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The 2024 La Jolla Concours d’Elegance Judges

NIGEL MATTHEWS
Chief Judge

Originally from Oxfordshire, England. Nigel has enjoyed the past 49 years living in Vancouver and 29 Years of his 50-plus years automotive career.   He has judges at a total of 140 Concours events worldwide.

The past 28 years of his 50-year automotive career has been in the classic and exotic car insurance industry as a specialty vehicle damage appraiser, underwriter and ten years as the Administrator of the British Columbia provincial government collector and vintage vehicle licensing and insurance programs. He is currently the Global Brand Ambassador for Hagerty

He wrote a weekly classic car column in the Canadian press from 2003 until 2014.

Nigel is a founding member of ICJAG and the current Chairman. He has judged at a total of 123 Concours events worldwide over the past 20 years, including Pebble Beach since 2005 and more recently at Villa d’Este. He has been the Chief judge at 32 Concours.

Chris Kramer
Assistant Chief Judge and Field Operations

Christian (Chris) H. Kramer grew up with cars and cannot imagine a life without cars. After serving in the German Air Force and owning a computer service company, Chris turned his passion and hobby into his profession. Chris has been working in the automotive industry for over thirty years and for about 25 years as a Classic Car Consultant, Restoration Supervisor, Value Appraiser, FIVA Scrutineer and advises collectors all over the world. Chris is an ICJAG charter member and director of Technologies. He is a special advisor and member of the Selecting Committee for the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este and judging advisor to the FIVA events commission. Chris is the Chief Judge for the 21 Gun Salute Concours in India and the Lugano Elegance in Switzerland. He judges frequently at major events all over the world including the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, The Amelia, Cavallino Classic (US and Italy), The Audrain, Salon Prive and the Greenwich Concours d’Elegance and of course at LaJolla. His core expertise and passion is European Sports cars Pre- and Post war.

Ed Winkler
Special Awards Liaison

Automobiles have been an integral part of Ed Winkler’s life since he was a young child when in 1955, a black, MG/TC passed his home in Wilmington, Delaware; he fell in love.  He began attending car shows in the late 1950’s and by 1961 was building his own hot rod.  Ed currently has eight cars in his collection dating from 1932 – 2021.  He finds automobiles to be a reflection of our cultures, past and present and truekinetic art representing the freedom of the American spirit.

Automobile Club Memberships

  • 1970 to present: National Nomad Association/Chevrolet Nomad Association
  • 1975 to present: MG Car Clubs, Houston and Phoenix
  • 1976 to present: American Motors Owners Association, National & Local
  • 2000 to present: Corvette Restorers Society (NCRS), National & Local
  • 2000 to present: Solid Axle Corvette Club of America, National & Local
  • 2005 to present: Classic Car Club of America, National & Local
  • (Arizona CCCA Regional Director 2012-14)
  • 2017 to present: Goodguys Rod & Custom Association
  • 2019 to present: Mopars Unlimited of Arizona
  • 2020 to present: Antique Automobile Club of America, National
  • 2020 to present: Plymouth Owners Association

Concours Related Experience

  • 2004 to current: Founder & Chairman, Paradise Valley Veterans’ Car Show
  • 2013 to present: Co-founder and Director, Arizona Concours d’Elegance
  • 2017 to 2022: Class, Judge Cobble Beach Concours
  • 2019: Class Judge, Las Vegas Concours
  • 2020: Class Judge, Miami Concours

Ed is very proficient in Post War Domestic vehicles to 25 years and specializes in Production vehicles of the 30’s 40’s 50’s & 60’s  along with American CCCA vehicles

Lee Daub
Chief of Field Operations

Lee Daub has had a lifetime love affair with the automobile, from pre-war Silver Arrows to Detroit Muscle.  Having been involved in the La Jolla Concours d’Elegance since 2008, Lee looks forward to the amazing occasion every year.

Ed Gilbertson
Chief Honorary Judge

Ed Gilbertson is Chairman of the International Chief Judge Advisory Group (ICJAG) overseeing the judging for more than fifty shows across the world.  He is President of the Jury for the Salon Prive Concours d’Elegance and is Chief Judge Emeritus for the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Palm Beach Cavallino Classic, and the Ferrari Club of America.  He continues to serve Pebble Beach as an honorary judge and senior member of the selection committee.

He is founder and Chairman Emeritus of the International Advisory Council for Preservation of the Ferrari Automobile (IAC/PFA) and is a senior advisor and committee member for the Federation Internationale Vehicules Anciens (FIVA) technical commission and the North American Historic Vehicle Association (HVA).  He is also a member of the SAE Historic Vehicle Technical Standards Committee.

Mr. Gilbertson was Chief Judge for the famed FF40 concours in Brussels and Honorary Chief Judge for both the 60th Anniversary and 70th Anniversary of Ferrari in Maranello, Italy.  He also judged at the Louis Vuitton shows in London and Paris and was Chief Judge for the International Legend of the Motorcycle Concours, as well as judging at many other national and international shows.

In addition to their concours activities, he and his wife Sherry have helped organize international reunion tours for the Ferrari 166MM, Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, Ferrari 250 GTO, and Alfa Romeo 8C.  They have also organized ten multi-marque driving tours. Ed is a former Regional Director for the Ferrari Club of America and past President of the Ferrari Owners Club.

He is a contributing editor for Cavallino magazine and co-authored a book on the Ferrari 250GT Spyder California.  He was also a contributing author for The Stewardship of Historically Important Automobiles awarded the International Historic Motoring Award for best automobile publication in 2013.

Ed has three degrees and is a retired engineer and professional money manager.  He is also a retired USAF reserve officer.  He and Sherry married 48 years have owned many significant sports cars, hot rods and motorcycles.  When not assisting with events, they can often be found enjoying their vehicles on the backroads of California.

Dr. William Guentzler
Chief Class Judge

Dr. Guentzler is a Professor Emeritus from the College of Engineering at San Diego State University and President of Forensics International, an expert witness service for attorneys.  He has judged numerous car events over the last 35 years while his other company, Motorsports International, is well known for its expert European restorations.

Allan McCrary
Chief Class Judge

Allan McCrary has been a member of the Auburn Cord Duesenberg since 1974 serving on it’s Board of Directors, as President and is currently National Chief Judge where he has been instrumental in developing revised judging standards that focus on authenticity.

In addition he is a Class Judge (Duesenberg) for the Pebble Beach Concours, Assistant Chief Judge, San Marino Motor Classic and is on the advisory Board for the Serrano Concours. He is a Classic Car Club of America Accredited Judge and a member of the American Bugatti Club, Aston Martin Owners Club, Jaguar Club of North America and the Antique Automobile Club of America.

He has participated as a class judge for over 30 years at numerous Concours to include Amelia Island, Hillsborough, Palo Alto, Kirkland, Forest Grove and Boca Raton.  He lives in Northern California where maintains an eclectic collection covering a wide area of interest, Classics, British and German Sports cars and American Luxury cars and is a frequent participant in tours, concours as well as the annual Goodwood Revival in the United Kingdom.

Brian Pollock
Chief Class Judge

Brian Pollock has been involved with the car community  for many years. His mother said, “Brian’s first word was ‘cars’.”

His first ‘restoration ‘ was a 1952 Willys Jeep back in 1968 which he used as a winter beater. Since then, he has restored numerous vintage vehicles and entered them in concours, from local shows to the Concorso Italiano, The Quail, and Pebble Beach. He has won ‘Best in Class’ at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance  on three occasions starting in 1984. He has difficulty parting with cars and so he still has his three class winners.

He has participated in vintage car rallies and across North America. Recently he participated in two Pebble Beach Motoring Classic tours.

His judging experience is varied and he judged once years ago at the La Jolla Concours. He has been a Class Judge at Pebble Beach for 34 years. The classes at Pebble Beach he has judged have varied from a Post- War FIVA class to Pre-War European Classics.

Jim Perell
Chief Class Judge

Jim’s involvement in the world of motorcars ranges back to his childhood, growing up in the Southern California area of Pacific Palisades and Malibu. He has judged at multiple Concours d’Elegance events since 2002 and presently functions as the Chief of Concours for SCCA -SFR (San Francisco region); overseeing between 3-6 concours events annually. He served on the Board of Directors for the California Automotive Museum, as well as judging at events such as the Concours on the Avenue – Carmel, Hillsborough Concours, San Francisco Concours, Danville Concours, Serrano Concours, San Marino Concours, La Jolla Concours and others. He has held the position as a Chief Class Judge for over 13 years.

As stated, Jim’s initiation commenced in his youth remembering the date of January 4th, 1956, Jim’s true automotive passion was born on that day as his father purchased from Charles Hornburg, in Santa Monica, a brand new ’56 Jaguar 140 DHC; still in Jim’s collection today. That purchase and his Father’s constant tinkering hooked him into a “car guy” for life.He spent hours watching his father wrenching on MG TC’s and such. He would assist in handing over tools and as such became a competent mechanic and today a restorer of vintage post-war British Sportscars.

His background is diversified in as much Jim has shown his 1967 MGB and multiple concours events resulting in 14 First Place wins. His affinity and heart leans towards the vintage and classic British motorcars, but he has also, since 1961, driven, owned, restored and collected countless numbers of collector cars, including the big early years of American Steele from the ’40’s and 50’s.

Gordon Clark
Chief Class Judge

Gordon Clark was born in Ely, Nevada in 1939. He had multiple careers and interests over the years, including 20 years with the U.S. Navy, and 30 years as an Air Traffic Controller with the Department of Defense. He also liked to expand his mind and obtained degrees in education, business, art history, and aviation sciences.

Vintage Motorcycles are Gordon’s hobby. He searches for interesting models, restoring some and leaving others as-is for their patina. Currently, he has 18 motorcycles in his collection. Taking long-distance trips on motorcycles and riding with friends are two more benefits of his passion.

Gordon is a member and past President of the San Diego Antique Motorcycle Club and is excited about his sixth year as a judge at the La Jolla Concours d’Elegance.

Gary Bobileff
Chief Class Judge

Gary Bobileff has been judging Concours since 1980.  He, and his Company, based here in San Diego, Bobileff Motorcar Company, has also restored Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati cars that have won top awards at Pebble Beach Concours, Villa D’Este, and the Ferrari Nationals, as well as many other Concours, over the past 40 years.

Mike Haynes
Chief Class Judge

Mike Haynes was born in Newhaven, Sussex, England. He has 50 plus years of experience in restoring primarily European cars in England and the United States. His passion is racing his Cortina’s.

Dennis Little
Chief Class Judge

During a thirty-year career with General Motors, Mr. Little focused on design projects with Buick, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Chevrolet, and Cadillac.  On the international scene he interfaced with General Motors’ counterpart, Opel, as well as working with the team at Pininfarina Design. Before becoming chief designer for Cadillac studio, he was chief designer for the electric-powered GM EV-1, the first electric car made for production by General Motors. As Chief Designer of Cadillac Design Studio he led many innovative projects and felt that in retirement his talents could be focused on a national concours d’elegance, in Santa Fe.  Collaborating with a special group of eight passionate car enthusiasts, in 2008, they founded the Santa Fe Concorso, which was a favorite annual event with car collectors, ending a successful run in 2016. Mr. Little has judged at the Arizona Concours d’Elegance, LaJolla Concours d’Elegance, Detroit Concours, and the Audrain Newport Concours.

Raoul E. San Giorgi
Chief Class Judge

Raoul E. San Giorgi is a lifelong car enthusiast. He bought his first car at the age of 15, a bit unusual in Europe at the time… After finishing his career in banking and stockbroking, he fully concentrated on living his passion for vintage cars  . For the Louwman Museum in the Netherlands, he was responsible for the restoration of many true world-class cars. The Milligen SSK, the Pegaso Cuppula , Maserati 300S , Lancia D23 , Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 , to just name a few . He oversees restorations for a handful of collectors, mostly of Italian cars. He is hands-on, which means a very good mix of academic and practical knowledge when it comes to the understanding of classic cars.

He judges around the globe . India, Japan, Switzerland, Germany, England, and the USA, most notably at Pebble Beach. He is a member of ICJAG and the RIAR.

Bob Gunthorp
Chief Class Judge

I started my automotive career with Mercedes-Benz vehicles in 1967 when Heinz Gietz hired me as a mechanic for Mercedes Benz of San Diego.  From MBSD I went to work for an independent Mercedes, Porsche, and VW shop. I was employed there for 5 years. 1973. In 1973 I started working for Mike Rudin Inc. a factory authorized Mercedes-Benz service center.  In 1976 I was hired helped open a new Mercedes-Benz dealership in El Cajon as the service manager  In 1979 I quit my job at El Cajon Ltd. and opened my own Mercedes-Benz parts and service business. My specialty is vintage Mercedes from the early 50’s to 1990.  In 1979 I started collecting Mercedes vehicles.  At this time there are 19 Mercedes in the collection. Many of them are special bodied. I have been a concourse judge for many years. I have judged every one of the La     Jolla Concourse d’Elegance.  I have judged in San Marino, Legends of the Autobahn in       Monterey, and the Las Vegas Concourse d’Elegance.

John J. Hernandez
Chief Class Judge

Born in San Diego in 1951 raised a family until 2007 when the call of the mountains enticed him away to Dolores, Colorado that year for some peace & quiet.  Has taken on many new ventures in Colorado including sitting on the County Planning & Zoning Commission as Vice-Chair.

Active member of the North County Corvette Club in 1978 where he met John J. Sunda and started J&J Super Sixty Chevys, specializing in Corvette restorations.  Co-chaired the “Plastic Fantastic” Corvette Car Show in 1979.

Served as Assistant Chief Judge to Dr. Cy Conrad for shows in Palm Springs and the La Jolla Concours for 5 years.  Served as both Judge and Team Lead for La Jolla Concours 12 years.

Served as Chief Judge for the Deer Park Concours and Palm Springs Concours for 4 years.

Served as Honorary Judge for the Cars & Colors Corvette Rally in Telluride, CO in 2022

Served as Honorary Judge and Team Lead for the Las Vegas Concours.

Have been judging various classes in various Concours Shows for over 40 years.

Restores Husqvarna Motorcycles now, says they take less room.

Camilo Pardo
Chief Class Judge
Born in New York City, Camilo moved to Detroit at the age of 10. He developed a fascination for 60s sports cars and modern art. After graduating from Detroit’s prestigious design school College for Creative Studies
in 1985, Camilo was hired by Ford Design Center and worked there for 24 years.

His assignments included Dearborn’s Advanced Design studio, Ghia studio in Torino, Italy and the  studios in Cologne Germany.

He received the ultimate assignment of  creating a state of the art  Ford GT ( 2002 Ford GT concept car.)

As chief designer of the Ford GT, Camilo’s team produced the 2005/06 production Ford GT. The GT captured the interest of car enthusiasts around the world.

Camilo’s design career includes teaching at College for Creative Studies for eight years, two programs at Walt Disney, 10 years as chief designer for ASX, Aircraft in Detroit.

A GT350 Shelby Roadster prototype, recently shown on Jay Leno’s garage, is one of his Art and Design
projects for OVC ( Original Venice Crew) and Carroll Shelby Enterprise in Gardena,CA.
Fine Art was Camilo’s foundation for Design. By integrating design principles with the abstraction of Fine Arts, he has explored alternative design solutions in furniture and fashion design.
Darwin Ludi
Chief Class Judge

Darwin Ludi has been an American Muscle Car and Corvette enthusiast for over 55 years. Darwin is a Life Member of the National Corvette Museum, National Corvette Restores Society, Bloomington Gold.  In addition, Darwin has been a judge for the GTO Association of America at its National Conventions. Darwin has owned muscles cars from the 60’s and 70’s including those made by Plymouth, Chevrolet and Pontiac. Most recently Darwin became a member of the Antique Automobile Club of America.  Darwin owes his involvement in the La Jolla Concours d’ Elegance event to Dr. Cy Conrad who invited him to judge the event over the past several years. In his spare time, Darwin serves as a counselor at both the California and New Mexico State American Legion Boys State sessions.  A Navy veteran supporting future leaders.

Thank you for your interest in becoming a judge at the prestigious La Jolla Concours d’Elegance. We have filled all available positions. We look forward to seeing you at the Concours and come back next year when the 2024 applications open.

FIVA preservation judging criteria can be downloaded via the documents below

FIVA  Preservation Judging Criteria

FIVA Preservation Judging Form – Auto