More from Pebble Beach 2024

Story and photos by Brandes Elitch

“This is the only car show where a simple millionaire can beat the billionaires.”-Jay Leno

Car Week, and particularly the show at Pebble Beach, is a spectacle that every car person must experience at least once in their life, if they are lucky. Last year I had the privilege of walking the show with someone who came all the way from Australia for this experience. We met each other for the first time while walking in, and we spent five hours together walking the show – a wonderful time.

This is the 73d year of the Pebble Beach Concours, held on August 18. There were 218 cars displayed, from 29 states and 17 countries, spanning 125 years of automobile manufacturing. Fully 48 cars came from outside the US. For the first time, postwar cars will outnumber older ones by 20%

Attendance has been estimated at between 15,000-20,000 people.

Yes, there are other events all over the world, but nothing even comes close to Car Week. Car Week spans ten days, from August 9 through August 18, with auto shows, races, auctions, seminars, lectures, lifestyle events, tours, vintage motorsports, art shows, manufacturer displays and exhibitors, and unveilings, about 25 separate events. The Monterey Convention and Visitors Bureau anticipates 85,000 visitors. To put this in perspective, as of the 2020 census, the town of Carmel had a total population of 3220 and the town is a village of one square mile. It is an exclusive community; the average home price in Carmel-by-the-Sea is $2,199,084. Demographically, the City of Carmel shows that, with regards to housing availability, there is a 50% vacancy rate, and 80% of vacant units are for seasonal, or recreational or occasional use!

When you have 85k people trying to squeeze into a town with that footprint, it gets crowded. Also, there are only two entrances to the Seventeen Mile Drive in Pebble Beach, one in downtown Carmel, and one a long way away at the town of Pacific Grove. That makes for heavy traffic.

Then, there are the auctions. Last year, 1200 cars crossed the auction blocks in Car Week, taking in over $400 million. This is Big Money, and it attracts a lot of people. There is even an interactive map, at seemonterey.com, which breaks down events by day and shows where they are located, along with traffic conditions.

Car Week spend on the Monterey Peninsula is estimated to be $65 million, and the events that the tourists patronize benefit numerous charities. This is Big Business.

Just driving around, you will be surrounded by exotic cars and now something called hypercars. Last year, Monterey Police officers made 256 stops during car week, and of those 176 resulted in citations, 10 people were arrested, and 8 vehicles were towed.

I think you get the picture: it is a bit stressful to be there. But of course, you have to be there.

While the Concours d’Elegance at the 18th green on the Pebble Beach Golf Course, in back of the Lodge, and right on the Bay, is the most famous venue. let’s not forget the other Main Event, the Monterey Motorsports Reunion, now celebrating its 50th anniversary. This began in 1974 as a kind of run-up to the Pebble Beach Concours. There are more than 400 entries among 13 race groups. You cannot possibly see this in one day. Bring your earplugs. Attending these two events is something you will treasure for a long time.

There are many concours around the world today, but it is not an exaggeration to say that the Pebble Beach show is the Ne Plus Ultra. At this point, it would be impossible to duplicate, or even come close. There is momentum that carries the show for years in advance, because of the organizational effort and frankly the accumulated knowledge, skill and dedication of the organizers. I cannot imagine how many thousands of hours go into the planning for this one day. In addition to the executive staff and judges, there are a thousand volunteers! There are contributing writers, photographers, and photo archives. But it turns out that while the show is on Sunday, there are other events in front of that. This year, I went to Concours Village to attend a lecture on the history of Packard. It featured 4 of the most knowledgeable Packard people on the planet. There was also an artist exhibition. I was able to meet Necah Furman, whose book on Raymond Dietrich I just reviewed at VeloceToday (you must see this book!). That was a highlight, but there were other artists there too, and one of them I must mention, an artist named Keith Collins. His work can be found at: KeithCollinsCreative.com. I recommend you check out his work.

I also did a walk-through of the Gooding auction, just up the street, and it was almost as fabulous as the car show. I could have spent half a day there.

But of course, all this is prologue to the Main Event, the Concours.

This year, I got on the field at 6 AM, to see the cars drive in. I think this is a bit more of a visceral and emotional experience than just seeing them parked in situ in their respective classes. Actually, situating the car on its pre-designated spot is done with military precision, which typically calls for a lot of back and forth. It must be very stressful for the owner.

Since there are about 200 cars to be parked, this takes a while. Each car is individually escorted to its designated space. The very special featured cars are behind a chain right next to the Monterey Bay. These are cars which you have only seen or read about in books or magazines; they are so famous.

This year, as always, there was an embarrassment of riches.

While all this is going on, there are many collectors and restorers all over the world working diligently on restoring their cars with the expectation/hope that they will be invited to this show in the future. This is part of the momentum that drives this show into the future.

And while all of this might seem somewhat decadent, it is important to realize that the Concours has always supported local charities, and last year raised over $3 million for that effort (and also raised $3 million this year), and total donations exceed forty million dollars! I do not believe that any other car show has done anything even remotely similar to this. There is also an educational partnership with McPherson College and also the Academy of Art University and the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford.

The Chief Judge is Chris Bock. He has served in this role since 2013. He is also on the Selection Committee, the heart of the matter, comprised of about 15 experts who choose the cars that are invited to participate. There are many Honorary Judges, 52 by my count. There are some very famous names here.

Mr. Bock has been quoted in the past as saying that what counts in the judging here is detailed and faithful research, so that the car is presented as the manufacturer would have presented it to the first owner. Originality and authenticity are the two keywords in judging here as well as restoration accuracy and preservation integrity. Plus, everything has to work too! The judges can give an extra 3 points for style and elegance (of course that is purely subjective).

Points are deducted for imperfections, inaccurate details, and over-restoration. They are awarded for style, beauty, color, field presence and historical significance. The judging criteria are derived from the CCCA judging standards, plus the subjective 3 points. Bock oversees a team of about 100 automotive experts. Best of Show is chosen by the Chief Class Judges, the event chair, and the 50 honorary judges. If there is a tie in class, the nod goes to the car that has completed The Tour, a roughly 70 mile run down to Big Sur and back on Thursday. There are typically about 8 cars in a class. The judges spend about 20 minutes per car.

This year’s classes included:

-wedge shaped cars

-the 125th anniversary of Packard

-the 110th year of Maserati

-the 70th anniversary of the Jaguar D type

-ten Land Rovers used by Queen Elizabeth

-BPR and FIA GT racecars

-concept cars on the putting green in front of the Lodge

For me, it was emotional, because I saw cars I own or have owned, including a V12 Lagonda, brought from India, a Bristol, brought from England, and Packards, from everywhere. And the Jaguar D types are iconic, so iconic that the factory has recently manufactured new ones!

As you might have seen, the Best of Show this year was a 1934 Bugatti Type 59 Sports. This is remarkable because is a “preservation” car, in other words, original and unrestored, just preserved. The preservation class started in 2001 and is one of my favorites. This car was raced by the Bugatti works team in 1934-5, driven by famous driver/restauranteur Rene Dreyfus to win the Belgian Grand Prix. Later it was converted to a sports car configuration, but still raced. In addition, there were awards for the top three finishers in each class, as well as 22 special awards and four elegance awards, too many to list here.

Mere words are inadequate to convey the scope, reach, emotional punch, depth and breadth of this experience. Thanks to the thousands of people who made this possible. I wonder what next year will bring?

Packards on Parade