Pebble Beach Concourse d’Elegance

I finally made it to the Pebble Beach Concourse d’Elegance on Sunday, August 16th at The famed Lodge. In attendance are 175 of the most prized collector cars in the world displayed on the famed eighteenth fairway at Pebble Beach with thousands of the world's top car enthusiasts and collectors. This celebration of the automobile celebrated its 59th anniversary. I met a man there that has never missed one year since 1950. Now that is a true enthusiasts.

This year The Pebble Beach Concours showcased the Bugatti and Bentley, celebrated 100 years of Audi and Morgan, feature the designs of Zagato and displayed motorcycles for the very first year. As expected it lived up to my expectations of being the most elegant and beautiful concours I have ever seen.

Check out all my pictures from Pebble Beach Concours

The Quail - Motorsports Gathering

I am still so excited that I had the opportunity to attend The Quail Motorsports Gathering this year at The Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley. It is the most prestigious event of the entire weekend, well I think it is. With a limited number of tickets available; to be exact there are 3,000 sold at $400 per ticket. The Quail provides an unequalled lifestyle experience that combines spectacular automobiles with mouth watering displays of gourmet food accompanied with local wine and champagne on a beautiful green lawn. The luxurious and exclusive event should not be missed if you can afford the expensive ticket.are hard to come by. I heard that they sell out within 10 minutes of going on sale.

The 2009 Quail featured displays celebrating the 50th Anniversary of America’s legendary Daytona Speedway; the 30th Anniversary of BMW's Motorsport division featuring the M1; and paid tribute to race car driver Hans Joachim Stuck. Be prepared for a mixture of vintage automobiles and motorcycles that most have never seen. I tried to capture it all with my camera but I just don’t think I did it justice.

Auction Weekend in Monterey - RM

Auctions are a big deal in Monterey! Gooding, RM, Bonhams & Butterfields, Russo and Steele, and Mecum were in full force this past week. In total for the weekend $118,692,823 sold from 558 cars. This is an average of $212,711 per car. The biggest sale this year was at Mecum's inaugural Monterey auction. A 1965 Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe went for $7,250,000. I know it happened but I still can't wrap my head around someone spending that much money on a car. What recession?

I had the opportunity to work and attend the RM Auction from start to finish in Monterey. I was there on Wednesday for the preview until the last auction on Saturday night. RM is a huge player in the collector car auction arena and put on a high energy event. They sold 206 cars for a total of $35.5 million for the week. Check out some of the cars that went across the auction block.

In the Lobby at the Portola Hotel on the first night I arrived to Monterey.

Bugatti Veyron - I love the coloring on this! It looks so much better than the two toned black and blue or red!

My favorite car that went across the block but I don't think it sold, so there is still hope for me to buy it. A 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Boat Tail Skiff.

Part of Nick Alexander's collection of Woodies that sold for almost $7 million

PEBBLE BEACH TOUR D’ELEGANCE

As stated in the Hagerty's Guide to Monterey, one of the best reasons to rise early on Thursday, August 13, 2009 in Monterey is to watch the cars line up for the Tour d’Elegance. This is a great chance to see many of the cars entered for The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in motion.

In true Hagerty fashion our entire team arrived by 6am to serve much needed coffee and donuts to participants and spectators. They sent the cars off in 3 different waves allowing the last car to leave by 9am. They then toured through Pebble Beach on 17-Mile Drive and ended the day for lunch in Carmel.

If you missed it this year, be sure to never miss it again. The festivities start at 7am at Collins Field in Pebble Beach. This was my favorite event of the week. Check out my pictures and videos below.

The Tour - Monterey/Pebble Beach from laura jacobsen on Vimeo.

The Tour - Monterey/Pebble Beach from laura jacobsen on Vimeo.

The Tour - Monterey/Pebble Beach from laura jacobsen on Vimeo.