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Monterey Car Week © 2009.   All Rights Reserved.  Site designed and maintained by Willow Bend Designs
Concorso Italiano
In 2010, The Concorso Italiano was held on the picturesque Laguna Seca Golf Course. The event is nestled in between the beautiful mountains that run along Highway 68. This provided a beautiful backdrop for taking amazing pictures of cars. 
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Access to this event was very convenient as opposed to other events during the week. Parking was a short walk to the entrance. Ticket booths were plentiful which made for nice short lines upon entrance. Local law enforcement did a fantastic job of avoiding traffic congestion.

Coming into the event you were welcomed by friendly greeters that handed out goody bags which contained a program, magazine and promo flyers (nice perk!). The program really stood out at this event and featured excellent car photography and interesting articles. I absolutely loved the center fold pictures of the cars…very well done!



All the car marquis were divided into groups on the golf course, which made for easy viewing if you were there to see a particular car. Once I made my way up to the green, there was an impressive display of DeTomaso Pantera’s. The man responsible for the of the Pantera Tom Tjaarda was present and I noticed him autographing a few Pantera’s which must of be a special treat for car owners.


Concorso Italiano had a remarkable reunion of my all time favorite super car, the Ferrari F40. I was very excited to hear that Leonardo Fioraavanti, the Project Director for the F40, would be present speaking about the Ferrari’s which he has designed. It was fascinating to hear how these cars came about and how the designs were realized.


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Alfa Romeo was celebrating its 100th anniversary and guest were treated with an amazing gathering of unique Alfa’s. A center piece for the show was an Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B which has won numerous Best in Show awards including Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2008. This car symbolizes classic elegant design which is no longer seen in current automotive design.
La Dolce Vita
This was the inaugural year for this event. The event was held at The Black Horse Bonnet Golf Course. An air conditioned bus shuttled spectators into the show. The trip to the show was short and prevented traffic headaches. Entrance was quick, and a short walk down from the club house brought me into the show.
The live music was awesome, the volume was just right and could be heard throughout the event. I also enjoyed the commentary of the emcee; he was very witty and well knowledgeable in the realm of fine automobiles.

My wife and I had lunch here which was catered by Tarppy’s Road House. The food was superb as expected and the wait staff were very friendly and accommodating. There’s nothing like having a fabulous lunch while over looking some of the worlds finest automobiles!
There was an impressive display of Alfa Romeos, Masarati’s and Lamborghini. The cars were meticulously displayed on the green. This event was laid out in a circle format which made it easy to see just about everything.

The Alfa Romeo display was very impressive. From vintage to the new C8...they had everything! The C8 was a truly beautiful car and the tear drop windows gave it a classic look. The owners of these cars were very friendly and provided a lot of insight into these automobiles.
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My favorite part of the show was the Lamborghini‘s. Yes, here I go again with the Lamborghini‘s! What can I say? They look simply stunning on the green. Just about every type and color was displayed. Cat’s Exotic provided an excellent array of cars. The LP650-4 is a razor sharp car and was positively one of my favorite cars there. 
I’ve never felt more welcomed at a car show like I did here. Although there wasn’t a thousand cars there, I prefer quality over quantity any time. I congratulate La Dolce Vita for a wonderful and successful event. I truly hope this will be the start of new event tradition during Monterey Car Week.
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RM Auction
The RM is held at the Monterey Portola Hotel and Spa. This venue is perfection because of it’s located right in the heart of Monterey. The Warf is located right next to it and is only ¼ mile away from Cannery Row. There’s a lot of excellent restaurants located around this area. If you're up for a good micro brew, be sure to stop by Peter B’s at the rear of the hotel next to the courtyard.
This is truly one of my favorite events throughout Monterey Car Week. Every year I see something different here. I do have to say that I’ve came here religiously for years and this year RM seems to have upped the ante. Just about every type of car is auctioned at the RM. The cars are parked in the courtyard behind the hotel for bidders to preview prior to auction.

As I made my way into the auction I came across a car display in the hotel lobby which just blew me away. This was one of the most beautiful car displays I’ve ever seen (and I‘ve seen my fair share!). I was taken aback on how much work it must have taken to get the lighting just right. I must say if I had to vote for best car display during Monterey Car Week, it would have to go to RM hands down.

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The conference room before entering the auction floor had cars, motorcycles and jewelry displays. There was plenty of sitting areas in this room for enjoying cocktails and some good car talk. Again, more amazing displays of cars.

The cars are driven into a huge conference room in the hotel where they are then auctioned off. The stage was very well lit and had movie style projector screens broadcasting the show, which provided for spectacular views for the spectators in the rear of the room. This also helped keep track of lot numbers and current bid status.

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As the cars were being auctioned, they were rolled off the stage and on to a turn table. The turn table gives an incredible 360 degree view of the car. I so wish I had one of these in my garage!

This auction is full of excitement and prestigious cars.  In my opinion, the RM Auction is the best deal during Monterey.
Russo and Steele Review
Yeehaa! ....is all I have to say about this event. This exciting and enthusiastic auction is held at the Marriott Hotel in Downtown Monterey. Cars are driven into the hotel conference room from the street outside, which can be quite thrilling because you can see classic race cars roar down the street before entering the hotel. A movie projector screen is set up outside so that everyone outside can enjoy the auction excitement happening inside.
The stage is inside the hotel conference room which is small and intimate. The auctioneers are very energetic and reel the crowd into the show. I noticed that even the bidders that had already bought cars were sticking around for the rest of the auction.

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The auction is held in a round format, this is entirely a one-of-a-kind auction block. It encourages attendees to become involved with not just the cars, but also puts the bidders in the center of the action. Bidders can go right up to the car, open the hood, trunk and even sit in the cars all the while it’s being auctioned. At times the auction staff got more excited over selling a car than the owners did; too funny! For those of you that like to people watch, this event is for you.

Russo and Steele Auction preview area is in a parking garage only 1 block away from the hotel. This is open to the public for viewing. The 2 story garage houses an amazing and vast collection of cars.

Anyone that knows me, knows that I love BMW’s. So, it’s safe to say that watching two bidders compete over a 1959 503 was exciting to say the least. I’m sure the former owner was very happy with this sale.

This auction is truly unique and I enjoyed it very much. The staff were very friendly when I asked questions about the cars or when I needed to take pictures. Russo and Steele really strives to make attendees and bidders feel welcomed; I certainly did and will look forward to attend this enthusiastic event next year.
Concours D’Elegance Review
This is the Crème de le Crème, The Crown Jewel, The world renowned Concours D’Elegance. Pebble Beach lodge and golf course host this spectacular automotive event. This is truly the most beautiful place in world to hold a car event.
Attendees are shuttled in air conditioned buses and the ride only takes at most 5 minutes. On the way back, it was helpful to remember your parking number because if you got dropped off at the wrong stop you could end up walking a couple miles to your car.

As I approached the entrance of the event I quickly detoured to admire some concepts and prototypes that were displayed.


Nice huh? These cars were quite impressive and I found myself spending some time admiring the craftsmanship it takes to make such stunning cars.


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After drooling for countless minutes, I eventually made my way into the event. There were no long lines to buy tickets or to get in; awesome! The price of admission was $150.00 per person.

As soon as you entered the event you could see the gorgeous golf course and the majestic ocean views. Vintage cars were parked throughout the green.



I took a nice stroll down the course and I could not help but grin while I looked at all the aisles of vintage cars.

The car aisles were properly identified by street-like styled signs. This really helped because it made me aware of the what was to come.
If I didn’t live in the area I would most likely stay at The Lodge during this event. There is also non-car activities for those who get overwhelmed by all the autos. The restaurants are top notch, Club XIX is a delectable place for dinner. Some would say golfing is good here too. Pebble Beach resort also offers full spa treatments for those who like to get pampered. Sorry…I drifted off there for a little bit. For anyone that hasn’t attended Monterey Car Week before, I would highly recommend attending this event. This truly is a remarkable gathering of the most exquisite automobiles that the world has to offer. You won’t be disappointed!
August 15-21, 2011  Monterey, California
This is just a small glimpse of what the Concorso Italaino offers every year in Monterey. I highly recommend this show to anyone who plans on attending Monterey car week.