Hagerty has done a bang-up job tracking the comings and goings of the iconic Monterey Car Week, an event that has seemingly grown at a rapid pace over the last few years. In general, despite many of us preferring to avoid human contact at our jobs and when buying groceries, the car show scene has happily returned to real, live action after years of mandated suspension.
As I review the photos from the week, marveling at the glorious 1932 Dusenberg that won best of show (more on that later) and the eye-popping array of modern classics at the Radwood showcase, the image galleries capturing the Concours d'Lemons proves one thing: I want most of those cars way more than the showstoppers.
I guess it's because I don't swim in Scrooge McDuck piles of cash that I wouldn't understand anything other than a cheap piece of Euro trash. Finances notwithstanding, the photo attached to this story shows me most people have a different sense of what a beater or true project car is; most of these look relatively complete and able to drive reliably under their own power. Of particular desire is the six-wheeled Range Rover County that appears in the middle-right corner of the screen; I've always wanted one of those, and here one is, being judged among the worst of the worst.
My 1986 Mercedes Cosworth would probably be right at home in a show like this, but it bothers me ever-so-slightly that these truly interesting machines are being thrown into a cage match of the so-called dregs of the hobby car world. That's not my style, and while I can appreciate Monterey operates on a completely different playing field, consider my allegiance to the unloved at the primary reason I'll likely never be among the field of contenders.