Fairfield-Echo

The spirit of Charles F. Kettering will be lurking in unusual places this Sunday at the 30th Ault Park Concours d'Elegance in Cincinnati. A 1912 Cadillac and the GM Futurliner both carry the vision of the well-known Dayton inventor.

Dr. Wellington Morton of Jacksonville, Fla., will be bringing his 1912 Cadillac to the event, showing it for only the third time.

"I'm a rather eclectic collector. I only collect cars that are meaningful to me. This Cadillac features the first electric starter, invented by Kettering," he said. "This car was marketed as 'The World Wonder, the car with no crank!'

"It literally revolutionized the auto industry, making the automobile practical for everyone.

"Most people also don't realize that the starter was also the generator. Once the engine was fired, the starter continued to turn, recharging the four 6-volt batteries," he added.

The car was also the first to feature electric lights, and both the starter and lighting system were developed by Kettering's Dayton Electric Co., which later became DELCO.

Kettering's imprint is also found on the unique GM Futurliner, which will be on display courtesy of the National Automotive and Truck Museum of the United States in Auburn, Ind.

The 12 Futurliner custom-built coaches were the brainchild of Kettering, used to take the "GM Parade of Progress" on the road all over the United States.

The program showed the futuristic technologies and inventions of the auto giant. The Parade of Progress started in 1936, was mothballed in 1940, and returned to the road in 1953. The Futurliners made a stop at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in 1954, displaying the new Corvette and the Frigidaire Kitchen of the Future.

Ed DeVries, a retired bricklayer from Grand Rapids Mich., was one of the core group of 30 or so volunteers who spent seven years restoring Futurliner No. 10.

"We hauled it up to Beaverdam, Mich., and just dug in. We had a great group of people, and we worked as a team one day a week for seven years, plus various others worked on parts and pieces at home to finish it. Without the help of contributors and corporations, we would have never finished it. There's about a million dollars worth of donated labor in it alone."

"Ironically, the program ended in 1956, when one of the exhibits of the Parade of Progress — the television — became so prevalent, it spelled the end of the traveling road show," DeVries added.

Nine of the 12 Futurliners are still in existence in various conditions. A restored Futurliner was sold at the Barrett-Jackson Auction in 2006 for

$4 millions, raising awareness and public interest in the giant coach.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Ault Park Concours d'Elegance; only the Pebble Beach Concours is older. First held in 1978 on an estate in Anderson Twp., the event later moved to Indian Hill and found its current home in 1996 at Ault Park.

About 250 automobiles and motorcycles will be on display, featuring the "Legends of British Motoring." Proceeds benefit the Arthritis Foundation. The event is open to the public on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $25. For more information, go online to www.ohioconcours.com.