

Sign up to receive the weekly newsletter featuring the very latest from Petrolicious. Don’t be left out—join the ranks of those who Drive Tastefully.
Already a member? Log in
We're glad you're back.
Not a member yet? Sign up
We'll get you back on track.
Photography by Yoav Gilad for Petrolicious
If you don’t know that two weeks ago was Monterey Car Week, then you just haven’t been paying attention. We’ve shared a Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion first-timer’s story, here, the shocking Pebble Beach Best in Show-winning Ferrari, here, and even some of the cars spotted in local parking lots, here. The week is just a cavalcade of events showcasing amazing cars that, as my esteemed colleague Mr. Jonathan WC Mills explained, make you say, “Look at that!”
But the one thing that we haven’t really discussed is the sheer amount of people that show up. I’m not complaining, it’s a great time. But there are a LOT of other car enthusiasts on the Monterey Peninsula that week. As a result, moving efficiently is impossible whether we’re talking about getting from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to Seventeen-Mile Drive (where Pebble Beach is located) or just being able to photograph cars cleanly to share them as we’d like to see them (without twenty-seven people, camera-phones at arm’s length, crossing in front of your shot like camera-wielding zombies… “mmmm, chrome….”).
It is extremely difficult and frequently requires the patience of a saint or sniper. Usually you have to set up a shot, pick your focal point, aim, exhale slowly, depress the shutter half-way, and then… oh wait, some guy telling his wife why his Maserati Gran Turismo is in fact better than a Birdcage just brushed by my lens. “No, no problem sir, excuse me.” Yes, this actually happened. Fortunately, the press does usually have early access to the cars, but that’s when they’re being prepped and preened for the judges and audience.
And because the crowds do present an unusual problem it certainly creates a somewhat-frantic atmosphere for the shooters. Will I get the shots I need?! If I don’t get the right cars will I get paid?! (No, you won’t.) But still, nothing worthwhile is easy and as many of you can imagine, I do this because I love it, because I love the cars, the events, and the people. Even those who think their Gran Turismo is cooler than a Birdcage.
Enjoy twenty-five of the coolest cars from Monterey Car Week. Next year, you should be there too. Just don’t block my shot.
The bolts or nuts are wired – before locktite or locking bolts this was the was the way you stopped them coming undone. You would tighten them to the torque you required then drill the hole through the bolt or use bolts with the loop brazed onto them. You then twist a pair of wires together like a braid. When you get to the next bolt you put one wire through the hole, the other would go over the top, you then twist them together and continue onto the next bolt. Downside is that if you need to access the bolts you need to cut and rewire all the bolts. Now you just paint a stripe so you can see if it has moved. But if you want to seal an engine for a competition series this is still done with a lead crimp over the wires, like a wax seal.
Actually I would like to have some more of the freaks and weirdos of this Automotive scene. Be that the who has the skin of an old leather sofa ala Villa d’este? Men in red trousers at Goodwood, the 80’s mullet hairstyles of the Geneva Motorshow or in this case the old men in Panama hats with dated plastic surgery on either themselves or the ones who sign the prenup’. While I am sure you love the static cars as a photographer I always like people watching at these events.
I hear you brother! I first went to Monterey in 1977 and it was a very different experience, almost like a gathering of friends. Each year it grew and grew until it has become the monster that it is now. I went every year save one, from 1977 to 2001 and then took a break until last year. For most of the ’90s I had press credentials and that was bliss. Now I’m sort of back to my roots of shooting from general admission crowd areas but it’s kind of relaxing in a way not having an editor to satisfy. Seeing your Pebble shots I know we probably brushed elbows during the day. Hopefully, I didn’t get in your way! Wonderful photos, you have a good eye.