Unveiling the Glitz and Quirks: A Celebration of the World’s Most Prestigious and Peculiar Automobiles

Along California’s picturesque central coastline, car lovers have the opportunity to admire both the finest and most worn-out vehicles in the automotive world, all within the span of a weekend.

The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance stands unmatched in its celebration of automotive sophistication. Much like the bubbles in a glass of champagne, these cars have ascended to prominence as some of the rarest and most esteemed collector vehicles globally.

This exclusive event, which operates on an invitation-only basis, is led by Sandra Button, whose earnest dedication underscores the significance of the occasion. Button likens owning one of these cars to possessing a piece of art.

“As more time passes, it becomes increasingly important for us, as guardians, to maintain their authenticity. Our focus is truly on the cars,” Button stated.

Meanwhile, not far from the meticulously maintained greens of Monterey’s 18th fairway, another burgeoning event unfolds on the less polished grounds of Seaside City Hall, drawing its own crowd of enthusiasts.

The Concours d’Lemons is a more corndog than caviar event that’s an ode to the less desirable, less loved and less expensive driveway dwellers.

Alan Galbraith stitched together this monstrosity in 2009. He calls himself the “head gasket of the Concours d’Lemons.” Like Concours d’Elegance, it’s an annual celebration of cars where the vehicles ooze with mediocrity instead of pedigree.

“We kind of figured if there’s a top, there needs to be, you know, rock bottom, and that’s what we do,” Galbraith said.

The car categories say it all. There’s the Swedish Meatball class, the Soul Sucking Japanese Appliance class, and the award for Rust Belt American Junk. 

Will Hughes was dressed just as questionably as his award-winning entry — a 1983 Oldsmobile Cutlass — the “gutless” as he calls it.  

“It started out from the factory with 75 horsepower. Now it’s 50. Sounds like you hit a dog when you get up to 50 miles per hour,” Hughes said. 

Galbraith means no disrespect in holding the annual event. It’s just the opposite.  

“A lot of people, they’ll see a VW Bug and, you know, you can come up with the story of, ‘Ah, me and six of my idiot buddies went to a concert. We all crammed in that car and went there,’” Galbraith said. “Not everybody has that story about a Duesenberg or a Ferrari, right? So there’s a little bit more of a connection with some of these cars.”

There’s no Best of Show here – only Worst of Show. This year, Chris Wollard took home the top prize for entering what can only be described as an unidentified driving object. Past winners have included a double-ended Honda and a fur-covered Lincoln Continental named Buttercup. 

When asked what it’s like to drive his car, Wollard replied, “It’s terrifying. It was a terrible idea. But it looks cool.”

As the silly-stringed festivities were coming to an end, Galbraith began shifting gears for the job he’d start the following morning. For all the love he has for Ford Pintos and AMC Pacers at the Concours d’Lemons, he respects the Bugattis and Bentleys at the Concours d’Elegance. In fact, he’s a respected lead docent there.

“He’s such a trickster and it was just so fun to think on this weekend when Pebble Beach is so serious that somebody was having a little poke at us and having some fun and kind of taking the seriousness out of all of it,” Button said.

From the rare to the rotten, Americans’ love affair with the automobile is a bit promiscuous. Enthusiasts will stop and look at just about anything with a motor.

“If you’re laughing, smiling, having a good time, a little bit of levity into what can be a fairly serious thing. If you’re having fun, I’ve done my job,” Galbraith said.