Last weekend proved once again that the passion for cars is still incredibly strong. Hundreds of thousands gathered in Detroit for the 28thth The annual Woodward Dream Cruise and other events brought crowds to California’s Monterey Peninsula for a week.
I was in Monterey, where every night became an informal cruise festival. To my imperfect eye, the crowds had never been this dense. People have learned that they don’t need to buy tickets to one of the many shows that make up Monterey Car Week—some events cost over $1,000—when they can simply stand on a street corner and not only see the unattainable, but hear it too. One night I was hanging out on Monterey’s infamous Cannery Row, watching supercar after supercar crawl by, drivers revving their engines and sending sound waves bouncing off the buildings.
After a short walk, I returned to my original spot to find that three multimillion-dollar supercars – two Paganis and a Koenigsegg – had replaced the nondescript cars previously parked on the street. People rushed to the curb with cell phones raised, filming the drivers as they got out of the cars. I couldn’t tell if they were celebrities, but wondered how they got such prime parking spots. Was this street show prearranged? I lost count of the number of winged exotics I saw on Cannery Row.
The highlight of the week, the Pebble Beach Concours, did what it does so well, which is bring together rarely seen cars. My favorites were the Jaguar D-Type prototype and the wedge-shaped concept class. Among them was a car that looked like the monolith of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The United Nude Lo Res concept seemed like a satire, a natural end to the increasingly abrupt and overly winged exotica that had been set up on the Pebble Beach golf course. Or not.
The Pebble Concours continues to evolve. For the first time, the event included vintage SUVs and featured a special display of Land Rovers used and owned by the British Royal Family, which even drove across the stage.
The “Best in Show” trophy, usually given to a carefully restored classic, went to a Bugatti racing car that has worn the same paint for 90 years.
The owner, Fritz Burkard, drove the Bugatti for hours in the days before the concours, enjoying his machine and the invigorating Californian coastal air. My type of car fanatic: He openly displayed his enthusiasm and passion for cars. Good for him and good for us.
All over the Monterey Peninsula, I met people enjoying life and their passions, cars or otherwise, which gave me a lot of energy. It’s too easy to focus on bad news these days, largely due to social media platforms that specialize in provoking outrage. However, there is plenty of joy surrounding our hobby, as demonstrated by this collection of material from Hagerty Media and other outlets. For that reason, I’m calling this week’s newsletter “The Good Vibes Edition.” Check it out, and please share it with your friends.
Have a nice weekend!
Larry
PS: Your feedback and comments are welcome.
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