Monterey with Wyss

And the odd part is that while the weekend is mostly devoted to foreign tin, and European tin at that, the Japanese automakers are eager to show their wares, and now there’s even the Koreans (and are the Chinese soon to come?). It all goes back to the demographic profile—these people at Monterey are yuppies or rich retired and everything in-between. They love to show off their taste by spending Money.

This year I was also going not as just a reporter for VeloceToday and KUCR-FM Autotalk but as an artist, the latter mostly to pique the more highly educated AFAS members who have a show Saturday plugging their new creations which will be seen by the public on Sunday. I was also in Monterey wearing a new hat, or carrying an extra arrow in my quiver so to speak– that of novelist (“Ferrari Hunter”) Not of just your average bang-bang shoot’em up potboiler, you understand, but one featuring a two fisted hero who is wheeling and dealing in Ferraris even while jousting with the enemy. I published a short run of the book at my own expense when I had the art booth secured, hoping to kill two birds with one stone and indeed, some customers went away, book in one hand, an art print in the other. I would have tap-danced if it would have brought in more coin.

As it is, I did all I could. While I was promoting “Ferrari Hunter” at the Tour event, one owner (or driver) of a GTO series 2 seemed distressed when I asked him what his name was. He started to vamoose out of there but I managed to toss a book through his vent window. Why, you ask, am I giving them away to gazillionaires? Merely putting my “trickle down theory” to practice, to whit, if I give a few books away to the guys with $20 million dollar cars, the word will spread and owners of less renowned Ferraris will want one too. I should send that man a letter, though, and apologize—and I hope he likes the book.

Talking of coin, I had originally hoped to go to the auctions but the only one I made was Gooding and that wasn’t for the auction but just to see the wares on display. They had a tent with clear transparent top and it made the cars look good and of course the catalog is a work of art but they always seem to hold it back for the bidders instead of scribes such as oneself. I did run into Corvette King Terry Michaelis who told me he bought four cars including a L88 Corvette race car which jogged memories of the time I went to a race as part of the Owens-Corning Corvette team and nearly fell out of a helicopter trying to get that All Important Shot.

Jet Center Party and Tour

The Monterey Jet Center party has such tight security, you’d think a Presidential candidate was about. The party primarily features jet planes and a few props that are almost jets. We especially liked the restored Jaguar roadster that some company is offering as a sort of retro-modern version with a cut down windscreen and modern upholstery and no bumpers. We always knew the E-type was beautiful and this confirms it but we forgot to ask does it have a top? The snacks served were good and if you like wine, there’s plenty of it to sample as more and more vintners get into the mix and a lot of beautiful ladies and expensive watch displays and just about every toy related to exotic cars. You can tour the bizjet and prop planes and pick up some brochures but I resisted that, more likely to buy a boat than a plane as then I’d have to learn to fly.

The next day, I think it was (it’s all muddled together now) found me at the Tour that ended up on the main street of Carmel. Last year I had avoided this, thinking the cars weren’t the pick of the concours but this time I was glad I went because among the dozens were at least four 250GTOs, and how often do you see those on the street?

The car I really was surprised to see was the Plymouth XNR, a two seater (although with the passenger seat covered) roadster with probably a Chrysler six under the hood that I had previously only seen in a picture in National Geographic in an article on Kuwait or Saudi Arabia.

I thought I was the only one who remembered that picture but once again, while I was asleep at the wheel someone tracked the car down and bought it and restored it. (later I found out the car still hangs out in Lebanon) I think there are still more to be found. (In my novel, a tidbit on the the last page has the hero commencing a search for the “missing” Guigiaro-styled one-off Mustang built by Bertone. That’s an example of one Still to be Found.)

I was happy seeing the crowd pressed around the cars and to hear the car’s drivers telling their adventures on the way and noted the mode of dress. I got a real kick out of the clothing, and color matching of said clothes. When will GTO owner Ralph Lauren start using vintage racing in ads, because that lot seems to have very good taste? And I see that the owners of the most expensive Ferraris weren’t wearing red or yellow FERRARI jackets that proclaimed to the world what they owned, no, just well made clothes in good taste.

Concorso Italiano

Then on Friday it was the Concorso Italiano which was at the same golf club right by Highway 68, and as good an event as ever. Ferraris seemed to dominate but Lamborghinis, each year, make more and more of an impression. There was one lonely Italia which looked fetching in black but had a hood scoop that we had to wonder was from J.C. Whitney rather than Italy. In a way, it looks like the Intermeccanica Italia owners have a bit of the dreaded Pantera disease; that is to say, the owners feel that since they are American-Italo hybrids, it’s OK to hop them up and customize them like muscle cars. I am afraid, though, that if the Italia owners ever hope to have their cars fetch Ferrari-like prices, they will have to stick to the way Frank Reisner built them, warts and all. The DeTomaso group I won’t even attempt to reform, they are hot rodders through and through except at Concorso, three saw the light –in the form of two lovely Valleungas and a Mangusta that were stock except perhaps for the turquoise color of one of the Vallelungas.

This year the big theme was barn finds and I found those very satisfying because we wanna-be restorers like to see the cars as found. I wish they would have a display picture saying “this is how it was, with these boxes on top” but at least they had fairly original dirt. Champion here was Tom Shaughnessy with a 275GTB. He is getting good adding those spider webs.

I wonder how many car restoration shops fear barn find displays will eventually outnumber restored cars? Also barn finds allow those to display a car because they know in their heart they will never get around to restoring it, so at least they can get it out there for the rest of us to see.

The three rows of booths were great—from Logan Grey selling rare books to guys with intensely detailed model cars to sellers of old road lamps, to vendors of modern stainless steel exhausts. The event also has a fashion show and Italian music and gourmet Italian food. We would like to compare it to the Quail which takes place the same day but alas, the Quail apparently doesn’t invite journalists fearing perhaps they are prone to pocket the silverware….

As usual they had Keith Martin doing the emcee bit and he is a really a storehouse of knowledge and entertaining off the cuff. I thought it nice that Concorso now allowed some motorcycles.

Old Racer’s Press Conference

At some point along the way there was a press conference at the Media Center at Pebble Beach, maybe I’d like to think due to my suggestion sometime back that, as long as they have all these famous people present as judges, why not have some of them give speeches which would then be reprinted far and wide and add to the luster of the event?

So they did, with one speaker being the celebrated Sir Stirling Moss, well recovered from his elevator shaft plunge, and his old racing rival, John Surtees. I was a little apprehensive; worried that, being elderly gents they would nod off or be drifty but damned if they weren’t like two comedians playing off each other with some great stories and comic timing. I hope these interchanges become a part of every Monterey, and each event has to have one.

The Pebble Beach organizers gave an introductory speech about how there was a lot of poverty in Monterey County but then how all their donations (from Pebble Beach) result in over a million dollars a year going to the local charities. Which is a good thing.

Laguna and the Monterey Rolex Reunion

We went to Laguna Seca on Saturday and around noon-ish and missed the tribute to Jaguar but saw some of them in the pits. It seemed like there were less cars this year, (the economy stupid?) but still some spectacular items like a polished out Aston Martin DB4GTZ. We weren’t able to find out if this was one of the original Zagato-bodied cars or of the later small out-of-sequence run that then-owner of Aston Victor Gauntlett ordered, but at any rate it was spectacular.

The track generously let me onto the grid (though I lacked the orange vest) so I was able to get several pictures of the 1961 GTO prototype with the 400SA body in a sort of electric French blue and that will be the subject of a future painting –if the film comes out, yes, took many jibes for still shooting film in a beat up Nikon F3 bearing the original dirt of a quarter century of covering Monterey events.

The really impressive cars were the GTOs—including some ’64 series 2 models that had the 250LM roof styles. But only the blue one seemed to run hard, going to opposite lock as he came down the pit straight. I would have liked to see a Cobra Daytona coupe go up against the GTOs to see which is, after all, the better car but the only Daytona coupe I found that weekend was at Pebble Beach.

Pebble Beach

We also went to Pebble a bit late but this was a double disaster, not recommended for the faint of heart. We thought we will take the little known entrance down by Carmel Bay beach but a zillion others thought that and traffic wasn’t moving. Another half hour and I thought the hell with it and headed for higher ground wondering what the hero of my novel would do. Yes, he would swim with the fishes, blend in with the locals. So as I sped down a street I noticed two houses for sale, one with a stout gate and well maintained but the other derelict, dead lawn, no curtains, must be stuck in an estate battle. I pulled into the courtyard of the second one and hoped that the Pebble Beach police must be way too concerned towing cars parked illegally to see my car hidden in the courtyard. Encouraging was the fact the estate had no gate. This worked and I was able to hit the Lincoln hospitality suite for a late lunch before plunging into the crowd, ancient Nikon F3 in hand. Alas my digital camera said it was full, (I bought it for $10 with no directions) so I shot the old fashioned way, 24 frames and change the film.

The dream car lawn is always a kick. Cadillac had their burgundy roadster and the BMW roadster was interesting with its cut down windscreen and no side doors, sort of retro prewar feeling to it. The new Zagato Aston, uh, have to give this one a “C.” It lacked the brio that the real GTZs had way back when.

Out on the show grounds, I enjoyed the lineup of GTOs except I was disappointed the owners didn’t seem to be sitting near their cars so I could query them about their car’s histories. When I hailed one chap sitting by the GTOs and actually got him to the wire that separated these ultimate cars from the seething masses, he turned out to be Peter Miles, the son of the late great Shelby Cobra piloto Ken Miles and we renewed our acquaintance but I didn’t find out any hidden lore of GTOs from him.

A motel too far

I had fun telling Art Gould, a rival radio host, that I was staying at The Lodge at some automaker’s expense but in truth I was staying at a Motel 6 fifty miles south and the trip back and forth each day accounted for my $300 gas expenses though I was in a smooth riding economical Chevrolet Malibu test car. Next time I’ll find lodgings to the North, maybe in some farming town, because then, driving into Monterey you can come in on Highway 1, no traffic jams like the dreaded Highway 68.

It has been several days ago now but I still remember the traffic jams. As time goes on I think I will remember most the good stuff, the incomparable sights that I would have never seen if I hadn’t been there.

And I only spent $500….