Hearing the call of the auto-show siren

Margery Krevsky walks over to a display case containing several hood-ornament reproductions.

“This is probably the most famous hood ornament in the world,” she says, pointing to Rolls-Royce's “The Spirit of Ecstasy.”

The story behind it “could be made into a movie,” as she put it. And it would be worth watching for car enthusiasts.

Krevsky tells us that scholars believe that the figure was modeled after a woman named Eleanor Velaso Thornton. Thornton was the mistress of Lord Montague, who was friends with the then-owners of Rolls-Royce. The lovers were killed when Montague's yacht was bombed by a German U-boat.

“But she lives on,” Krevsky says. “She's immortal.”

A few minutes later, a bystander stops Krevsky to ask whether she's from a newspaper. After all, she “really knows her stuff.”

No, Krevsky isn't part of the media. The museum exhibit we're viewing just happens to be based on her book Sirens of Chrome: The Enduring Allure of Auto Show Models.

The owner of Productions Plus, a talent agency that often supplies models for auto shows, Krevsky found that she picked up several stories over the years. And after hearing “Margery, you're telling all of these stories--why don't you write about them?” so many times, she decided to do just that.

From there, the book inspired the museum exhibit, which documents the role of women in auto shows. Featured at the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores, Mich., the exhibit uses photos, clothing and hood-ornament reproductions to form a sort of a timeline of American automotive culture.

One of the first stories Krevsky investigated, for instance, is the perfect example of the auto show as a cultural time stamp. In 1950, Cadillac released a concept called the Debutante, and “word on the street was that it was lined with Somali leopard pelts,” she said. Krevsky headed over to the National Automotive History Collection at the Detroit Public Library and found that it was true--and that there was a photo of it.

“It's so politically incorrect now, but in the 1950s, that was very chic,” Krevsky says. “These stories are so interesting. You can trace not only the history of cars and fashion in the shows, but also political events.”

With about 75 auto shows across the country each year, the events are just as much a part of American culture today.

“I always like to say that it's baseball, apple pie and auto shows,” Krevsky says.

The Sirens of Chrome exhibit will be on display at the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House until Sept. 6. For more information, visit www.fordhouse.org.

By Izzi Bendall