We know, we know. The whole “cars-as-rolling-sculpture” thing is a bit of a cliché, but it’s still a good reminder that cars are best appreciated in motion -- which is why the annual Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance, held the Thursday before the Concours d’Elegance and free to watch from nearly anywhere along its route, is a Monterey car week must-see.
The format is simple: car participating in the concours cruise around the Monterey peninsula, take in the jaw-dropping vistas of Big Sur and then head back to Carmel-by-the-Sea for a champagne reception. We can’t say what it’s like to drive the Tour or speak to the quality of the bubbly, but we can tell you what it’s like to spectate it: Spectacular.
As organizers are quick to point out, the Tour is more than a lark -- if two cars are tied on the show field Sunday, whichever car entered the tour takes the trophy. If both cars entered the Tour, then it comes down to an arm wrestling match. Or so we’re told.
For those of us who don’t particularly care about the battle of the pocketbooks that will unfold on the concours green, however, the Tour is the best way to watch these showpieces do something close to the speeds their creators intended. We saw a great mix of cars this year -- everything from Cunninghams to Hispano-Suizas to Mercury lead sleds participated, though Packards, Ferraris and Bentleys struck us as particularly well-represented.
We recognized a handful of the cars from auction catalogs, but the tour forces you to see the cars as something other than four-wheeled investment pieces. For just a little while, you’re not thinking about how much any of these vintage masterpieces cost (though collectively, the tour lineup must have been worth billions). You’re just watching beautiful old cars stream by, and when that gets boring (it doesn't) or there’s a break in the traffic, gazing out at some of the most jaw-dropping scenery on the planet.
Monterey Car Week: Concours on the Avenue kicks things off
The semi-official kickoff of the crazy week of car culture started on the Tuesday before Pebble with the Concours on the Avenue in Carmel-by-the-Sea.
