Monterey Week 2023

Maybe others will think differently but I thought Casa Ferrari is a tough ticket.

I’ve enjoyed Concorso Italiano in the past.

You have to do Pebble Concour at least once in life.

In 2022 for the first time I did The Quail Motorsports Event and it was a tough ticket and very expensive but the “over the topness” with the cars and people and food and drink was “special”.

Excited for both of you.

There is an outfit here (no affiliation) called Monterey touring vehicles and you could rent a fun non-Ferrari from them for a day or more during your stay.

Hope you guys have a great experience/week
https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/456-550-575-the-quail-2022.663991/
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I recommend going to the start of the Pebble Beach Tour d'Elegance near the PB Equestrian Center, right up the street from the golf course and near the Gooding & Co. auction tent. This is early morning on Thursday. You'll see nearly all the cars on the fairway at PB Concours, but they'll start up and drive off, so you get to watch and hear them in motion. Better yet, it's entirely free. Free attendance, free parking, and even free coffee and donuts from Hagerty.

Afterwards, and without having to drive anywhere, you can check out the Gooding auction preview and the various sponsor and vendor booths set up on Peter Hay Hill.

 

After attending for many years, I would skip Concorso Italiano.

 

I live 90 minutes away from the Monterey Peninsula and have attended a lot of the events over the years.

The popularity of the week has increased tremendously. It has become really crowded. If you are motorcyclists, that makes things easier (that's how Jay Leno gets around).

A big issue for you, if you are just starting to plan, is securing accommodation. Everything books up very early and prices go crazy. These last few years, hotels have started insisting on 4-night minimum stays and the plain one-star motels on Munras Ave jump that week from their regular $80/night to $400/night.

In addition to the recommendations already made, if you two are up to walking and climbing, my favorite event is the antique car races at Laguna Seca. What I love is being able to look the race cars up close, watch the mechanics fuss over them between races, hear them start, and then watch them run at a world-famous track. But again, it's an event that requires lots of mobility; just wandering the paddock is a lot and getting to The Corkscrew is like climbing a mountain!

The races are almost the opposite of Pebble Beach Concours where the cars are static and highly polished. Pebble Beach is a show; people dress in period and the cars are fantastic, but the owners and car-handlers are pretty strung-out because the stakes are so high. You don't dare ask to sit in a car and probably you won't see what is under any of the polished skin. You may not even meet the owner.

Concorso Italiano is like a (very) big Cars & Coffee for Italian cars. The supercar Ferraris (250 GTOs to LaFerraris) don't tend to come anymore (they go to Quail) but there is lots to look at in a casual environment. People bring wine and picnic blankets. Every "common" Ferrari is there plus Lamborghinis, Panteras, Maseratis, Lancias, etc. Since you don't own a Ferrari you might enjoy just walking the rows of cars, talking to owners and pressing your nose against the glass of all of different exotics.

 

On the hotel end….you might consider driving a distance to get a reasonable hotel on a budget but still do it way in advance.

The drive from south San Jose towards Santa Cruz south on Highway 17 is nice and if you leave early the traffic shouldn’t be too bad….maybe 1 hour 10 minutes (plus or minus) from South San Jose to Monterey.

I don’t think any of us mentioned Hagerty Sponsored Comcours d’Lemons which is also the same morning and just a few blocks from the Chilis restaurant parking lot where that Saturday cara and coffee is at.

 

Because the weekend has gotten so expensive (I've been going nearly every year since the mid '80s when I lived in Santa Cruz -- PB Concours in the '90s was $50 to get in!), I'm really glad there are more low-cost options recently.

Two more "free" shows are Legends of the Autobahn (BMW, Porsche, Audi) and Werks Reunion (all-Porsche show). These are free admission, but paid parking per car -- maybe $30? Each has a website you can check.

Eric above is right, in that you'll be able to find cheaper accommodations as you get further from Monterey proper. Santa Cruz has several hotels as well and there are a few more as you travel down Hwy 1 along the coast. Check out Watsonville too, just south of SC.

Definitely spend at least one day at the races to see and hear cars doing what they do best. Prices vary per day, but paddock admission is included with every ticket. I like to pack a picnic lunch in a backpack (several grocery stores on the way to the track) and eat at the top of the hill while watching cars descend the corkscrew.

Do keep in mind that there is some local commuter traffic and you can expect event traffic to get heavier as you approach Monterey, especially on the weekend. At least you'll be sharing the road with plenty of interesting cars. I'd also recommend just camping out at a lunch spot roadside in downtown Monterey at some point -- you'll see and hear all manner of interesting cars passing by. The whole town is like a mobile car show all week. Even the event parking lots are mini car shows, filled with things you almost never see in many places.

Most of the auctions also sell fairly reasonable spectator admission and that's a fun thing to watch if you've never seen a live auction before. If you don't want to pay to go in, head to Peter B's Brewpub behind the Portola Plaza Hotel where the RM Sotheby's auction is. They have great pub food and beer, and they live-cast the auction on their television screens. All the cars waiting to cross the block are staged behind the pub too.

If you're going to drop big money on one event, the Pebble Beach Concours is the one to see. You may have already seen the cars at the tour drive-off, but the 18th fairway of the golf course is a really special place. Seeing incredible cars in that environment is worth the $400/person cost at least once. Plus, the people watching is spectacular!

 

From today's local Carmel Pine Cone newspaper;

Carmel Concours on the Ave will not be returning for 2023.
THERE WILL be no large Car Week events in down- town Carmel this year, community activities director Ash- lee Wright said Tuesday, with Doug and Genie Freedman’s Concours on the Avenue ceasing after Doug Freedman’s unexpected death a year-and-a-half ago and the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance unlikely to return to its pre-Covid Ocean Avenue lunch stop.

The Pasadera Concours which has been the Fri before Car Week has also been canceled for 2023.
ONE OF the newest (and earliest) Car Week events, the Pasadera Concours, is not happening this year and may never return, according to founder Rick Barnett and Pasadera’s general manager, Will Pickering.

Barnett said the Club at Pasadera has received more lucrative and less labor-intensive offers from automotive manufacturers that want to use the grounds during the Peninsula’s famous auto week, prompt- ing it to go in a different direction.

 

What a shame. Perhaps there will be much less masses of people this year then?

 

Quail on Thursday is a superior choice for a full day

 

For clarification the Quail is Friday the 18th.
https://www.peninsula.com/en/signature-events/events/motorsports

 

What cars are signed up for this Ferrari event--and anybody got the name and e-mail of who runs the event?

FERRARI OWNERS CLUB CONCOURS CARMEL
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Aug 17, 2023 All Day Event
Downtown Carmel

Dolores St. between Ocean and 7th Avenue
Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA 93921

 

Try Virginia Bamford, pres of FCA Pacific region. I'm going to just stroll the cars.....not exhibit.
[email protected]

 

Tex Otto is listed on the entry application, so he seems to be the point of contact.

 

Pebble half day only
attending with a handicapped who might be subject to evac I'll be lucky to manage to stay until noon. If you would be happy from noon to the rest of the day (including when they hand out awards) shoot me a message at mendoart7 at google's address.

 

Are U car photographer selling prints?

I am willing to share a booth a one of the main events. Tent already secured. Like to find someone whose hobby is selling vintage racing photographs, posters (like his Layzell print), model cars, books, clothing, Italian themed only. In lieu of cash, If you are domiciled within 30 miles would be willing to trade sleeping accommodations for 2 Wed thru Sat. nights. Show me what'cha got. by emailing pics of your product to mendart7 at google's address.
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WHAT NEW MODELS WILL FERRARI BE PREVIEWING AT MONTEREY?
Awhile back they had the SP1 and SP2 on the Ferrari lawn adjacent to Pebble Beach lodge at a building called Casa Ferrari. i am guessing this year Roma Spyder and Purosangue. But what about "private/exclusive" showings? Are they planning any not-for-general-public unveilings?

 

I'd like a test drive in the Puro....

 

Last year Casa Ferrari (roo f, from Quail Lodge) seemed to be the HQ for Ferrari owners. I would , if I were you, contact your dealer and see if he can get you on the invite list. If they are looking for folks to take a ride in a new model what better place could they look than a building full of Ferrari owners? This isn't so preposterous a notion--walking by the Bentley House about 3 blocks distant a couple of years ago, i dropped in and they asked "Which one do you want to drive?"So i chose a Continental drophead but alas, Pebble doesn't give much opportunities to put the pedal to he metal...

 

RECOMMENDED OUTDOOR RESTAURANT DURING CAR WEEK IN MONTEREY
If you go there--try to get outdoor table, it's worth the extra wait. Here's my story of going here--don't worry, Clint, won't be lugging art again his year...

Back at the Mission Ranch...A Travel Story - **********.com

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I forgot they don't print website names anymore on FC. The story is on **********. The restaurant has its own website with prices but i can't print the website name here.

 

It looks like you were trying to share

my car quest dot com

and then after that came all of this

/2023/07/back-at-the-mission-ranch-a-travel-story dot html

my wife and I have had Sunday brunch there before - I recall it was good.

it would be an insane situation if the original ranch owning Romero is some distant relative of @Clyde Romero

i enjoyed the read, thanks for sharing

 

the history website said the first owner was a native American I thought that meant American Indian. I wonder why more Indians didn't carve out a piece of land and claim it. One of my relatives did that in California but it was only 20 acres in the 1920s, 30s or '40s.You had to fence it in, clear the land and farm it to lay your claim. Romero selling the Mission Ranch for $300 isn't as bad a deal as the man who started the Irvine Ranch in Orange county sold the land "from the mountains to the sea" for a white suit....

 

Don’t forget there’s also the Monterey Historic Race at Laguna Seca Raceway