Next weekend (15-16 August), the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance car show held in Monterey, California rolls around once more.
Pebble Beach is possibly the most exclusive parade of exotic cars anywhere on earth, and the sheer weight of rare and perfect metal is enough to make your eyes – and your wallet – water.
Which is all well and lovely. Thing is it’s all a bit, er, fancy. Think of it as Royal Ascot, but with Americans instead of Brits and cars instead of horses.
Pebble Beach - not Cnncours d'LeMons...
There is an antidote to all the finery, though. Just down the road from Pebble Beach, a somewhat more motley collection of cars will be on show at the Concours d’LeMons.
The organisers claim to offer a somewhat more earthy alternative to the rarefied atmosphere of Pebble Beach: ‘From mint-condition shag vans to Honey Bees, Bricklins, Skodas, and Edsels, Concours d'LeMons is all about stuff that you haven't seen every damn August! The fact that we actually ‘know’ our cars suck is just gravy.’
They also offer a warning that ‘No wine, cheese, straw boaters, silicone-augmented cougars, or watercolors (sic) of pre-war Grand Prix races are sold at this venue’.
A list of some of the main classes for the concours competition (below) should give you some idea of the nature of the show. Team PH can’t find the funds to get over there ourselves, but we’re tapping up our American contacts as you read this and hope to bring you a full account of the winners and losers after the event. Watch this space!
A list of some of the main classes:
Rust Belt American Junk, pre '64
Rust Belt American Junk, '64-current
Unmitigated Gaul, pre-'70 For:Citroen Ami, Renault Caravelle, etc.
Award: The French Legion of Horror
Unmitigated Gaul, 1970-current For: LeCar, Citroen SM, Peugeot 604, etc.
Award: The French Legion of Horror
Rueful Britannia, pre '66
Award: The Royal Order of MOT Failure
Rueful Britannia, 1966-current
Award: The Royal Order of MOT Failure
Needlessly Complex Italian, pre '74
Award: Conoscete un Buon Meccanico? Plaque
Needlessly Complex Italian, 1974-current
Award: Conoscete un Buon Meccanico? Plaque
Der Self-SatisfiedKrauttenWagen, pre '70
Der Self-SatisfiedKrauttenWagen, 1970-current
Soul-Sucking Japanese Appliance, pre '70
Soul-Sucking Japanese Appliance, 1970-current
Swedish Meatballs, pre '74
Swedish Meatballs, 1974-current
Warsaw Pact, 1945-1990 For: Trabant, Wartburg, ZIL, Lada, etc.
Award: Vladimir Ilyich Lenin Medal for Most Glorious Achievement in Transportative Advancement for Use Upon Billiard-Smooth Highways as Are Uniformly to Be Found Inside Workers' Paradise
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