Concours d’Lemons to Ruin Monterey Car Week Yet Again

What started as the anti-concours has transformed into a major event on the Monterey Car Week schedule. When Jay Leno and Wayne Carini regularly attend a happening, you know that it has arrived.

This year’s Concours d’Lemons, a celebration of the wild, the weird and the wacky, will defile Seaside City Hall on August 19. This new location, located just across the street from the previous one, should better accommodate the 5000 expected spectators–and the wacky machines that draw them away from the week’s traditional automotive events.

Concours founder Alan Galbraith jokes that he strives to present the worst concours event in the world. “This year we are featuring the Muntz and the Cosworth Vega, one obscure and one downright horrible marque,” he adds. “How many of each actually manage to drive onto the field under their own power will be one of the great surprises to behold.”

This year’s judges will include several big names, including Mike Joy, Bill Warner and Corky Coker. “I can only assume they thought they were being invited to one of the good concours,” Galbraith continues. “Obviously they’ve all made a mistake. We don’t plan on telling them until it’s too late.”

Thanks to the generosity of Grassroots Motorsports and Hagerty, the event is free for both entrants and spectators–proving that sometimes you really do get what you pay for.

The Concours d’Lemons takes place on Saturday, August 19 from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. at Seaside City Hall, 440 Harcourt Avenue in Seaside, California.

Comments

David S. Wallens Editorial Director
8/14/17 1:23 p.m.

Sounds like some wacky stuff will be there. This is always one of the week's highlights. We'll be sharing photos and video on Facebook as it happens, too, with a recap here on the site afterward.