The rolling golf courses and stretches of Pacific Coast Highway One are best suited to the Ferrari racecars of international rallies, the hills of Carmel to the BMW speedsters and one-off European concept cars, the Quail Lodge a host for turn of the century coaches, or famous pedigrees of Grand Prix races past.
This year, however, the famous Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, known for luxury, class, and panache, is getting an infusion of cool, American style, in the form of post-war Ford Mercury customs – never before seen at the show.
Thanks to Ken Gross, automotive historian, museum curator and author, in addition to his role as a Selection Committee Member and Chief Class Judge for the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, this year’s Pebble Beach Concours mixes country club with James Dean, a real first for the epitome of American custom.
The Mercury is a car known for its role as a blank canvas, the uncarved block of marble for the customizing artist to perform his magic, chopping roof lines, dropping bodies, and Frenching headlights, in addition to innovations in painting and styling – a haven for pinstriping and rockabilly aesthetic.
Gross recalls his first memories of the custom Mercurys, especially as James Dean look-alikes pulled into his high school parking lot. In a press release published on the Pebble Beach website, Gross says that he remembers thinking, “Man, I’d love to be that guy.”
That guy is now entering his custom, chopped top, pinstriped, matte painted monster into a new class, and one that has nothing to do with seducing cheerleaders or smoking under bleachers, and everything to do with expanding the horizon of Pebble Beach, and opening up to a new type of beauty and design.
In the press release, Gross adds, ““Customs of the ’50s were not about speed. “They were about looking good, going slow, and getting the girls, “ he says, “They’d much rather look cool in a custom car and cruise the main drag.”
For more information on the Mercury class or this year’s 65th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, visit https://www.pebblebeachconcours.net/.
1951 Mercury 1CM Bob Hirohata Custom Coupe
Photo courtesy The Rodder’s Journal/ used courtesy Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance