Staff photo by Fritz Busch Les Anderson showed off a restored 1903 Holley.

NEW ULM — Enthusiasts of early 1900s cars got their fill Saturday at the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) Grand Nationals outdoor show at the Brown County Fairgrounds.

The brass was shining brightly under bright sunshine as cars more than a century old lined the front row of the show that drew a good crowd.

One of the brightest vehicles was a 1903 Holley, a luxurious-looking runabout with bright red paint, red leather seats and lots of polished brass trim. Owner Les Anderson had photographs of the car before he restored it.

As pretty as the 1903 Holley is, it isn’t his favorite car. His favorite is a 1904 Schacht Auto Runabout.

“It’s (the Schacht) the cutest,” Anderson said of the Schacht, considered a very rare car with a large, brass radiator in the front of the car and a 10 hp motor behind the seat, over the rear wheels.

A number of antique car owners came from rural Iowa.

Marv Gordon of Webster City, Iowa said his favorite car is a 1911 Ford Model T Torpedo Roadster, a vehicle advertised as the most significant and revolutionary automobile produced with brass headlights and oil (kerosene) side and tail lights. It was mass-produced in only one color-black for a number of years.

Tommy Nolen of Richmond, Va. displayed his wife’s 1957 Volkswagon Beetle but admitted his favorite car is a 1963 Chevrolet Impala SS.

“That was the era in which I grew up. Those cars were very popular then,” Nolen said.

Eric Magayne of Cedar Rapids, Iowa said he didn’t mind towing his black 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 on a trailer a little more than four hours to New Ulm for the shows.

“This may be as close as we’ll get to a grand national auto show,” Magayne said. “Next year, it’s in Virginia Beach.”

Magayne talked about the life of owning a high-end show car.

“It was nice when I could drive it to shows,” he said about his car. “Back then, I owned it. Now it owns me.”

Magayne recalled riding in the back seat of his dad’s 1959 Ford retractable hardtop to 13 auto shows in 13 states.

“The midwest, from Minnesota to Ohio is the breadbasket for antique auto shows,” said Magayne.

For more information, visit www.aaca.org

Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.com.