Latest / BREAK/FIX the Motorsports & Vehicle Enthusiast Variety Show / Launching Car Week with Style: The Story Behind the Concours at Pasadera

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Launching Car Week with Style: The Story Behind the Concours at Pasadera · BREAK/FIX the Motorsports & Vehicle Enthusiast Variety Show

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Break Fix Podcast is all about capturing the living history of people from all
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The following episode is brought to us in part by Garage Style Magazine.
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A juried collection of modern, classic and vintage automobiles gathered from
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club members and enthusiasts showcased in a luxurious, comfortable setting
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with awards by Tiffany and company.
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Guests enjoy an exceptional culinary experience while supporting the
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countrywide charitable causes of Casa of Monterey County, the Bridge
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Addiction Recovery Program, and the Laguna Seka Raceway Foundation.
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The concourses at Pasadera launches Car Week on the Monterey Peninsula.
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And with us tonight is Rick Barnett, chairman of the Concourses at
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Pasadera, to explain the history and future of this beautiful event.
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So welcome to Break Fix Rick.
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Glad to be here.
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Like all good break fix stories.
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There's always an origin behind the guest that we have on the
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show, and in this case, I think there's a double origin here.
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There's your history as a petrol head, as a concourses participant, but
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also the founder of one of the newest concourses during Car Week in Monterey.
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Let's start off first by explaining to our listeners what is a concourse de gonz.
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Some people might be thinking, is that just another car show?
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Concord to Elegance is really a cue for the Pebble Beach event that has
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been going on now for so many years.
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And actually in using that term, it brings me back to my first car show experience.
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We decided to take a first time date.
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To a car show, August 23rd, 1979 at Pebble Beach.
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It was great.
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It was a great experience.
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It was a great date.
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I thought, I'm gonna take this young girl, Lori Smith, to a car show.
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We'll have a good time.
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I'll drop her off that night, Sunday evening, and then that would be it.
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Little did I know that on Monday we would talk for a couple of hours on the phone,
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and Tuesday I asked her to marry me.
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Here we are 43 years later, looking back at the first car show that, uh, that
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I ever attended, which was at Pebble Beach and the Concord Elegance, Concord
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Pasadera, the concept of it started about four and a half, five years ago with
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club members at Pasadera who were car enthusiasts that said, why don't we put
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together a car show that would represent some of the car collections that exist
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by Pasadera members, invite their guests.
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Club members and homeowners of the community of Pasadera to a car show.
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It started out with that concept, and it grew before the first
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event, which happened in 2019.
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Suddenly we had about 400 people that showed up a lot more than
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what was originally anticipated.
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Some great cars, cars from all over the west, and it became
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an event that not only was.
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The kickoff to Car Week, but also something that benefited
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local charities as well.
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Today, four years later, going into the fourth anniversary of the Concord
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at Pasadera, Pasadera continues to launch Car Week this year.
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August 11th will be the press party at the club.
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August 12th.
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Friday will be the show.
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And then Saturday and Sunday, uh, Laguna Seka is our active.
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Track days for the race course and then Monday Car Week starts to kick
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off and gets very busy for that following week, and then Pebble Beach
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closes at that following Sunday.
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So when I attended with my Now wife, our first car show together.
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Car Week was three days.
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It was Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
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Today it's a nine day event.
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Pasero kicks off car week on Friday, the week before Pebble Beach closes car week.
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That following Sunday.
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For the listeners that think, gosh, what is Car Week in Monterey?
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Last year there were 23 car shows that happened during
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that nine day period of time.
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23 car shows the most active car collector week, if you want to call it that nine
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day period of time in the entire world.
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And that's also followed up by the Monterey Historics as well at Laguna
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Seker where they actually run some of these vehicles on the track.
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That's correct.
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Some of the cars that are at our event.
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We'll leave on Friday night after the club 100 dinner and the following day
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we will turn right around and become active all during the week at various
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shows and historic races, et cetera.
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Rick, correct me if I'm wrong, if we touch on the origins of concourses
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and I have participated in some years prior, you know, helping out,
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especially with the, the Deutsche Mark Concourses here on the east coast of
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Porsche parades, things like that.
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I noticed there was a big difference between a concourses
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and what people are doing now.
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You know, the cars and coffee and the local car shows and things like that.
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Concourses.
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Is competitive.
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It's a judged event.
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It's very stressful.
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I never realized what it was really all about and it stems all the way back
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to the early days of the automobile in France, where even in some respects
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that concur's elegance of, of elegance there was to show off the latest in
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greatest bespoke models coming out of all these different manufacturers.
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Does Concourse today still follow in that same model?
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Is it still competitive?
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What is it like now, let's say a hundred years later?
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Well, it's interesting when you say a hundred years, you're almost right on the
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first Concor de Elegance was held at Villa Deste back in 1929 at Lake Como, Italy.
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The tradition of the Concord Elegance continued on at Pebble Beach.
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Starting in 1950 and then continued there to the Hillsborough in 1956.
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So we've seen almost a hundred years of car collector concor events that have
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been happening all throughout the world.
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The Concord Elegance is a, an event that itself has gone through a series
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of evolutionary identifications.
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And what I mean by that is there was a period of time early on.
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Where the Concord de Elegance moniker, if you will, was really focused more on
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the elegant cars that had been chosen by or jury or by the event itself.
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But as time went on, we see that at Pebble Beach as an example, but truly
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throughout the world, cars that are honored in various classes are shown
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and exhibited at the Concord Elegance.
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Events globally.
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As an example, Ling Moss arrived at one of the events with
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a Mercedes 300 SL race car.
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Well, you know, that certainly was not an Elegance car, but it was a race
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car and it had historic significance.
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And so these are the kinds of, you might say, evolutionary progress that
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has happened with the Concor events.
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The Concor at Pasadera is unique in that it has each year, much like some
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of the others, a theme that we focus on.
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However, we reach out into the spirit of that theme that might evolve into
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other marks or other styles of cars.
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As an example, and this year would be a perfect example for 2022, the
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Concor at Pasadera is celebrating.
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The designers and the coach builders of Ferrari, we're not talking about
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just Ferrari vehicles, we're talking about designers who had an influence
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on the coach designs of Ferrari or the coach builders themselves.
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Of course, many people didn't realize or don't realize the fact that Ferrari
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for many years reached out into various coach builders, uh, GIA Zagato.
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PanIN Farina.
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Of course, everyone would recognize that, but there were so many coach
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builders that contributed to the design and the style of Ferrari.
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It was just not PanIN Farina, which of course I think in
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most cases is the most notable.
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There were so many different designers, dozens of them that had contributions into
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the look and feel of Ferrari designers.
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Coach builders, and so this year for 2022, the Concor at Pasadera celebrates those
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designers and coach builders of Ferrari, and so we will see cars dating back
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into the fifties all the way up to 2022.
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The most recent Ferraris that are just coming off the line, our guests will be
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able to see the evolutionary styles of both the inspiration of the car itself.
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The brand, the Ferrari, A dream that few people will ever realize, as well
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as the stylistic changes of, as an example of Bertoni, which is very
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angular would almost say focused in its design as compared to a PanIN Farina
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that was much more the or emotional, I would say, from a wavy standpoint.
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And so the guests are going to see in center court this year, 40 different cars.
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Will range in style from something as simple perhaps as a a 73 Volvo 1800 Es,
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which of course you wouldn't expect that to have a Ferrari lineage, but it does.
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The designer of the Volvo 1800 Es, the inspiration of that car came from
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a very influential designer that had.
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His roots in working at the Ferrari company and so we will see cars of that
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style all the way up to GTO Ferraris that are worth in the millions of dollars.
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In fact, there are gonna be two cars on exhibit, each one of
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them, historic Ferrari that will be worth over $50 million each.
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Anything from something as simple, if you want to call it that, is a
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Volvo Sport wagon all the way up to.
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A $50 million Ferrari, any of the influences and style designs that
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could have had an impact on Ferrari or its designers over a number of
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decades, those are the cars that the people will be able to enjoy and
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gain a little historic nature of.
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However.
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That won't be the only thing.
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There is a section of the show that is called the Corvette Corral.
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20 Corvettes will be chosen dating back to the C one era, 19 53, 54, all the
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way up to the current c eights that we're seeing in the dealer showrooms.
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Each one of them unique.
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There's a story behind each one of them, but they'll be able to see 20 of those
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cars in the Corvette corral, the alumni collection, which will be 20 cars.
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Chosen from past Concor events that the jury members have chosen as
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significant contributors to the overall inspiration of this year's concor event.
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20 cars that have been exhibited at past events that will now come back
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and resurface to show design styles or storyboards of cars that were significant.
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Carry over into some influence of this year's concor event.
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And then we even have a section called Fairway One, which is sort of
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an inspirational area as people park their cars to come into the event.
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There'll be 20 vehicles that are chosen that are all over the map,
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everything from maybe a Porsche GT three to a totally restored frame off.
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72 Blazer, K five that has been lifted and very unique.
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They'll see 20 cars that seemingly have no rhyme or influence, but technically they
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have an influence to the overall event.
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So never more than a hundred cars at the Concor Pasadera.
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But an exciting event for car enthusiasts of all types.
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This year also marks the 75th birthday for Ferrari, so that's
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quite the milestone there as well, to be celebrating that at Pasadera.
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I like the fact that comparing this Concord to other ones, you know,
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maybe single mark, even something like Pebble or Amelia or things like that
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where they do follow the A A CA or.
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Or triple ca rules.
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Yeah.
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That say the car must only be of this, kind of this bespoke ness of
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these years and things like that.
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You've opened it up and that allows you to bring in people with modern
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classics or modern collector cars and mix it in with the vintage or more
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rare vehicles that are out there.
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So I I, I really do appreciate that.
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I think it's important that we recognize, and I wanna be clear on this, I
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think if we understand the future of the appreciation of the automobile.
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We have to take a regard, if you will.
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We have to accept what's happening at the Peterson.
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The Peterson has decided that as a museum, they were going to connect with
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Art Center, and so the Peterson and Art Center down in Southern California are.
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Interconnected.
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And what the Peterson has decided along with the art center, is that the future
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of the appreciation of automobiles and the art influences of automobiles need
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to be attractive to a younger crowd, not just the 60, 65-year-old who, uh,
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is now decided that as a hobby, they're going to start collecting cars or they'll
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turn the hands of time back and now.
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Jump in their nine 14 and remember the days when they wished they had one and
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they came out, what were they, $3,500 I think, or the two 40 Z In 1970, which I
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think was 36 95, people were jumping out of the showroom floor and running 'em
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up to Elkhart Lake winning races in the two 40 z. I think it's important that
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we recognized the fact the people of the Peterson and Art Center have decided
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that the future of the appreciation of automobiles needs to have a focus.
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For the young as well as for the more mature collector.
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It's very important for us at the Concord Pasadera to be able to design
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our events each year to attract all ages.
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So you'll see boys and girls that will be between the ages of 8, 10,
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12 years old that are at the event.
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Enjoying it.
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In fact, last year we had the first ever Hot Wheels concord during
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Car Week, Monterey, and we had everything from full size Hot Wheels
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cars that drove in to $175,000.
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Hot Wheels die cast miniature.
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That Bruce Pascal brought in from Washington DC and everything in between.
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The newest 94 cent Hot Wheels car from Walmart all the way up to
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$175,000 Beach Bomber car from Bruce Pascal and everything be in between.
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Hot Wheels Cars were featured last year.
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We had a lot of kids that were enjoying.
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That part of the show.
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So it's important for us, I think, in the car collector community to recognize
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that in order for us to be responsible for the future of that culture, that we
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need to attract all ages, all styles.
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All types of vehicles.
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So since you guys have relaxed the types of cars that can enter the concor, has
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the judging also changed over the years?
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Have you taken some things that you've learned participating in other ones
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and modernized them for your event?
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I don't want to contradict.
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I don't know that that we've relaxed as far as the intent of the event.
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The event has a definite intent.
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Each year, however, as far as, you know, using the word relaxed, yes.
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I, I mean, the judging is not such that the judges stick a mirror shelf
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underneath the car to take a look at the exhaust design and so forth to make
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sure that it fits within the originality of the car, et cetera, et cetera.
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That's not what we're looking for.
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We're looking for interior that has been either restored, either to original or
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modified, and we can identify it as such.
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The exterior that has been either original paint with original patina, or
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if it's been modified to some degree.
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In some cases, there are some cars that will be shown that
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actually don't have the original.
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Color of that particular car.
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We'll have a concept car as an example.
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This year we may have a very unique one-off Ferrari concept car that
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you really couldn't judge against because there is no portfolio.
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To review on this particular concept car, it's a one-off from the standpoint
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that we have relaxed the judging.
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I think the judges are interested in the mechanical bay, they're
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interested in the interior, they're interested in the exterior.
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And if in fact, the car runs suitably and those are the things that they're after,
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they're not going to check whether or not the turn signals go left or right.
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They're not going to get into that detail, what they're looking for.
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Is the overall assurance of the intent of the car, and that really
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is very much the judge's profile for the event once again this year.
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So that would also imply if you're in a competition, it's not just one class.
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Everybody's competing in, there's multiple classes that these cars fall under.
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How does that break out in a con, a Concord like yours?
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Last year, the classes that existed that the awards winners participated
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in were domestic, beginning with 1940 and all the way up to
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contemporary times, dating up to 1989.
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So I think it was 1942 to 1989.
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So in domestic and international.
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Vintage pre-war, so 1941.
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Earlier that was a particular class competition.
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Cars, obviously cars that had been used in races and what the
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providence was of those races.
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We wanted to know how they were raced, where they were raced.
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Commercial we had vans probably would come as no surprise to car collectors.
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The A 1961 panel van.
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Won last year's commercial, but this panel van was valued at over $250,000.
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So definitely a pristine 1961 Volkswagen panel van.
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Of course, I still remember the days when those could have been
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bought off of a car lot for $1,200.
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Modern, classic.
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Those were cars from 1990 all the way through to current times.
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We even had motorcycles last year, which was interesting.
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We had 10 motorcycles that began in 1939, all the way up to current
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times, and then we had Hot Wheels.
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So those were the different classes that existed for 2021.
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Now, today we see that things are different.
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And what I mean by that is to, in the 2022 event, because we've identified this group
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of cars that have had a design influence, either by a coach builder or a designer
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that had an influence in Ferrari, we've decided to identify the group of cars
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by decade, the fifties, the sixties, the seventies, the eighties, the nineties
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2000, and then from 2010 to current.
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So these are now the groups of cars that the judges will sift through the grouping
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of cars in the fifties, the grouping of cars in the sixties, and they'll pick a
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car that they feel best represents the design, the feel, the emotion of the
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sixties of the seventies, and that will be the car that wins that particular.
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Class ultimately moving on to being into consideration for the best of
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show and the Pasadera Cup, and that's how that will be rated this year.
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Pasadera Cup is a beautiful cup that was designed by Tiffany, absolutely
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gorgeous, and each year that cup is awarded to the best of show car.
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Is there a multi-year champion yet?
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Well, once a car has won the Pasadera cup, it cannot be reentered.
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It's a one-off.
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Do you yourself compete in the concor?
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Well, I always have a car in there.
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I mean, I'd feel like it'd be, uh, sacrilege to be the chairman of the event
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and not have a car in, but my cars are not up for the kinds of competition that some
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of these cars that come in legitimately are just abso well, as an example.
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Just to give you a perspective, one of the cars that we'll have coming
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in this year will be flown over from Paris into the United States and
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will be exhibited here at the Shoal.
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These are car collectors that are very serious about getting
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their cars in this year's event.
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I've got cars in my collection that quite frankly.
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As a young person, I always looked at, uh, even up to my current age, uh, now
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in my sixties, and they have always aspired to, I've got a 9 14 2 liter,
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I've got a Bentley Arage, I've got a variety of cars, M-G-B-G-T, those were
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all cars that were important to me as I was 16 years old and thinking someday
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I'm gonna end up with a cool car.
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From that point forward, I started collecting the cars
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that I really like to drive.
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So, uh, those are the cars that I have in my collection.
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So that's good that you have your own cars in the show.
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So let me ask you this.
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From a concourse perspective, we ask this question a lot on the show, you know,
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what's the sexiest car of all time you having been going to shows like Pebble
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Beach since you know, the early days?
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What is one of the most gorgeous cars in your opinion?
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There are a lot of beautiful contemporary cars.
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If somebody was listening and they have a car that of a particular style or
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design, and they're gonna hear me say what I'm gonna say, they go, oh, that
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guy doesn't know what he's talking about.
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But I think we really have to go back.
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To the thirties and the forties, and look at the D haze as an
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example, or the heno, those cars, which were a style of their own.
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Uh, first of all, imagine who the builder was and imagine the shops that they had,
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and remember that all the bodies were.
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Individually hammered out, you know, they didn't come out of a machine or a press,
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they were individually hammered out.
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And then you, you met with the client, and the client would talk
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about perhaps the style of the fender that they wanted in the back and.
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Maybe the type of light that they wanted, whether the, some of the metal inside
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was gold plated or chrome, some of the thirties and forties era de haze, and
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then some of the fifties, uh, and, and early sixties, one-off Ferraris and
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Maseratis, those groupings of cars.
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Boy, you know, it'd be tough to pick one car, but certainly those two eras
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for me at least, they were amazing.
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They're absolutely amazing.
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The whole car experience for the buyer was absolutely significant.
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Just rolling works of art.
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Of course, we see that today.
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In fact, earlier today I was talking with, uh, someone from Ohio.
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I had a personal experience with this person.
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Uh, a few years ago we were in San Diego at an event.
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He said, gosh, I really wanna buy a Corvette.
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Never had a Corvette before.
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I really wanna buy a Corvette, and I want you to tell me what I should buy.
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And I said, well, here's what's gonna happen.
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I said, the zoa, which I, you know, we didn't know what the
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name was gonna be at the time.
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2017, I believe it was 17 or 18, said the Zuora's gonna come
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out and most likely by design.
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It will not have a manual transmission.
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And so my recommendation is that you get a very cool C seven with a seven speed,
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and if I were going to pick one, I would pick a collector's edition C seven.
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Here's the color and here's the style that I would pick, which was
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a gun metal metallic that was just absolutely cool on that particular car.
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And it had a two-tone, blue and black.
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Leather interior, just magnificent and a seven speed.
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So I said that if I were gonna design.
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A Corvette to keep.
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That would be the car that I would get.
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The Zuora's gonna come out, it's not gonna have a manual transmission, I
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don't believe, based on the design.
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And so I would grab that.
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Well, lo and behold, he said, well, let's go buy one.
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I said, well, you're not gonna buy one.
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You know you're not.
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Where are we gonna get, go to Chicago?
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You know, we're in San Diego.
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It was a Saturday afternoon.
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I said, well, you know, I'll call around and talk to a Chevy dealer
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and find out if they can locate one.
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Lo and behold, I called my hometown.
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They said, you won't believe it.
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Your car is in Carlsbad, California.
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Well, we were in San Diego, Carlsbad's like, what is it?
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30 minute Drive?
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I don't know.
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So we jumped in an Uber and drove up to Carlsbad.
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We walk into the showroom and that car is sitting in there.
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Bottom line is the car was bought and shipped to Ohio, and here we are.
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I, I was talking to him earlier today.
25:22
He's got this seven speed collector's edition C seven.
25:25
I don't think there'll ever be another manual transmission Corvette.
25:29
And he's got one that is truly unique.
25:32
There again, you know, you say to yourself, well, it's a C seven.
25:35
What's so special about it?
25:36
Well, you know what?
25:37
I know I'm getting off on a tangent here, but I gotta tell you, the wonderful
25:40
thing about car collecting is that a person can have a 66 Barracuda and
25:44
another person can have a Willy's, and another person can have a 3 0 8
25:49
GTS Ferrari, and another person can have a 76 El Dorado convertible, and
25:55
you bring all those people together.
25:58
At a car show and you start them talking about cars, and they're all
26:02
on the same level playing field.
26:04
They love cars, they love the stories behind them.
26:08
It doesn't matter that one car's worth 80,000 and another car's worth 20,000.
26:14
They're all on a level playing field and they're part of a collector community.
26:18
It is just special.
26:20
You bring up a very good point, and I wanted to ask you, what are some of
26:24
the more notable moments at Pasadera?
26:26
What are some of the cars that really stuck out that you were
26:29
like, wow, this showed up?
26:30
I mean, obviously you're behind the scenes, you know they're coming
26:33
just like you were talking about the car coming in from Paris.
26:35
Yeah.
26:35
But what are some of those?
26:37
Awe inspiring moments like this car has been at our event.
26:40
I'll give you one story that I think everybody will marvel at.
26:44
I won't give you the the individual's name, but let's we'll call him Jim.
26:47
And Jim.
26:48
A number of years ago was at a Ferrari dealership and he walks
26:53
into the Ferrari dealership.
26:55
On the floor is a early sixties, GTO and a luso, they're both on
27:04
the floor and the GTO was priced at $8,000 more than the Luso.
27:09
And he decided, gosh, I just can't justify that additional $8,000.
27:15
So he bought the luso instead of the GTO.
27:19
And of course, you know, we know today the GTO is worth of fortune and the luso
27:23
is worth a fair amount of money, but.
27:25
We're talking about a car that's in the three to $5 million range if
27:29
it's perfect, versus a car that's in the 50 to $80 million range.
27:34
At the time, there was only an $8,000 difference.
27:36
Now let's move on.
27:37
Jim drives the car every day, loves the car.
27:41
It's a daily driver for him, and absolutely loves the car.
27:44
And one day he's driving down the freeway.
27:47
There's a truck on the left side, and I think all of us have seen at
27:51
one time or another, trucks that have lug nuts that stick way out.
27:55
We've seen these chrome wheels on these beautiful semis that, I mean,
28:00
you can tell the big driver is a car collector himself on his semi.
28:03
You know, they're beautiful colors and beautiful chrome wheels and lug nuts that
28:08
are sticking out almost like a gladiator.
28:11
Boer spikes.
28:12
Exactly.
28:12
Yeah.
28:13
So these lug nuts are sticking out.
28:15
He's passing the truck on the right side.
28:18
In this luso, the truck veers over and the lug nuts grab a hold of the luso from the
28:24
rear of the car, absolutely trash the car from the rear of the car all the way to
28:29
the front fender, like a gladiator kind of a thing where it just rips the car apart.
28:34
Now the car flips ends up.
28:37
In a ditch, flattens the roof.
28:40
The guy's in the car breaks a clavicle, breaks his ribs.
28:44
I think his hip as well.
28:46
The car is totally trashed.
28:47
It's in the ditch.
28:49
I mean, a total, you know, the ambulance comes and they bring him to the hospital
28:53
and the car gets hauled away and uh, you know, is it a junker or whatever?
28:57
He won't see that it gets thrown away and whatever parted out.
29:01
He gets out of the hospital.
29:03
I mean, this is now a couple of years later where he is still in
29:06
rehab and the car is now sitting in its destroyed condition, but
29:12
the man cannot give up his car.
29:14
He can't give it up.
29:16
And so ultimately, as he survives and he becomes financially able, he
29:21
brings the car into a restoration shop.
29:23
And over nearly a decade, the car goes through a total.
29:29
Frame up, ground up restoration from its very core and every part and
29:35
every nut and bolt is restored on this car, and this was last year.
29:41
Ultimately, the car ends up in Monterey for some final work by a
29:46
craftsman, and that's the only way I can call 'em months into the project.
29:51
The car is working its way through, hoping that it will be ready in time for.
29:58
To be able to be displayed somewhere during car week, understand how
30:03
long it's taken the car to bring it to this point, so I get in contact
30:07
with a project manager of the car.
30:09
The project manager tells me that maybe, maybe, maybe the car could be
30:14
shown at our event, and millions of dollars have been spent to restore
30:19
this car to its original condition.
30:21
Friday morning, one 30 at night, the project manager completes the car and
30:27
goes through road testing and everything at about one o'clock in the afternoon
30:34
on Friday, that day of our event.
30:37
At one o'clock, the car arrives at our event.
30:41
For exhibit and no one has seen this car, not even the owner who is in Southern
30:46
California and has not physically been able to come up to the show.
30:50
Not even the owner has seen the car through its restoration
30:54
process and now in its final form.
30:56
But the project manager brings the car in with his son and the
31:00
car arrives at Center Court.
31:03
At one o'clock in the afternoon in time for the show to open at two and for the
31:07
guest to be able to see this car that has essentially been mothballed for almost
31:13
a decade and gone through restoration.
31:16
And I'm on the phone with the owner, and the owner is choking up in emotion as I
31:22
described to him what the car looks like and where the car is and how many people
31:27
are looking at the car, and how enjoyable it is to have the car at the event.
31:31
Now that is quite a story.
31:33
What a special car, what a special journey that went through.
31:36
Yeah.
31:36
I mean the tragedy and rebirth.
31:38
Yeah.
31:38
So that also begs the question, do you guys have special guests or special
31:42
judges that have shown up at Pasadera?
31:45
Sure.
31:45
Yeah.
31:46
If you go onto pasadera.com, you'll see two of the judges.
31:49
There's one who's asked to be anonymous.
31:52
But if you go on to pasadera.com.
31:54
You'll see the listing of judges and also the jury members that will be
32:00
part of the overall vetting of the cars, and ultimately in the judges
32:05
column, those judges that will be responsible for the overall awards.
32:10
So is this the year Jay Leno shows up unannounced?
32:13
You know, we'd love to have Jay here.
32:15
I met him at an event, told him that I'd love to have him arrived.
32:18
Obviously his schedule's busy and so we'd love to have him
32:21
show up, but he's not on the.
32:23
Special unannounced guest list.
32:25
So that's Seinfeld.
32:28
Seinfeld does that right now.
32:30
We'll just have to hope.
32:32
So there's something else very special about the Pasadera event, and
32:35
that's the event posters themselves.
32:37
I hear that there's a ton of work that goes into that.
32:40
Who's the artist?
32:41
How is the art laid out?
32:42
I mean, I've the one over your shoulder.
32:43
For the listeners that aren't seeing this in the behind the scenes,
32:47
it exemplifies the Ford versus Ferrari 66 67 era of Lamont's.
32:51
Tell us where the poster came from and the significance of it for the events.
32:56
Well, the poster inspiration came from my appearing with my now wife
33:01
in 1979, and I have a copy of the 1979 Concor poster over my desk.
33:08
I'm looking at it right now.
33:09
When we decided that I would be involved with a concor here at Pasadera as
33:14
a Christmas gift, she got me a copy of the poster, which I did not get.
33:17
You know, I remember.
33:18
At Pebble, when Lori and I arrived there for our first date, I parked
33:22
about three blocks from the entrance to the lodge, and I think our entry
33:27
fee was $35, and I think the poster was either 25 or $35 for the poster.
33:34
Obviously, times have changed.
33:35
It's difficult to park your car, park your car miles away, and then
33:39
bus into the Concord these days.
33:42
The poster back then, I didn't buy.
33:45
My wife decided a few years ago as a Christmas gift, she would
33:48
get me the 1979 poster, which at the time was either 25 or $35.
33:53
I think she paid $375 for the poster.
33:56
It's inflation.
33:57
That's what all it's, yeah.
33:58
Which I was thrilled to get.
33:59
So, you know, we decided that the poster would be an important part of the event.
34:03
Ken Ebert, who's a friend of mine that has done many posters for the Concord.
34:08
Has really been an inspiration to me artistically throughout the years.
34:12
Me coming from now the Art exhibition community, which was my vocation in 2019.
34:18
The first poster was created by, uh, Michael Henderson, and it was really
34:23
the entree to what would become a very important part of the show.
34:27
2020 Simon Bull, the celebrated English artist, did the first
34:31
poster for the Concor at Pasadera, and it was Ford versus Ferrari.
34:37
That was the first poster and it became an instant collectible piece.
34:41
There are still a few that are available, but they got gobbled up quick limited
34:45
edition, both in the artist proof edition where the artist signed the
34:49
pieces, as well as in the open edition, there were only 500 that were created
34:53
in an open edition, 100 artist proofs.
34:56
So the Ford versus Ferrari.
34:58
You can see the, the battle that's going on between the two
35:01
cars, the Gulf, and then uh, five 12 in the background in each.
35:05
Situation.
35:06
The poster shows the center Court of Pasadera.
35:10
As if it was a racetrack, and so it obviously been very well received.
35:15
Then if we go to 2021, it became interesting in that we wanted to celebrate
35:21
the back-to-back victory of Porsche at Lamont in 70 71, once again by Simon Bowl,
35:28
who was chosen to be the artist that year.
35:30
Was entitled Decade of Champions.
35:32
And if you see that poster, and again, it's on pasadera.com, you see the, the
35:37
Dunlop Tire in the backdrop with the Pasadera Tower underneath the Dunlop Tire.
35:43
And then of course, the Lamont track, where we see the nine
35:46
seventeens, the five 12 of four gt.
35:50
And then in the background, the fifth car, we see the number.
35:54
49, 14 6. That is battling the other four credible behemoths in the front.
36:01
This poster, which has had a tremendous amount of collectability by the art
36:06
collectors, uh, was just a super poster that was last year's poster.
36:09
Now, this year we called on James Caldwell, the son of Celebrated
36:14
architect, James Caldwell.
36:16
This is James Caldwell ii.
36:18
James has been the artist of the Concorso Italiano each year for a number of years.
36:23
We asked James to commemorate the 65th anniversary of Laguna Seka, moving from
36:30
the forest race out of Pebble Beach over to its first race at Laguna Seka.
36:36
In 1957, and of course the Ferrari winning, the race being battled
36:41
by the 300 SL in the background.
36:43
So if you look at that particular poster, once again, you see the
36:46
courtyard of Pasadera and you see the two Ferraris that are in the
36:52
center courtyard and in the backdrop.
36:54
We see the corkscrew of, uh, the track and the battle that's going on back in 1957.
36:59
So this is a great poster.
37:01
The originals have been pre-sold.
37:03
They're very expensive, and the collectors that have bought these originals have
37:07
something that has become very significant in the tens of thousands of dollars,
37:12
say exactly how much, but a lot of money that the originals have sold for.
37:16
So we intend to continue that tradition each year, next year with
37:20
the 70th anniversary of Corvette.
37:23
So what I appreciate about these, you don't see it often though, especially
37:27
with being associated with a concord.
37:28
Normally you'll see, like you said, pictures of a DHE or a
37:32
Packard, or a Albo or something.
37:34
Just very extravagant, very elegant.
37:36
So far, all of your posters are grounded in motor sports, classic
37:40
motor sports, iconic moments in time.
37:43
That really speaks to me as a motor sports enthusiast, and obviously
37:47
as a vehicle enthusiast as well.
37:48
So I wonder, is that going to continue?
37:50
Is that going to be.
37:52
The tradition, or is it always gonna be those moments in racing
37:54
history, or will it maybe eventually migrate into something else?
37:58
Well, you know, who knows?
37:59
I can only say, well, I mean, honestly, I don't know.
38:02
This will be my last year as the point person for the event.
38:07
Next year there'll be a new guard that will take on the overall
38:11
operation of the event as it continues to grow and flourish.
38:15
I can only say that there has been.
38:16
A tremendous amount of appeal of capturing a moment in time, giving significance to
38:22
it as the challenge of racing excellence.
38:26
That's what Pasadera has really been about.
38:29
You're right.
38:29
I think that when we look at Pebble and we are going to see, uh, in most
38:34
cases a stationary car that is not focused on a, a moment in time of
38:38
racing competition, but in each of the Pasero posters, we're seeing a war.
38:44
That's really what it is.
38:46
We're seeing a war going on between automobiles, drivers and
38:50
manufacturers, and we've captured that in each of the three posters
38:54
that have had a lot of significance.
38:56
Will we see that in the future?
38:58
Probably.
38:58
But I don't wanna put a a, a definite on that.
39:01
So there's one more important factor about the concor, which is
39:05
the beneficiaries of the concor.
39:07
We highlighted a few of those at the beginning in the intro, but would
39:09
you like to expand upon that and tell us what they are, why they're
39:13
important, how things are distributed?
39:15
If we take a look at who the beneficiaries are, they've been
39:19
chosen each year by someone or something that we have believed.
39:25
Have been significant to the contribution and culture of the Peninsula.
39:30
You know, if we look at both our sponsors, who the sponsors are,
39:34
and who the beneficiaries are of the event this year, once again,
39:38
we've chosen the Bridge Restoration Ministry, which is an addiction
39:42
recovery program for men and women.
39:44
Celebrating its 15th year.
39:46
Very successful program here on the Central Coast that actually
39:50
has reached out to over 15 states across the United States.
39:54
Hundreds of graduates that have come through the program and have
39:58
had their lives changed free of addiction, have drugs and alcohol.
40:02
So a great program.
40:03
Casa.
40:04
Which is uh, the Court appointed special advocate program that works
40:07
very closely with children in need.
40:10
CASA is just a wonderful program.
40:12
And then finally, the Laguna SE Raceway Foundation, which is really designed
40:16
to find ways of improving not only the style and design of the race
40:22
course and its original intention, but also the safety of the course
40:25
for its participants and its guests.
40:27
And then of course, we look at the sponsors.
40:29
We have local sponsors, attorneys, JRG.
40:33
Monterey Touring vehicles and Adobe Winery and Veloce Valuations.
40:37
Porsche Group that is active with us every single year, there
40:42
are under premier sponsors.
40:44
These are the people that contribute to the event.
40:47
People like RPM as an example that put money into the event.
40:51
So the event can happen without them, the event would not exist.
40:55
It is the confluence of intent from the sponsors as well as the beneficiaries
41:02
that create such a cultural impact on the peninsula, and people from all over the
41:07
world are now attending the Concor PA era.
41:10
And seeing what a difference a little car show can make to many
41:14
people throughout the world.
41:15
I think a lot of us are getting excited about this little car
41:18
show you keep talking about.
41:19
Yeah.
41:19
For people that are interested in coming to Pasadera as a
41:24
visitor for the first time.
41:25
Yeah.
41:26
What are some of the expectations?
41:27
Food, music vendors.
41:29
Can anyone attend?
41:30
How do they buy a ticket?
41:31
Obviously, you've already pre-registered for people that wanna enter their cars.
41:35
Yeah.
41:35
But what about if there's somebody that wants to enter a car for next season?
41:38
Well, next season's registration time will be announced after this year's event.
41:43
I would just say go to pasadera concord.com and you'll be able to
41:46
see continuing updates on that.
41:48
As far as what to expect at the event, the entry fee is very reasonable.
41:52
$195. What a person gets to experience is.
41:56
Absolute amazing wines by Adobe that they will get to experience
42:02
a welcome glass of champagne when they walk through the front gate.
42:05
And then of course, food that is absolutely second to none.
42:08
Created by award-winning chefs that will not disappoint
42:12
anyone who attends the event.
42:14
The food is excellent.
42:15
The comradery is exceptional.
42:18
Automobiles of many makes and models and styles can be enjoyed by every
42:23
level of collector, and even if you're not a car enthusiast, you can come to
42:29
an event like this and appreciate just the overall experience of the kickoff
42:33
of Car Week on the Monterey Peninsula, which has been going on since 1950.
42:38
I would say that young and old are going to attend this event.
42:42
And walk away with a memorable experience.
42:45
How does someone get into concourses for the first time?
42:49
How does somebody get into Pasadera?
42:52
How do they become a concourses enthusiast like you did so many
42:55
years ago, and then compete with their cars and things like that?
42:58
Would you care to give some advice to somebody that's listening to this
43:02
going, you know, I'm really tired of going to cars and coffee, or, I'm
43:04
tired of going to my local events.
43:06
I wanna step it up.
43:07
I wanna take home a nice award from Tiffany.
43:10
How do they cross that threshold?
43:12
Well, if they're an exhibitor.
43:13
I would tell 'em not to be bashful.
43:14
If they are someone who enjoys automobiles and they have something special, I
43:18
would encourage them not to be bashful.
43:20
Get on passera concord.com.
43:23
Take a look at the different opportunities to register and get your car on there.
43:28
What's the worst that can happen?
43:29
The worst that can happen is that the jury says no, but you've had an opportunity
43:33
to actually submit a registration.
43:35
To the event and be considered.
43:37
So I would encourage everyone who's uh, listening to this podcast,
43:42
don't be bashful, get online, go to pass eric.com, go to tickets and
43:46
registration and register your car.
43:48
Let's see what the jury thinks.
43:50
Who would've thought that the jury would have picked a Volvo 1800 Es
43:55
to be in center court this year?
43:57
And yet, when you take a look at.
43:59
The design history of that car and who the designer was and the
44:04
influence that they had in conjunction with their time at Ferrari.
44:08
It became an obvious pick.
44:09
There's an example of, you know, a wolf in sheep's clothing from a
44:13
standpoint of an exhibitor this year.
44:15
As far as a guest and attending, you know, there's only so many tickets
44:20
that are accepted into the show.
44:22
I would encourage you as a guest to go to passera concord.com,
44:27
get on ticket and register.
44:28
If you're accepted, then you get to attend an event that many people, and
44:32
I don't want to sound egotistical on this, but many people have said that
44:37
have attended the pass at Eric Concord.
44:38
It will be.
44:39
The event that they enjoy most during Car Week because there is a casual
44:45
elegance about the event because it happens as a launch to Car week.
44:50
The busyness and the frenzy of car week doesn't exist on that Friday.
44:55
When you attend the Pasadera Concor, it is a relaxed,
44:59
enjoyable experience, not rushed.
45:02
You get to see the purpose, the reason for the event.
45:05
With the cultural influence, the contributions to the community,
45:09
the appreciation of the different styles and car, uh, models
45:13
of cars, there is a relaxed, enjoyable atmosphere of the event.
45:18
And again, people walk away from the concor at Pasadera can go online and
45:22
look at the comments that come from the people they look forward to next year.
45:26
And so the tickets are selling very briskly.
45:29
And I would say that if you can get a ticket and be part of the event,
45:32
either as a guest or an exhibitor.
45:34
Don't be bashful.
45:35
Get online and register.
45:36
Car care goes hand in hand with concourses and car shows.
45:40
What's in your bucket when you go to take care of your vehicles or prep them?
45:46
Maybe some advice, some tips and tricks you've learned over the years
45:49
for getting your car concor ready.
45:51
Last year, Don from Garage Style Magazine introduced zeal to the event.
45:58
It was interesting because there was.
45:59
Some leftover and I ended up using it on my own cars.
46:04
And I've gotta say that the other products that I've had in my bucket
46:08
have stayed in my bucket and I've used up the product that Don provided
46:13
us and I've bought more of it.
46:15
That really has become my staple in my garage.
46:18
I mean, I have eight cars and I can tell you that every one of them has
46:22
had that product on their paint job or on their Chrome, or on their interior
46:26
Xmal product has really been excellent.
46:28
I appreciate you bringing that up because we actually had the founder
46:32
of Zy Imal on our show, Chuck Bennett a while back, and he explained the
46:35
history of the product, its evolution, where it's going in the future.
46:38
So if you missed that episode and you're hearing about Zy Imal now for the first
46:42
time, or you're reading about it on Garage Tile Magazine, be sure to hop over.
46:46
To our previous episode, you can learn all about Zy Imal that way.
46:50
Let's talk about the future just a little bit.
46:52
You mentioned earlier that you're on your way out as the president of the Pasadera
46:56
concourses, but knowing what you know outside of Corvette, what does the next
47:01
couple of years look like for the Concor?
47:02
Anything on the horizon that we should be aware of?
47:05
I can tell you that the event has continued to grow, and I say grow,
47:08
I mean in a very responsible manner.
47:11
Tiffany continues to be involved.
47:13
The quality of wines, beverages, food continues to grow in
47:18
quality and experience.
47:20
I will tell you there is one thing that will change next year, and it's a spinoff
47:25
from this year to kick off Car season.
47:28
Monterey Motor Sports authored the first tour, the Costa Copper Blossom Trail
47:34
tour that took off from the lodge at Pebble Beach and worked its way around
47:38
the old race course at Pebble around Laguna Seka on up the Central Valley
47:42
through the Almond Blossom Groves.
47:44
To the little town of Hilmar where we had lunch and then moved on to
47:48
the town of Copper Olis, about an hour outside of Yosemite where the
47:53
group gathered in preparation for a concor for this year at 2022.
47:59
It was an exceptional event.
48:00
Exceptional event.
48:01
And so next year, while I won't be chairing the Concor at Pasadera,
48:06
next year, we will be hosting the second annual coast to Copper
48:10
Blossom Trail tour in March.
48:13
It's limited to 60 cars and we had a focus on Ferrari.
48:16
This year, next year, the focus will be on Corvette and it will coincide
48:21
with the theme of the Concord PA era.
48:24
You can go on to monterey motorsports.com and find out what's happening for.
48:29
Next year's tour event, and that will be something that will essentially
48:33
usher in car season each year as a precursor to the Concord Pass era.
48:39
You know, beyond that, I can only tell you that the enthusiasm for
48:43
the event is at an all time high.
48:45
We're excited about how Concord Pass era will continue to evolve and attract
48:50
exhibitors and guests to its event.
48:53
That said, Rick, as we close out any shout outs, promotions, or
48:56
anything else you'd like to share that we didn't cover thus far?
48:59
I will tell you this, that, you know, I mentioned the sponsors that have
49:03
been a big part of this year's event.
49:06
I'd like to provide special recognition to both the Pacific region and the
49:11
Monterey Ferrari clubs that have been involved in this year's event.
49:16
They have had a broad reach.
49:18
In reaching out to special cars that will be featured at this year's event.
49:23
Also veloce valuations and more imports that will be bringing to the event
49:29
both PanIN Farina and Zagato cars that will be on exhibit and on display.
49:34
They are the purveyor.
49:37
Some exceptional fine quality automobiles, and of course our Porsche dealer, who is
49:43
the classic partner dealer for Porsche, has an influence to the car collector
49:49
community that's been very substantial.
49:50
So we're excited about all of our sponsors and what they bring to the event.
49:55
The posters.
49:56
I would tell all of your listeners if they are still available dating back to
50:00
2020, I would grab a hold of them because for just a few dollars you can collect.
50:05
A piece of art that is absolutely significant in the car collector world.
50:11
The fourth annual concourses at Pasadera Honors Ferrari's 75th
50:15
anniversary and presents the coach builders of Ferrari like PanIN,
50:18
Farina, GIA Bertone, SK Zagato, and others designers of Al Alpha, Romeo
50:24
Lancia, and Aston Martin to name a few.
50:27
These masterpieces will be exhibited by decade starting from the 1950s,
50:32
the August 11th press party honors Ferrari's wins and class victories
50:36
at LeMans since 1949 and its Formula One championships through 2022.
50:43
To learn more about the concourses at Pasadera, be sure to visit
50:46
www.pasaderaconcourses.com and you can follow them on social at
50:51
concourses pasadera on Facebook, and at pasadera concourses on Instagram.
50:56
So Rick, I can't thank you enough for coming on the show and sharing
51:00
your part of the vehicle enthusiast world with our audience teaching us
51:04
about the world of concourses and the newest, hottest concourses on the
51:08
block, the concourses at Pasadera.
51:10
So thank you for everything you've done, and we look forward to the coming seasons
51:15
and continuation of this great event.
51:17
It's been a real joy to be on this program with you, and I really
51:19
appreciate the time we've spent.
51:26
The following episode is brought to us in part by Garage Style Magazine.
51:30
Since 2007, garage Style Magazine has been the definitive source for car collectors
51:35
continually delivering information about Automobilia PETA events and more.
51:40
To learn more about the annual publication and its new website, be
51:44
sure to follow them on social media at Garage Style Magazine or log onto
51:48
www.garagestylemagazine.com because after all, what doesn't belong in your garage.
51:56
If you like what you've heard and want to learn more about GTM, be sure to
51:59
check us out on www.gt motorsports.org.
52:03
You can also find us on Instagram at Grand Tour Motorsports.
52:07
Also, if you want to get involved or have suggestions for future shows, you can call
52:11
or text us at (202) 630-1770 or send us an email at Crew chief@gtmotorsports.org.
52:19
We'd love to hear from you.
52:21
Hey everybody, crew Chief Eric here.
52:23
We really hope you enjoyed this episode of Break Fix, and we wanted
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