And there you have it, ladies and gentleman, the 2010 edition of the grandiose Pebble Beach concours d’Élégance has come to a close. The 60th anniversary of the Concours coincided with many other many milestones including the 100 years of Alfa Romeo, 75 years at Jaguar, 60 years of Porsche in North America, Pierce-Arrow and the designs of Ghia.
The event also welcomed some Hot Rods including lakesters and Bonneville racers and Indy Cars. What the event also did was introduce me to the true nature of a Concours d’Élégance. The Quail event was loaded with lovely Ferraris, Maseratis, Mustangs and a few oddball cars from the Italian designer Zagato. This was an agglomeration of cars you might see on the road occasionally with a few exceptions obviously. It was also a collection that cattered mostly to the swinging 60s and disco 70s. Again, with a few exceptions.
The 18th hole of the famed Pebble Beach Golf Course was covered in treasures from the 10s, 20s, all the way to the 60s. Cars from such brands as Duesenberg, Cord, Pierce-Arrow, Bugatti, Packard, Lister, Miller were basically common-place. All of them were parked along-side Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, Porsche, Bentley and other storied brands. What a sight!
What’s important to note is that all of these pristine ultra-rare mega-expensive cars were all in running condition. I witnessed a few judgings including that of a Tatra T77a and they really do check everything. Some cars stood out because they were not a “10”. The trend of the preserved or unrestored classic seems to be growing and I could not agree more with having a car in its original state as opposed to being restored to better than new conditions.
The event Sunday, which drew 50,000 participants and spectators (entry: $175 a ticket), was the grand finale of a frenetic classic car week that included vintage sports car races, an 80-mile tour and the high-roller RM Auction in Monterey, in which collectors — mostly men — shelled out a total of $68 million for couture cars that twirled like models on a runway.
Some 255 entries and 29 classes of cars were assembled along with their famous gearhead fans, like Jay Leno, whose latest obsessions are chronicled on jaylenosgarage.com, and collectors like Sam Mann of Englewood, N.J., inventor of widely used ear piercing devices, who has won “Best of Show” four times. Mr. Mann’s friendly rival is Jack Nethercutt, a six-time winner and the chairman and president of Merle Norman Cosmetics Inc., whose family has an eponymous automotive museum in Sylmar, Calif. Like many other men here, he wore a Panama hat.
“You see the rarest of the rare,” Mr. Leno observed after studying the engine of a tubular-looking silver 1938 Tatra Type 77a Limousine. “It’s cheaper than crack or hookers,” he said of his hobby. “When you come home reeking of transmission fluid, your wife knows where you’ve been.”
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10229/1080622-84.stm#ixzz0wuK72d2B
http://www.motorauthority.com/blog/1048364_pebble-2010-microbrands-and-other-cars
http://www.wheels.ca/article/791254