12 | AUGUST 17 • 2023
CAR CULTURE
Celebrating
OUR COMMUNITY
ON THE COVER
L
auren Mendelson of Huntington
Woods has loved cars since she was a
child. Today, she collects and drives
a curated fleet of custom sports cars she’s
excited to share with a community of
like-minded enthusiasts.
“People call me all the time to exhibit —
a lot of times I end up with two or three
things in one day,
” she says. “It’s blossomed
into a way of life for me.
”
She and her husband, David, an orthope-
dic surgeon, have been invited to unveilings
of new cars at factories near and far. The
Congregation Shaarey Zedek members
also rehabbed a 15,000-square-foot garage
in Royal Oak to store and showcase their
vehicles, adding an event space where they
show car movies and host food and music.
“David and I became a team. If either
one of us sees something we like, we some-
how just end up getting it. We’ve got a lot
of cool stuff in our garage, and a lot of cool
stuff coming down the road. It’s turned into
an amazing experience,
” she says.
Mendelson is the only woman on the
board of the Detroit Athletic Club’s Car
Club and a board member of the Ferrari
Club of America’s Michigan Chapter. Shes
also a member of Henry Ford’s Drivers
Club and is a liaison to the Concours d’El-
egance of America. She has won best of
show at Detroit Concours, a yearly show-
case of classic automobiles, has driven at
famous racetracks around the globe and
has eaten in the Ferrari factory in Italy.
“
Although I do love speed and high-per-
formance, and I especially love super cars,
it’s more of an art collection,
” she says.
“We like the curves, the beautiful lines,
the beautiful materials, more than just the
number or horsepower.
”
Her passion for cars started decades
Owners love their
vehicles and the
communities they
inspire.
KAREN SCHWARTZ
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Lauren Mendelson
and her Ford GT
12 | AUGUST 17 • 2023