SYRACUSE – A group of Jensen-Healey automobile enthusiasts from across the Eastern U.S. and Canada brought their cars to Syracuse this past weekend. One of the vehicles on display was the only one of its kind in the world. Steve Luckett, of Chicago, event organizer, said each year Jensen owners east of the Mississippi hold an informal get-together. Luckett was the volunteer organizer for this year’s event. He said the group was interested in visiting the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum this year and chose Syracuse as the site for the car show. The group was impressed with Syracuse because of its quaint lake atmosphere, Luckett said. He also said Oakwood Inn and town officers were very welcoming and made the group feel at home. “We like to show our cars to the public,” Luckett said, adding that members of the group enjoy shopping at local stores. Almost all the cars are driven to the event each year. Last year’s event was in Kingston, N.Y., in the Hudson Valley. Probably the most rare Jensen ever manufactured was on display at the event, a 1935 Jensen Shooting Brake. Jensen began as a small coach building firm run by brothers Richard and Alan Jensen when they bought out their employer, W.J. Smiths & Sons, in 1934. They built exclusive custom bodies for standard cars produced by several British manufacturers of the day. In 1934 they were commissioned by Clark Gable to design and build a car for him based on a Ford V-8 chassis. The resultant car won much acclaim and led to a deal with Ford to produce a run of Jensen-Fords with Jensen bodywork on a Ford chassis. The Shooting Brake – British for station wagon – on display in Syracuse is one of only two known to be build by Jensen and is the only survivor. This particular example is built on a lowered Canadian Ford chassis with a flathead Ford V8. The body is built of aluminum and wood and it is equipped with suicide doors. According to its owners, Cathy and Bernie Polen, of Franklin, Mich., the car has only been registered for two years of its life. All Jensen vehicles are rare, but some are more so than others. Of the more rare models, there were two Jensen Interceptors from the early 1970s on hand. This model was built with a 44Other rare vehicles at the show included two Jensen Interceptors from the early 1970s
