“Pebble Beach” has become the generic name of a week-long series of automotive events including shows and gatherings for specific makes and models (or marques, as the Euros call them), numerous high-end auctions and, of course, the traditional Vintage Races at the Laguna Seca race track, and the granddaddy of all automotive events for collector cars, the Concours d’Elegance on and around the 18th Fairway of the Pebble Beach golf course. The many events are held at various locations on the gorgeous Monterey Peninsula on California’s central coast, just north of Big Sur.
For the full week of automotive debauchery, all hotel rooms are full for 100 miles around (booked a year in advance), and all roads are crowded to gridlock status, from four-lane freeway to two-lane country path (some roads in the Peninsula’s interior switch from dirt to pavement and back again, ford streams and can take a driver back in time seemingly 100 years). Every halfway decent restaurant (local city council fiat means there’s nary a fast-food joint within 50 miles --- Seriously) are over-booked with slow service guaranteed.
There really is nothing else in the world like the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. There are a few people who work for the Concours who literally travel the world every year to find cars (and their owners) worthy of an invitation to participate in the Concours. That’s right, you must be invited to attend --- Not simply send in a photo of “Ol’ Blue” with a reservation form and check, show up at the gate, pay some more, pick up your T-short and dash plaque and drink tix, trailer your vehicle to a parking spot, open beers and the picnic basket, set-up the lawn chairs and enjoy the rest of the day.
Other Concours have judges who may or may not show up, and may or may not ask you to start your vehicle, and may or may not have ever heard of your car. No, the Pebble Beach Concours lost any kind of that charm, enthusiasm, friendship-among-owners and fun well over a decade ago.
These days, one of the Concours judges is likely to be one of the engineers who designed the car … It’s that tough.
If you’ve like to get a good dose of the flavor of the Concours, read a story called “The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved”, article by Hunter S. Thompson that first appeared in a June 1970 issue of Scanlan’s Monthly magazine. The article's focus was less on the actual race itself and more on the celebration and depravity that surrounds the event.
Thompson provides up-close views of life in the Derby infield as well as the grandstand, and a running commentary on the drunkenness and lewdness of the crowd. It was later reprinted in The Great Shark Hunt (1979), a book collecting several of Thompson's earlier works. Think ‘Kentucky Derby’, which Dr. Thompson described, rightly so, as a drunken free-for-all for some of the wealthiest people in America, when you think ‘Pebble Beach Concours’.
Many of the participants in both events are the same --- Though the Concours-goers tend to be richer and drunker; Many more Euros and Asians attend Pebble than the Derby. The saving grace of those attending Pebble, at least for many of them, is that they like cars.
Here’s how to enjoy the Vintage Races and the Concours: Do whatever you can do to build-up your patience. You are going to be doing a lot of waiting, driving and walking. Your feet are going to hurt. Whoever is with you will get on your nerves.
Actually, keeping some simple points in mind means you won’t have to worry too much and you can avoid a good bit of complaining on your part and that of your partners on the trip. Just do some legwork starting a year before the event. I’m serious.
How to get to Monterey?
Of course the classic route is to leave the LA area and drive north on Highway 1. It’s as beautiful and inspirational a drive as you’ll find anywhere in the world, perhaps the best route ever constructed (let us all take a moment to praise CalTrans).
The problem is, the drive is great any week of the year --- But the weeks before or after the Monterey weekend of events. You see, several tens of thousands of other car freaks have the same idea. The drive up (or down) Highway 1 is, as are many of the Monterey events, much like the Rose Parade --- Something to do once, do it well, and then let the crowds have it. Maybe once every decade, depending on your health. If the doc gives you some bad news, try to hit the Concours one more time.
Fly! That’s right. There is a municipal airport of sorts in Monterey, just a few miles from the Laguna Seca race track. If you own your own plane, know someone who does, or have one of those “fractional” ownerships, you’re in like a porch climber. Whether or not any commercial flights are going in or out of that airport on any given weekend needs to be checked (and reservations made) very well ahead of time. Like, a year or so.
Better to fly into San Jose or San Francisco and rent a car and drive into Monterey. It’s less than two hours from either location and the scenery gets noticeably better the closer you get to your target. The earlier in the event week, the better, as traffic is gridlocked from Friday morning until Sunday afternoon, following the Concours, going in all directions.
If you have the time and $$$ to stay an extra night or so, even better. Leaving the area on Monday or Tuesday makes for a much, much nicer drive home.
Again, get reservations for the flight and whatever car you’d want (and pay in advance, get a guarantee, do whatever you can to get THAT car) about a year in advance.
Same thing for hotel reservations. There are plenty of hotels, about the THREE STAR variety, nothing very luxurious (unless you actually stay at The Lodge at Pebble Beach), and scores of motels scattered around the Peninsula.
One lesser-known area to stay is Pacific Grove, smack between Monterey and Carmel (actual home of the Concours, a town so quaint you’ll want to move there immediately after the events) and loaded with motels that look like they belong on the postcards from the ‘30s and ‘50s --- And many of them are from those eras … And from those postcards!
If you have some connections, the Asilomar Conference Grounds are on a tiny spit of land jutting into the harsh Pacific which is actually jammed between Carmel and Pacific Grove. It is owned by the State of California and if you can get reservations, good luck. If you made any contributions to Governor Schwarzenegger, give him a call. HE’LL probably be staying there! They are tough, though. A friend of mine once inadvertently took a TOWEL home from the place and was literally BANNED from ever making reservations there again! No kidding; he called and tried and was told: They have a Black List at the Asilomar!
Seaside is a town about 20 miles north of Monterey and rooms can be had there up to a month or so before the events …
Santa Cruz is farther north, but probably too far for most racing and Concours fans. However, it’s not completely unusual for folks to spend the hour or so driving from Santa Cruz (which has one of the best and most famous boardwalks and roller coasters in the world) in and out of Monterey/Carmel to attend the car shows, auctions and races. Santa Cruz itself is a great California college and beach town, wrapped up in one town, and definitely worth exploring on its own, especially if you have kids with you.
If you’ve been to the Monterey weekend before and have a favorite restaurant, make reservations six months in advance for any ‘special’ meals. Otherwise, it’s catch-as-catch-can. Fast-food is banned by law throughout the Carmel area, but all the local seafood can be about the best you’ve ever had. Touristy restaurants on the Monterey Pier look dangerous but, having been to most of them, we’ve never experienced a bad meal ay any one. Try to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium, too, during your trip.
The LAW for the Vintage Races and the Concours and every other major event, including the auctions, Concorso Italiano and ALL the rest: HAVE THE RIGHT TICKETS AND GET THERE AS EARLY AS YOU CAN.
That’s the only safe way to guarantee in-close parking and walking from less than two miles out. Also, the best thing about the “Races” (and I use the “quotes” because the races are an “exhibition” of old cars going fast --- Actual racing is not allowed --- Vintage Race organizer Steve Earle will stay run out on the track and personally BLACK FLAG any race car driver traveling too fast or dangerously) is walking through the pit area.
Make sure you get the right tickets and passes which will allow you and the gang in the pits/garage/paddock. That’s where the action is at any race, only more so at Laguna Seca, where the ‘presenting’ or ‘honored’ marque will have a wonderful exhibition of sorts (one year Ford re-created the LeMans pit area from their Glory Days with Aston-Martin and Jaguar, and it must have cost them at least $1 million, and I’ll never forget it).
You’ll see old cars and old drivers. People like Phil Hill, Carroll Shelby, Dan Gurney, Mario Andretti, Sir Jack Brabham, Pete Lovely, Sam Posey, Roger Penske (Sports Illustrated’s Driving Champion, 1961, NY Times Driving Champion, 1962) and many more of the greatest sports car drivers of all time.
Finally, THE PEBBLE BEACH CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE!
Sunday, Sunday! Be There! See Ralph Lauren looking … Just Like Himself! See Jay Leno’s wife, the-interestingly-named Mavis (never far from Jay’s arm) and Jay himself, wearing a sports coat over his usual blue work shirt! See Barry Meguiar handing out eponymous MEGUIAR’S waxes and cleaners to contestants (for waxing your eponymous)! See incredibly rich people who have flown their cars to the 18th Fairway at Pebble Beach from every corner of the globe, not afraid to spend just that little bit of an extra $10-grand to possibly cop a prize! See Bruce Meyer, the Man From Beverly Hills, who somehow convinced the Powers-That-Be at Pebble to allow HOT RODS, BY GOD, HOT RODS(!) into their own class in the competition! Be There! Sunday! Sunday!
Keep in mind that the Vintage Races run Saturday and Sunday, and the CONCOURS is SUNDAY ONLY.
Also, and this is an important point in convincing your other half to come back next year, or at least some time in the future, there are NO REPEAT CARS at Pebble. Every year, it’s a completely different batch of vehicles. It’s just that after the first, oh, 75 or so million-dollar-cars, they kinda start to look alike … ya know?
If it’s your first time at the Concours, plan on spending all day, from 7am, when the cars arrive, to about 4pm, when the awards are handed out. After one time doing this, you’ll understand why in on future trips to the Concours, you’ll need only to be there from 7am for about an hour. Then get an early start on your trip home.
That’s because the PEBBLE RULES stipulate that ‘all vehicles must enter the judging grounds under their own power’.
And you want to be there when that’s happening. Place yourself at the entrance to the 18th Fairway. That’s all the way to the right of the Lodge entrance. Just keep walking to the right of the Lodge (as you face its front) until you come to a little, lightly-paved road. There’s a private home on the other side, so it’s easy to spot the road and follow it down (to the left) to the back gate of the Pebble Beach links.
ALL THE CARS DRIVE DOWN THAT ROAD TO ENTER THE JUDGING GROUNDS!
That’s right; Smart visitors get a full hour or so to watch, listen, feel, sense, even smell and absolutely totally experience all the cars entering under their own chugging, roaring, snuffing, blowing, blasting, steaming power! And THAT is the best part of Pebble, bar none.
Because, truth be known, by 9am there are so many people on the Fairway that the cars can not be seen or really enjoyed by real Car Nuts. You can’t get close to them, they are not running (though they will be started individually for the judges when that begins around 10am) and their owners and the people hired to ‘maintain and present’ them for judging are very-very-very nervous, screaming at each other, running around with all sorts of weird apparatus and tools, cleaning wire wheels with toothbrushes --- You’ve heard of that, and now you’re seeing it … !
All for the moment when a group of judges made up of ‘experts’ in whatever era or marque is being judged show up with their clipboards and start asking impertinent questions, such as, “Is that bolt on the bottom-rear flange proper for that year? Chadwick, it looks like a ‘32 to me…”… and on and on.
Judges have been known to come close to fisticuffs and worse whilst a friendly discussion on the proper colors of the piping on the wool carpet in the Rumble Seat --- And if that carpet was an original equipment item … or not.
And the cars themselves are, eventually, overkill.
After you've seen FIVE Ferrari Daytonas, what’s next? Hmmm … Maybe we can check out the various Hispano-Suizas before lunch … Then perhaps the racing Maseratis, pre-1930, naturally, after an early cocktail …
Like any great museum, the functional and rolling artwork on display here has been restored to better condition that it ever was in since the time it was on, and not even yet off of, the assembly line. Ever visit the Louvre? “OK, Last Supper, check … Mona Lisa, check … What’s next? They got bathrooms in this place?”
Which brings up other topics: Dress. And toilets.
No matter how revolutionary you consider yourself to be, if you are not a Rockefeller (because some of them will be there, too), dress up better than you do when you hit APPLEBEE’S for that big weekly Thursday night out. Food and relaxation is available in the Lodge itself, but if you’re not dressed appropriately, you’ll feel like (and be stared at as) an idiot. Take it from one who knows, ok?
Also, bring a credit card with something left on it in the event you want to purchase some automobilia from the Lodge or one of the several motoring stores in the area. We’re talking “actual Schumacher steering wheels” for $25,000, all the way down and high up as you might wish.
Many well-known auto artists and photographers are set-up around the Lodge for your indulgence as well. And they are absolutely WIDE OPEN for business; Best deals are after 4pm Sunday, after the awards ceremonies.
There are also picnic baskets, sandwiches and cold drinks sold on the Fairway; Best bet? Bring your own food, if possible. There are lines everywhere for everything. And the fully-stocked bars are among the most popular stops with the longest, most fun lines. You can see some really rich, really drunk members of America’s top fraternities at their most enjoyable.
Final instruction: Whatever reservations you can make for NEXT YEAR’s Vintage Races and Concours, do so at this time. BEFORE you leave this year’s event. It’s a hassle, you won’t want to do it, you’re tired and everyone is whining, but it’s worth the time and trouble.
A LITTLE PERSONAL HISTORY
The first time I went to the Concours was about 1977 (the modern-day Vintage Races started there in 1974). Photographer Dave Gooley and I drove from LA to Monterey, planning to see the Vintage Races and attend the Concours. We had media credentials for both events, so didn’t have to worry about admission fees (getting into the Concours alone on Sunday costs the public $100 per ticket; there are only some 20,000 tickets available, they are almost always sold-out months in advance, and all the profit goes to the Monterey Peninsula United Way).
Gooley and I went into the restaurant of one of the posher hotels and expected a nice lunch. What we wound up doing was ordering a salad and splitting it --- A full meal, at those prices, was out of the question for Doctors of Journalism of the time.
We stayed at that hotel overnight, though. But not actually in it. We found a quiet corner of the parking lot, near some of the trailers hauling race cars for the vintage events at nearby Laguna Seca were parked, folded down the front seats in his Mazda RX-2 as far back as they would go, and slept the night away.
We hit both major events that weekend; Races on Saturday, Concours on Sunday. And, especially this being my ‘first time’, I thoroughly enjoyed them both. There were no other events on those weekends in the ‘70s and ‘80s; Back in those days, you stayed Saturday and Sunday and that was all that was necessary.
Unless we found some cars we wanted to do stories on for some of the magazines we supplied with photojournalism “while-u-wait”, then we might stay over until Monday to get the car prepped and cleaned; It was always better to do that when the crowds were leaving. There was all the time in the world after Sunday and the photos and story were always better when we did it that way (though it cost us freelancers more hotel and food $$$ to do so).
Though some of the events are not cloaely related, the current ‘Pebble Beach Week’ was designed and scheduled by agreement and discussion among all the varied and many sanctioning bodies, auction houses and car clubs holding their events on the Monterey Peninsula (home of the famed ‘Lone Cyprus’, part of the attractions on the drive along the world-famous ‘17 Mile Drive’ which counts ‘The Lodge at Pebble Beach’ as one of its scenic stops; it’s also the home to the Concours --- Only in Pebble Beach would they have figured out a way for normal plebes like us to PAY to drive on their roads!).
It’s simply amazing to us that throughout all these years the schedules and the facilities have worked out to most everyone’s satisfaction. The whole thing has just grown tremendously. Maybe it is because the signature event, the Concours d’Elegance, has made a huge commitment to the local United Way charity and has delivered, big-time, for many years.
Would that all other promoters in the car business get-together in such friendly and productive fashion --- In 1950, the local chapter of the Sports Car Club of America banded with legendary San Francisco-based MG dealer Kjell Qvale (no, you’re pronouncing it wrong) to create the Pebble Beach Road Race. The day after racing, spectators and drivers attended a display of new models. The first race was won by Phil Hill, who later became the first American Grand Prix champion.
By 1957, the race through the woods of Pebble Beach had been ended because of a fatal accident. Then other events sprang up on their own.
Vintage racing returned in 1974 as the Monterey Historic Automobile Races. Other events that week include, but are not limited too, the Concorso Italiano and The Quail Concours, and auctions including those by Christie's International Plc, Bonhams & Butterfields and Gooding & Co. And adding more events seemingly by the moment.
I’ve been back many times to the Vintage Races, the Concours and as many of the other events as we could sanely attend in a single week. It is never easy. As noted, hotels, the traffic and restaurants are all incredibly busy and tempers flare mightily. When the Porsche Club of North America was on the Peninsula for their week-long tribute as the ‘Official Vehicle’ of the Concours and the races, more than 20,000 Porsches hit the streets and roads of Monterey and surrounding environs --- Which by itself would jam the place and was fairly annoying on its own. Add another 30,000 or so spectators and vehicles to the mix, and you can imagine what the Peninsula becomes one week a year.
Oh, and if you do go … Let us know if any of the above helped …
Hi Richard! Hope things are good for you and yours over at Financial TV!
Thanks so much for your kind comments about what we put together on Robert Petersen and remembering him too in our Pebble Beach story.
I guess the truth is he never DID write a book --- Let that be a warning to all the people in the car business who think they SHOULD write one --- Go on and do it!
Thanks again!
Steve
Posted by: Steve Parker | May 07, 2007 at 11:02 PM
Steve, Just read your tribute to Pete, excellent work, amazing stories about a great guy who was always available for an interview and seen regularly at "his table" at Spago. Please give me details on the May 10 event. Cheers, Richard
Posted by: Richard Saxton | May 05, 2007 at 09:12 AM
Thanks for the kind comments and I encourage our readers to visit your very cool photographic site!
Car-lovers should try to make it to Pebble Beach at least once in their lifetimes ... It's really the one place in the world of classics where you can be pretty much assured that the vehicle you are looking at is the one the owners claim it to be, which is not always the case, especially at these big-buck 'auctions'. People have to be SO careful these days!
Steve
Posted by: Steve Parker | March 27, 2007 at 08:45 PM
That was a nice piece of insight you shared. I have been to many classic car events and races throughout Europe and the East Coast but never made it to PEBBLE BEACH AND LAGUNA SECA. But this year I will - like always taking stills and moving pictures (www.alexanderdavidis.net). Now I know how to go about it (I hope). Thanks!
Cheers Alexander
Posted by: Alexander Davidis | March 19, 2007 at 02:04 PM