Seaside's Concours d'LeMons

You just know that any event with the appearance of 'polite' uppityness is going to be met with another event that chides those sensitivities.  From their website, the organizers describe the Concours d' LeMons:  "An ugly stain on the Pebble Beach Auto Week, the Concours d'LeMons returns once again to Laguna Grande Park in Seaside, CA.  Hoopties, Rust Buckets, Misfits, Mistakes and the worst of the automotive world will be on display and, as always, celebrity judges will be accepting bribes for our Thrift Shop sourced trophies. Hagerty Insurance has inexplicably sponsored the debacle yet again, so it is really all their fault.  Look for the Hagerty folks to bring a touch of class to this otherwise downmarket affair.  The best part is that the show is free for participants and spectators so you'll get exactly what you pay for."

An award winner?

Tom thought he would check it out and 900 photos later and many stories he finally left with a smile on his face.  As I gave him a 'sleep pass' on sending me his best images so he could get up at 3:00 this morning we will have to wait for the full show.  But, he did send me some images just to appease me on not being there with him and having so much fun without me.  These are small teaser images as they were sent in a size much smaller than usual but I have decided to go ahead and post them even though he did not have a chance to edit them.  Must admit that I had to laugh at a couple of them.   You can look forward to a full accounting in the near future.

Tom said the stories and people were as interesting as their cars.

This could be the prize table.  What a hoot!

A rather direct response to the signs posted 'around' the elegant cars at the 'other' event.

I want a video of entrance and exit strategies!

The emcee dressed for the occasion.  The blue jacket, of course, is a spoof on the 'other' dress code.

An award winner.

I spoke with Tom this morning and he was set to go into the Concours d'Excellence at Pebble Beach. Yesterday was free.  Today will cost him $275 for just his entry ticket!  He is going with long-time friends, all as devoted to cars as Tom. The day should be memorable.  I am hoping he remembers his hat!

More Elegant Cars From Pebble Beach

So just what is Pebble Beach Concours d' Elegance all about?  I looked it up and on their website and I found, "To contend in the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, an automobile must be a well preserved or accurately restored vehicle still quite capable of doing what it was meant to do—be driven. It will almost certainly have some historic value—perhaps in its day it served to debut new technology or new styling trends or it has an amazing racing record. And it will be rare—possibly a singular example of a special chassis bearing a respected coachbuilder's art.  After these criteria have been met, a concours car must be one thing more.  Above all, it must be elegant. And elegance is a matter of the eye and the heart."  

I am just guessing the gentleman sitting in the back is on a smart phone!  Ah how times change.  Notice the attention to taking care of not getting anything in the car . . . rags and little rug.  Period dress?

Why aren't they smiling?  

Oh, I like this one.  Can you bring it home to me?

Not just another red car.  Leather straps, a real convertible with an interesting take on a rear view mirror . . . 

Today will offer even more photo opportunities for Tom.  Tomorrow is the actual concourse event, the one he is really looking forward to.  We hope you enjoyed a moment of elegance and history.

Car Week on Monterrey Peninsula

It’s unofficially known as “Car Week” on the Monterrey Peninsula. The main event is the Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance, now in its 63rd year, held right on the famous golf course that overlooks the Pacific. It’s the Premier exhibition of Classic and Collector cars anywhere and enthusiasts come from all over the globe. Around Carmel, Monterrey and Pebble Beach, there are specialty events and high end car auctions every day for the whole week.  The streets are clogged with exotic Ferraris and other makes of low production specialty cars, some of which are essentially race cars marketed as transportation. 

On Thursday, the 260 cars featured at the main event, which is held on Sunday, are invited to participate in a fifty mile tour of the Peninsula. This is Tom’s second car week, but his first to experience the Tour. The Concours is a juried and judged exhibition, with entrants competing in various classes and for the prized Best of Show award. The rules state that in the case of of tie for a given award, the car which toured would then win over one that did not, so there is additional incentive beyond the fun they are obviously having. 

Tom started the day at 7:00 am at the Tour starting point located right on Seventeen Mile Drive.The cars were packed together tightly as they were staged for the rally, so getting a good shot without people in it was virtually impossible. After the cars had systematically left the area by 8:00, Tom obtained a map of the Tour and consulted a Patrol Officer at the site for ideas about where to locate for shots of the cars passing later on in the four hour tour.  The streets were not cordoned off, so the million dollars cars jockeyed for lanes amongst regular traffic. At the end of the Tour, the cars parked in rows on Ocean Avenue, the main drag of the charming resort hamlet of Carmel.

Tom is having a great time.  He promised to keep us posted in photos.  This morning he is going to photograph more cars and then into San Francisco to the Golden State Bridge area.  He has a shot in mind.  Stay tuned.