From $10.5m Ferraris to the Concours d'Lemons in one step. Frankly it was a bit of an antidote to all that conspicuous wealth, the humour and humility of the Lemons crowd as refreshing and citrusy as the name suggests.
With classes including 'Swedish Meatballs', 'Rueful Britannia', 'Unmitigated Gaul', 'Das Self Satisfying Krauttenwagen' and 'Soul Sucking Japanese Appliance' and owners as eccentric as the vehicles on display our five-minute diversion en route to the Monterey Motorsports Reunion became an extended stay. I was busy snapping but there were plenty of stories to tell, including a German pairing of a BMW PR man and journalist who bought an E30 cabrio sight unseen in Chicago and drove it all the way here along Route 66. The commentator asked a man from Belgium if he'd ended up here intentionally and everyone seemed to be having fun. Not something I got a whole lot of from those at Quail Lodge.
Personal favourites? The gold and burgundy Mercury Grand Marquis was pretty special, the colour matched velour interior and choking smell of hot plastic within possibly making the exterior look pretty understated. Fair play to the Gallardo owner who parked his Lambo up in the 'Needlessly Complicated Italian' section too. The Stutz that looked like a reject from Superfly was incredible - and actually very tidy - and the Hudson with the world's biggest supercharger erupting from the bonnet was immense. AMC Pacers seemed popular too, ditto the Cosworth engined Chevrolet Vegas.
Anyway, some pictures below for your enjoyment. Now back to the multi-million dollar Ferraris...
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