The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
Story by Brandes Elitch
Photos by Steve Snyder
In last year’s column about this show, I wrote, “The program says that ‘what began as a small gathering of enthusiasts has grown into one of the premier celebrations of motorcycling in the country’, and this is an understatement. There may be other events, such as Daytona Bike Week, but there is no other motorcycle show like this or anything close, anywhere else in the country.” [Read more…] about The Quail Motorcycle Gathering, May 5, 2018
Story by Brandes Elitch
Photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt unless otherwise noted
The fifteenth edition of The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, was held on August 15, 2017, at the Quail Lodge and Golf Club, located in Carmel Valley, California, a few hours south of San Francisco. About 225 automobiles and motorcycles were exhibited in what has been described elsewhere as a garden party atmosphere, carefully planned and curated by Gordon McCall https://velocetoday.com/gordon-mccall-authenticity-and-continuity/ and his staff. This is an exceptional event, and in this brief article I will try to convey why this is the case. [Read more…] about The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering 2017
Story by Brandes Elitch
Photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
The 32nd annual Concorso Italiano was held at the Blackhorse/Bayonet golf course at Fort Ord, California, on August 19, 2017. Originally conceived by Francis Mandarano of the Maserati Information Exchange, this event has been managed since 2009 by Tom McDowell.
Concorso Italiano is probably the largest gathering of Italian special interest and collector cars anywhere in the world. Special features this year were “Seventy Years of Ferrari,” the 50th anniversary of the Maserati Ghibli, and the first part of a three-year celebration of Alfa Romeo, this year featuring the GTV, Giulia, and 4C. I particularly appreciated the interview on the stage with event originator Mandarano, who gave a history of the event and a tribute to Tom Tjaarda, who passed away recently, but was in attendance at previous shows. There was also an interview with Pete Brock, and one of the highlights of the day for me was getting to talk to Pete in person. [Read more…] about Monterey Round One
Story by Brandes Elitch
Photos courtesy Solvang Motorcycle Museum
Solvang is a small town of about 5000 people, located in the Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara County, about 140 miles north of Los Angeles. The name means “Sunny Fields” in Danish. It was founded in 1911 by Danish-American educators to preserve their Danish cultural heritage, and had a dedicated Lutheran church and Danish “folk school.” During the period 1850-1930 the Danish economy contracted, so about one in ten Danes emigrated, mostly to the U.S. In 1912, Solvang’s pastor traveled to Iowa to recruit more Danes, and was successful in getting enough of them to move so that the town’s future was assured. Today, it is a tourist destination that attracts a million visitors a year, on the strength of its uniquely Danish architecture, food, attractions, and museums.
1965 MV Agusta 3 cylinder. At the Quail gathering in May of 2016, this bike won the ‘Spirit of the Show’ award – top honors from a prestigious event.
As part of our ongoing series of articles about Italian coachbuilders, Brandes Elitch provides some thoughts about the recent Crossroads Exhibit in Turin. One of the cars in the exhibit is this superb blend of cultures as penned by Giovanni Michelotti on a Lancia B24 chassis. Hugues Vanhoolandt photo.
Story by Brandes Elitch
Photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt and the Nuvolari Museum
Currently, and until June 25th, the National Automobile Museum of Turin (MAUTO) features an exhibit called “Crossroads: Italy – USA Intersections from after the war to the postwar economic boom.” It explores the cross-pollination and cultural themes of American and Italian designers and their work from 1945-1975. It is an important exhibition, and if you are able, do not miss the opportunity to see this remarkable combination of American and Italian styles. [Read more…] about Crossroads: Italy – USA at the National Automobile Museum of Turin
At the Quail, plenty of Italian – and French Motorcycles to excite.
Story by Brandes Elitch
Photos by David Fetherston unless otherwise noted
Read Part 1
Question: Are you optimistic about the future of the motorcycle?
Answer: “There’s a real romance to motorcycling, and this is always recognized by a certain type of individual who values adventure above security and comfort. Luckily, every generation seems to produce a surprising number of these people.” – Peter Egan
“The perfect man? A poet on a motorcycle.” – Lucinda Williams [Read more…] about Getting Interested in Motorcycles
Brandes Elitch gets a sneak preview tour of the new Moto Talbott Motorcycle Museum, a home for True Believers. (Randy Wilder / Talbott Motorcycle Museum)
Story by Brandes Elich
Photos by Bill Green unless otherwise noted
The “Historics” is a catch-all phrase given to the multiple events occurring during “Car Week” on the Monterey Peninsula, including the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the Historic Car Racing at Laguna Seca, the Quail Lodge extravaganza, and the Concorso Italiano, among others. [Read more…] about Brandes Elitch: True Believers and Monterey
Dave Wolin goes back a long way; he got a bank loan to buy a used Porsche 550 Spyder for $2000 (that was a long time ago!) Today he is recording and preserving racing history and helping retired race drivers.
By Brandes Elitch
All photos courtesy Dave Wolin
You will not be surprised to learn that there is no pension plan for retired race car drivers like there is in the movie industry; they often depend on the kindness of strangers During the Monterey Historics this year, there will be a new and very special event, called “Tribute to the CanAm – 50th Anniversary.” Proceeds benefit the Racing History Project, (www.racinghistoryproject.com) and specifically two drivers: Charlie Hayes and Tony Adamowicz. [Read more…] about Dave Wolin: The Kindness of Strangers
1964 MV Agusta Triple, Virgil Elings
By Brandes Elitch
Photos by Dave Fetherston unless otherwise noted
In my previous article, I interviewed Gordon McCall, the organizer of the motorcycle show held every May since 2009 at the Quail Lodge Resort in Carmel Valley, California. It is generally regarded as the premier motorcycle concours in the country.
One of the emcees at the show is Paul d’Orleans, a well-known motorcycle writer (www.the vintagent@blogspot.com). Paul describes the ambiance of the show better than anyone. “The world of motorcycles has all the ingredients of a good, enriching drama: heroic deeds, political intrigue, design brilliance, cut-throat business practices, quirky characters, national tensions, cultural biases, Eros and Thanatos. When diving into the muck of motorcycle history, we find unexpected riches.” [Read more…] about Quail Motorcycle Gathering 2016
Photographer Paul d’Orleans took this image of Gordon McCall with his BSA Rickman Matisse road racer in the background.
Story by Brandes Elitch
If you have attended the Monterey Car Week in August, you are likely familiar with Gordon McCall. For 25 years, he and his wife Molly have he has hosted the first “really big show” that kicks off the week: the McCall Motorworks Revival held at the Monterey Jet Center. The event, which hosts 3000 guests, is really a party, but a very carefully planned one. Gordon says he got this from his mother, who was an epic entertainer from the East Coast. He adds, “Nobody knows how to entertain like an East Coaster, not social climbing but socializing.” The Revival combines very special new and old planes, cars, and motorcycles in an extraordinarily elegant way. Every single detail is choreographed.
Blue Oval et al Ferraris: Ford and other American-engined Ferraris from the 1950s and 1960s
By Randy Cook
176 pages, 250 photos
$39.95 USD plus shipping
ISBN 978-0-692-50170-2
Review by Brandes Elitch
“If you haven’t grasped it yet, everything you write needs to be researched.” – Stefan Vucak
Randy Cook should need no introduction to regular readers as his previous book, “Bowtie Ferraris” was reviewed here by both this author and Michael Lynch. It told the history of 71 small block Chevy (SBC) powered cars, some of which were quite famous and had a distinguished race history. In spite of the voluminous amount of writing that has appeared on Ferraris, (probably more “scholarly research” has been written about Ferrari than any other single marque) nobody had ever tackled this subject, at least not using rigorous historical research. It is not an exaggeration that the first book changed the way that many people look at Ferraris. What Randy Cook did is to illustrate the “important and undeniable fact of Ferrari history that the temporary power of American engines saved many of the early cars, some quite significant, from being crushed and lost forever.” Make no mistake – these are the most valuable Ferraris, the early cars, and the race cars. Taken as a whole with the first book, this is an extraordinary piece of research. [Read more…] about Blue Oval et al Ferraris Review
Lamborghini Aventador lineup at Concorso.
Story by Brandes Elitch
Photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt unless otherwise noted
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Arriving at the Bayonet and Blackhorse golf course in Seaside-Monterey on a beautiful Saturday morning in August, I wondered:
– How did they get a thousand cars so perfectly in positon that early in the morning?
-How did a country the size of Arizona come to make so many desirable cars?
-Just why are Italian cars so desirable? [Read more…] about Concorso Italiano 2015