Show Cars Aren’t Limited to Monterey’s Greens

Photography by Yoav for Petrolicious

Last year, as I walked back to my car following the Pebble Beach Concours, having lost count of all the amazing cars I’d passed in the mulch-covered parking lots alone, it occurred to me that someone could easily spend the entirety of Monterey Car Week without attending a single event and still get their fill of an incredible range of cars. After all, this is the US’s premier vintage car event and, accordingly, thousands of people make the journey to the Monterey Peninsula.

The main event depending on your tastes is either the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion (also called “The Historics”) or the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. But there is a whole line-up of supporting events including the Quail, a Motorsports Gathering, the Concorso Italiano, and many others. Trust me, the parking lots are full. Now attending many of these events isn’t cheap, nor is it terribly easy considering the overwhelmed road capacity and resulting traffic, and so if you didn’t want to drive out to each individual event you might also consider just hanging out in Monterey or Carmel. Just strolling up Alvardo St. we encountered several classic Ferraris, Porsches, an Aston Martin DB4, and countless other “cool” cars (not to mention Ford GT designer Mr. Camilo Pardo and comedian getting coffee, Mr. Jerry Seinfeld).

The truth is that even though I’d read about Monterey Car Week and all of its assorted events I never understood why it was so great until I attended for the first time (last year). And the reason it’s so amazing, and that really is the only word for it, is because virtually every car that you’ve ever heard of and wanted to see, is here somewhere on the Peninsula. And the best part is that the majority of them have been driven there! Just check out the detail shot of the Lamborghini Miura. It’s dirty and imperfect. Additionally, the driver’s seat was torn up and was more loose foam than leather. It looked as though it was held together by wishful thinking. But clearly, the owner enjoyed the hell out of it. And there it was just parked at a restaurant, door dings be damned!

Amusingly, searching through the parking lots at Pebble Beach while the event was underway yielded a Packard that should’ve been on the Green, but didn’t make it. And while we’re obviously partial to great classic cars we can’t help but mention the amount of modern supercars also in attendance (notice anything in the photos of the Alfa Romeo 2600 or Cadillac Eldorado?). Now, I wouldn’t tell you not to go to Pebble Beach or the Historics. That would be silly. But some of the cars in the parking lots were equally impressive as the events’ featured cars and that’s really why the Week is so great, because it’s Mecca for Petrolisti.