So it put the two together and Eagle was born. Available as a sedan or wagon, it featured a version of Jeep’s full-time automatic four-wheel drive, and many consider it the first crossover. Leanne James’ husband bought this one as a parts car for another one he owned, but she liked it and it worked well enough that she kept it for herself. It still had its 4.2L six-cylinder engine, all 110 hp of it, and she said “I washed it and changed the oil” and it was good to go.

1949 Allard K1

The British-based Allard started out in the 1930s when Sydney Allard built a Ford-powered car for racing. Sheldon Rier bought this one at auction this summer, and it had a Ford flathead engine under its hood. He did what was necessary to get it to its Lemons parking spot – new brakes, some suspension parts, and a water pump – but used what was left of its tailpipe to prop open the hood. “This may be the first time it’s been on a public road since the early 1990s,” he said. He plans to restore it mechanically – but leave that original paint for now – and hopes to drive it in the Great Race, a U.S. rally for antique cars.

2002 Fiat Multipla

The Fiat Multipla, launched in 1955, was a flat-nosed little mini-minivan. It’s often considered the first mass-produced “people mover,” Europe’s name for a multi-purpose vehicle, and it was a cute-n-cool little thing. But from 1999 to 2005, it looked like…well, this. It was never sold here but several have been imported, and there’s usually one at every Lemons. This one, owned by Robert Calisi, sports a rear sticker that says, “Wait until you see the front,” which was on all of the early models sold in Britain. 

1991 Geo Metro Convertible

In 1989, General Motors rebadged Japanese cars in partnership with Suzuki, Toyota, and Isuzu; and it called that division Geo. The Geo Metro, also sold as the Pontiac Firefly, was basically a Suzuki Swift. Paul Santos bought this one three years ago to participate in the Lemons Rally from Detroit, Michigan, to Buffalo, New York. (The official main rule for any Lemons Rally: “Don’t be a douche, that’s what expensive rallies are for.”) He found it online and in great shape – for what it is, of course – along with spare parts including a white hood to replace the original rusty blue one. Its 1.0L three-cylinder makes just 55 horsepower, “but it’s light and sporty, fun to drive, and it gets attention,” he said. His other entry was a radio-controlled Jeep driven by cartoon rat Pinky, with a trailer used to deliver car parts to a friend down the street.

19,000 BC Pleistocene Puch

Lemons isn’t just about cars. Past iterations have featured go-karts, toy cars, motorized furniture, and Grand Nixon’s homemade bike “wooden” have gone unnoticed by the crowd.

1973 Volkswagen Westfalia T2

Tricia Hillis once owned a Volkswagen van but, unfortunately, she sold it before she got it running. The love never faded, though. This one had been in British Columbia until its owner shipped it to his son in Ontario. It was then put up for sale a year ago, and Tricia saw it online and said, “I need this.” Her husband Mike Paterson fixed the rust, and she painted it with spray-can paint that shifts colour in the sun. 

1997 Suzuki Carry

You’re right, only Mercedes-Benz makes a Unimog, but the stickers were added to Adam Cooke’s Suzuki Carry because it certainly has the same attitude as a real one, if not the size and brawn behind it. The Carry’s still in production and a popular little work truck in Japan, but this one’s leading a more sheltered life on this side of the ocean.

Worst In Show: 1964 Austin Pedal Car

It’s called “Worst in Show” because of the nature of the event, but it’s really a “best” and it’s a very coveted trophy. Tomlyn Ellis took it for her 1964 Austin, primarily because the six-year-old pedalled this very heavy little car two blocks to be at the show. The Austin J40 was an expensive, high-quality toy (King Charles got one for his fourth birthday) made from 1949 to 1971 by a company set up to employ miners with respiratory illnesses who could no longer mine. They were made from leftover materials supplied by Austin, which also had the miners make real car parts. The little car is slowly being restored and Tomlyn says “My dad is helping me do it.” We have no doubt it’s going to be pretty stunning when it’s finished, but for now, it was the hit at the Concours d’Lemons.