New auctions join crowded Monterey Auto Week
Little is required to entice automotive enthusiasts to visit the Monterey Peninsula. Display new and old cars, exotics and modestly priced family heirlooms on pristine fairways or in the center of town. Close the streets for a few hours and large crowds from around the world will gather.
It’s been 67 years since it began with the Concours d’Elegance. From Pebble Beach Golf Links to Marina and Pacific Grove to Carmel Valley, it’s now a 10-day collection of car shows, auctions, vintage racing and memorabilia sales throughout the peninsula.
There’s no official name for the automotive sensory overload. But it keeps getting bigger. Its unofficial names, Monterey Auto Week and Classic Car Week, are no longer accurate. The multiple events this year are scheduled Aug. 11-20 and will include new additions in Carmel and Pacific Grove.
Nature’s beauty is there to hold it all together because little else does. Several auctions and shows overlap and not all organizers like each other. Accommodations are scarce, prices inflated. Tickets to some of the events are exorbitant. Restaurants are crowded.
But there are also free shows and reasonably priced auctions presented with a backdrop of Cypress trees, the Pacific Ocean and clean air. The variety of offerings is also ever-changing including two new events this year, the Prancing Ponies All Women Car Show in Carmel and the Pacific Grove Auction.
Carmel and Pacific Grove officials are particular about what events are allowed in their respective quaint locales. The new events were controversial, but both were accepted, with the Pacific Grove event approved less than three months ago.
The Pacing Ponies show (www. prancingponies.com), scheduled 1-5 p.m. on Aug. 16, is organized by Chanterria McGilbra. As a Ferrari owner, McGilbra attracted substantial media attention last year when she led a rally of women Ferrari owners who drove from San Francisco to Santa Barbara.
The original application of the small show (about 40 vehicles) was denied because of a previous city council decision to limit events in Carmel during the auto week.
But McGilbra persevered, explaining her foundation would cover the city’s expenses for the free event. The car owners will also each pay $200 to showcase their vehicle with hopes of raising funds for the organization’s mission to “create women leaders.”
Proceeds from the event, in conjunction with sponsorship, raffle and the merchandise of a nearby gallery, light+shadow fine art, will allow one female student from Carmel Unified School District to attend a leadership academy in Italy next year.
The inaugural Pacific Grove Auction (www.worldwideauctioneers.com) is scheduled for Aug. 17 beginning at 5 p.m. on the 18th fairway of Pacific Grove Golf Links. Like the Prancing Ponies event, the auction involving about 70 rare cars and motorcycles wasn’t immediately embraced by city officials. But the benefit of additional tourism to the area prevailed.
An auction preview, open to the public, will be held Aug. 15, 16 and 17 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Auction admission with a catalog is $100. General admission is $35.
Vehicles set for auction include: a 1937 Delahaye 135M Coupe by Dubos; 1938 BMW 328 MM Roadster with Coachwork by Touring; 1948 Simca-Gordini Grand Prix Monoposto; 1968 Chevrolet Corvette L-88 Sunray-DX Racing Car; and a 1958 Porsche 356A Speedster.
The two new shows increase the schedule of events to 25. Visit the complete list via the website: www. whatsupmonterey.com.
There’s also another option. Without attending any events, take a day trip to the Monterey Peninsula during car week and drive around a few cities. It’s easy to view special cars and talk with their rarely shy owners. It’s an unofficial show, it’s free and worthy.
James Raia, a syndicated automotive writer based in Sacramento, has edited and published the website theweeklydriver.com since 2004. Comments are welcomed. Contact the author via email: james@ jamesraia.com.