Concours de Lemons

Each August, the Monterey Peninsula hosts a variety of car events. The most well-known and elaborate is the Concours d’Elegance, held at Pebble Beach. I’ve never attended that event, so I’m short on details—but I presume you’ll see plenty of rare, exotic, high-dollar classic cars: the crème de la crème.

There are several other car shows that week, but the one I want to tell you about is the Concours de Lemons, held in Seaside (the “other side of town,” if you will). This is a car show for everyman and everywoman.

A recent promotion described it this way:

"An ugly oil stain on the Monterey and Pebble Beach Auto Week is the Concours de Lemons. Rust buckets, misfits, and mistakes will be on display, and as always, celebrity judges will be accepting bribes for the thrift-shop-sourced trophies. The best part is that the show is free for participants and spectators—so you’ll get exactly what you pay for."

Another pitch claimed the event had upstaged every other Car Week show by introducing a VIP area so exclusive that no one is allowed in.

The Concours de Lemons is a one-day show, held on Saturday of Auto Week. It’s relatively small—maybe 50 or so vehicles—but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in personality. Here you’ll find cars nobody wanted but somebody kept. Some have faces only a mother could love. Others might be barn finds, complete with a bale of hay in the back seat. And if you’re of a certain age, you may even have memories—fond or otherwise—of some of these cars.

The cars are often labeled with tongue-in-cheek signage. By origin:

• French cars: Unmitigated Gaul
  
  

• Japanese cars: Soul-Sucking Appliance
  
  

Or by function:

• VW camper: Self-Satisfied Krautenwagen
  
  

As you wander through, you’ll be guided by other wry messages, such as:

• God gave us lemons, and we kept them
  
  

• Not technically a dumpster fire
  
  

• Rust in Peace
  
  

• Safety Third
  
  

• Trashy in a good way
  
  

• Proud to be peculiar
  
  

• Not so clutch
  
  

• Let’s get ready to crumble
  
  

So, for car aficionados looking for a little comic relief from the more serious shows—or for anyone who just wants a good laugh—I invite you to come share in the fun. And if it doesn’t appeal to you, well… you got what you paid for.

Hope you can make it.

~ Steve Beals