The Automotive Dream “One man and his dream had not simply left the world with an engine and four wheels; Henry Ford and his Model T had influenced people's everyday lives - where they lived, how they spent their leisure time, even how they viewed themselves.” - Gary...
Monterey Car Week & Bonhams Cars Quail Auction
Written by Irina
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Lagonda 16/80 Special Six 1933
English Touring The car we present to you this week is the Lagonda 16/80 Special Six in the Demers Car Collection. Lagonda was a luxury British car brand that Aston Martin eventually absorbed. Through its association with Aston Martin, it is sometimes hard to remember...
An Introduction to Lagonda
Before Aston Martin “The history of Lagonda cars is synonymous with sophistication, opulence, and groundbreaking performance” - An article for Discovery UK Today, we may recognize the name Lagonda from its association with Aston Martin. Before these two brands...
Cadillac Model A 1903
The Standard of the World “No other American car on the market in the first decade of the century was constructed to higher standards than Cadillac.” - Stephen W. Sears in The Automobile in America Some of you may know that Cadillac has long had the slogan “Standard...
Day 2
The second day started with a headache. This is a metaphor. We were invited to attend a breakfast at the Bonhams Cars tent next to The Quail. Taking yet another Uber, although it might have been a Lyft, we somehow ended up on the wrong side of the golf course. It took us another Uber/Lyft to bring us to the “right” side, because the shuttle was strictly offered to only one category of visitor. In planning this trip, we figured using rideshares would save us time looking and dealing with parking at a busy event. Turns out, we are the only people to think like that. Almost all visitors came with their own car. It was very difficult to access any site, be it in Monterey, Pebble Beach or Carmel using rideshares.
Word of the Day: Accessibility
After breakfast, we headed to a forum panel titled “Tomorrow’s Concours, Car Shows and Cruise Nights.” We listened to Paul Hageman, Joe Saghafi, David Kibbey and Philip Richter discuss the future of car shows. The panel discussed the tensions between upholding standards of tradition of Elegance Concours and the need to engage with and give access to a broader public. John Nikas, the panel’s moderator, led the conversation on how to attract younger people to the hobby.
This was of a particular interest to us. These challenges are at the crux of what Currus Dreems is doing. We want to make the Demers Car Collection accessible and enjoyable to the public, while safely preserving it. We look forward to seeing how this hobby will develop in the following years and hope that Currus Dreems will be a positive addition to the car lover ecosystem.
Bonhams Cars Quail Auction
Following the panel, we made our way back to Bonhams Cars Quail Auction. This was the first live car auction for both Vanessa and I. It was exciting to see people bid on cars, the organized chaos of the room. Drinks and food, and numbers, the animation of the auctioneer and the engine sounds and faint smell of gas everywhere was dizzying. Overall, the place was loud with people entertaining their own conversations. Each car rolled through the stage and numbers were yelled around. At some point, the auctioneer asked the audience to cheer as the buyer in the room was obviously “waving his wallet around” bidding against a buyer online. The same attention wasn’t required when cars reached large dollar amounts. It was as if everyone held their breath as soon as a car passed the one million dollar mark.
A happy surprise, Vanessa got to bid on three cars on the behalf of the Demers Car Collection. When you bid, things happen both very fast and in slow motion. You have information coming from every side. You try to relay the information on the phone to your buyer while following what is happening in the room. The auctioneer, wanting to bring the price always higher and higher, is pushing you to place the next bid, sometimes refusing a bid if it seems too modest of an increase. After much excitement, the Demers Car Collection now has a new 1979 Aston Martin V8 to add to its catalog.
Downtown Monterey
At night, we walked through downtown Monterey. The center was packed with people and cars. Cars of all types were parading down the main street with no clear purpose apart from being seen. Guys were sitting on terrasses on the side of the road judging the procession of cool cars. The thickest of the crowd was around the RM Sotheby’s Monterey Car Week’s Premier Auction at The Portola Hotel. Cars were driven or pushed from one location near the pier to the auction podium. Although the auction stage was closed to the public, everyone got to see the cars move around the site and could follow the auction on big screens and loud speakers all around the area.
At the conclusion of day two, we could truly appreciate how Moterey embraces car week. We were already making plans to come back next year! Don’t miss tomorrow’s blog where we discuss our experience at the 2023 Concorso Italiano.
