Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance: What to Know Before You Go
As most car enthusiasts know, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is the mecca of the car world. It’s an expensive show to attend, especially for those of us visiting from the east coast, and it boasts of some of the world’s most beautiful, rare, and historic automobiles. Many of these cars are seen just once a year, and it’s only at this show.
Given all of this, attending the Pebble Beach Concours is different from attending any other car event, including other Concours events across America. Pebble Beach is a traveling affair, not unlike some Great Gatsby-inspired confection, that lasts several days and spans the California coast. For any car enthusiast, from the exotic sports car collector to the DIY hot rodder, the Pebble Beach Concours is the event of a lifetime. Here are just a few things to keep in mind, if you’re lucky enough to attend this year’s upcoming event!
Given all of this, attending the Pebble Beach Concours is different from attending any other car event, including other Concours events across America. Pebble Beach is a traveling affair, not unlike some Great Gatsby-inspired confection, that lasts several days and spans the California coast. For any car enthusiast, from the exotic sports car collector to the DIY hot rodder, the Pebble Beach Concours is the event of a lifetime. Here are just a few things to keep in mind, if you’re lucky enough to attend this year’s upcoming event!
Style Reigns:
This doesn’t apply solely to the incredibly designed automobiles of yesteryear, out for our enjoyment. Style and class rule this event, and that includes everything from 100-year-old velvet seat cushions, to the color of dock sliders upon your feet.
There is no overdressing for Pebble Beach. No matter how large and ostentatious your hat, or preppy your shoes, or navy your blazer, there is another attendee in the crowd with a larger hat, preppier shoes, and navy-ier blazer. The only way you will feel out of place when dressing for a Pebble Beach event, is if you’re under dressed. This show has a rarefied country club air to it. The more you blend into the high style of the event, the more confident you will feel among the rich and powerful of the automotive world.
There are a few caveats to this hard and fast rule of Dress to Impress. Shoes and jackets. Oh, dear God, shoes and jackets. This gal is a whomping 5’ 2.5” (every little bit counts!) so I thought I’d pull out the nice wedges and give myself some classy, proper Duchess-on-a-picnic in Hyde Park style height. Two hours into walking the show at Carmel, I realized the error of my ways.
You will walk. Much of it will be on grass, but don’t fool yourself, a car show is a car show, and those heels hurt. Additionally, forget about close parking. There isn’t any. So, you’ll walk all day, and then you’ll hike back to the car. Sandals are just fine.
Tip for all those out there also-not from the Carmel area. In the summer, it’s not warm. When watching these incredible vintage cars chug along the Pacific Coast Highway, you will be shivering if you wear only that cute white tank top and navy and red skirt, Ruby. Bring a sweater. And make sure it’s a stylish one.
Okay, now that we’ve instilled the fundamental Dress to Impress Rule Number and Don’t You Forget It, we can move onto…
Start Early:
This advice is two-fold. If you’re planning to attend next year’s Pebble Beach Concours, listen up. Book your hotel. Right now. Read the rest of this article later and go book your rooms. Don’t feel sheepish about booking airfare and car rental too. Pebble Beach has this incredible ability to completely shut down parts of California, and the hotels and car rental places know it. Not only do they fill up incredibly quickly, but the price increases are astronomical. The sooner you book, the more likely you are to bring the trip down to a reasonable cost.
This is equally true for restaurants in the area and the Pebble Beach events themselves. The Quail, truly the exclusive crown jewel in the Pebble Beach Crown, sells out of tickets in early Spring. Many of the events are ticket-holder only, and tickets often don’t last. Plan early and book early.
If you’re attending this year’s events, you likely already know the majority of your schedule. That being said, start early still applies. As mentioned above, the Pebble Beach Concours is a massive event, and streets are shut down and traffic piles up. Being from Jersey, I pretty much expect a three-mile drive to take half an hour, but if you’re attending events with specific start times, plan to leave early. It’s also a great way to beat the crowds.
Set a Time and Money Budget:
The time budget is necessary because the Pebble Beach Concours is a whirlwind event. There is so much incredible frenzy of car-related activity squeezed into a few days, and it’s really easy to burn yourself out. It’s perfectly okay to skip on a few events, but be sure to attend the ones you really want to go to. Before the show starts, set out a plan for yourself as to where you definitely want to be and what you can miss. A lot of these events are ticket-holder exclusive, and you’ll need to buy tickets well in advance, so plan all accordingly.
I attended the Pebble Beach Concours when I was still in college, so I was on a permanent budget of the if-I-buy-those-books-I-can’t-make-rent variety, and so this stems more from observing than personal experience, but it’s just as important.
Now, the tickets are expensive. The hotel is expensive and the car is expensive. Flying from Jersey to California is expensive. It’s easy, however, to forget about the little expenses, the cocktails and coffees expenses, that will easily pile up if you’re not watching. You’ll get far more enjoyment out of spending some money on tickets to an event than a night at the bar, so consider your options carefully. The San Francisco and Carmel areas are some of the priciest in the country, and they’ll eat your wallet any other time of the year too. During the Concours week, they’ll take your whole hand off.
Don’t Skip the Auction Previews
While you’re setting your budget, throw in some room for auction preview tickets. I promise they’re worth it. Now, given that I don’t have the budget for the bidder registration, I wasn’t planning on bringing home any cars with me, but it’s not that expensive to get into the auction preview, and there’s so much to be seen.
The auction previews allow you to get close to the cars and really enjoy them, without quite as much of a crowd. Plus, there’s always something different and unique to be found going up on the block. Over the few days, I found it very enjoyable to follow the course of certain auction cars, through their expected pricing and their eventual sale. The cost of admission gets you a catalogue as well, and that’s almost worth it on its own. It’s not that often we get to settle in with the full history of the car we’re looking at, but the auction previews give us that chance.
There are some open auctions as well. We got up close to the stage at the Russo and Steele auction, and that was a great lot of fun, so sniff around and see what’s floating on the air. Some of these unplanned events are the best of the show.
Be a Sponge:
Maybe this is a bit esoteric, but stick with me. There’s practical advice, and there’s visceral advice, and you can guess which will stay with you far longer.
The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is not a car show. It’s an experience. There is more wealth, more history, more racing pedigree at these events than most automotive museums will ever boast of. As a Jersey girl with a penchant for muscle cars and classic pickup trucks, I often felt out of place in the hoi polloi world of million-dollar supercars attached to the names of famous racecar drivers.
My advice is simply to acknowledge that and learn from it. Everyone wants to talk about their car. If you ask a question, someone is sure to have the memorized history of every race, crash and win the car experienced. If you want engine information, the personal mechanic is likely standing by.
I exaggerate, perhaps. There will definitely be historical snobs, who think everyone should commit to a lifetime education on the history of this racing tire or that designer. But most people enjoy a willingness to learn, especially if it means they get to teach. Everyone just loves to talk cars.
On one drive, we ended up behind a car that it later turned out was one of the last three Lamborghini Countaches to ever leave the factory floor. Yes, it’s important to stick to a schedule and budget, but don’t let that keep the serendipity at bay. History is happening all around you, at the Pebble Beach Concours. Sometimes the very best thing to do is simply absorb it.
There’s a reason that Pebble Beach is so sought after, on the bucket lists of car fans. It’s rich in history…and money, if we’re being blunt. The cars are rare and expensive, the experience unlike anything you’ve ever known. Is it prohibitively expensive? Absolutely, especially if you want to go about the show the way it really deserves. But is it worth it? Forget about everything else. For the cars, without a doubt.