Each August at the Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, the giants in automobile design and auto enthusiasts gather for the Concours d'Elegance.
Considered the premiere car show in the world, the Concours showcases vehicles by invitation only in an extended weekend that includes a parade down Highway 1, an exclusive auction by Gooding and Co. and exhibits and displays of auto memorabilia.
The Concours begins Wednesday and runs through Aug. 21.
For the many Santa Cruz County participants and admirers, it's just a short drive away and shows a long history of involvement in this exclusive event. This year, look for Jack Passey, Bill Kuettel and Kevin Larkin, among others, to be there.
"Where in the world can you live to meet people like this?" asks Larkin, owner of Westek Electronics in Watsonville. He's talking about the fabulous cars, famous designers and drivers who turn up in Pebble Beach.
Larkin found his entrant to this year's Concours while driving along Highway 17 in Scotts Valley. The slick, cream-colored, wire-wheeled sports car was parked in a garage that could be seen from the road. It was a 1954 Swallow Doretti.
This rare, English-made car raced at Pebble Beach in the 1950s, and only 276 were built. It was just the car he was looking for.
"There are very few in the U.S., and I find one in Scotts ValleyGrowing up in Santa Cruz, son of Plantronics founder Keith Larkin, Kevin Larkin always enjoyed
classic cars. He owns a restored '66 Corvette Roadster and favors older Ferraris. Now living in Pebble Beach, he's in the heart of the car show action each August.
"It's my favorite week of the year," he says. "Pebble Beach is the pinnacle of excellence, the Top of the Mark, the best concours in the world. People ship multimillion-dollar cars here from all over the world which are works of art. It's a fabulous time of people coming together that you would never have a chance to see."
Attention-getter
Longtime Capitola residents Bill and Dee Kuettel will bring a rare 1923 Hispano Suiza for their sixth showing in Pebble Beach. Out of their seven collectible cars, only the 1927 and '28 Lincolns and the Suiza are eligible for the elite car show. Last year, the '28 Lincoln took second place in its category, its fourth time at Pebble Beach.
These big, extravagant cars get noticed.
"The Hispano Suiza gets attention everywhere I go with it," says Bill Kuettel. He enjoys driving the former French ambassador's custom-built, fully collapsible cabriolet luxury car around Santa Cruz and describes its World War I fighter plane engine, its chassis built by Hispano with Swiss engineering and a reputation to rival Rolls Royce.
"All the millionaires wanted them in its heyday, but you had to be close to a billionaire to buy one, or royalty," said Kuettel.
The Hispano Suiza was a natural for the Kuettels since Bill is of Swiss descent and Dee, whose family runs Toro Bravo restaurant in Capitola, has Spanish blood.
37 and counting
Jack Passey is the granddad of Santa Cruz County participants in the Concours D'Elegance.
He's attended 37 years, as judge and entrant, and has 40 vehicles stored in his three-story, custom-built garage-museum in Watsonville. A member of the Cabrillo Region Antique Automobile Club, all the collectors know him and speak highly of the veteran collector as a
man of integrity
This year, he's bringing his 1938 Brunn Lincoln Touring Cabriolet to Pebble Beach. The car was obtained from Otis Chandler, former publisher of the Los Angeles Times.
You see, Passey knows folks -- collectors, manufacturers, museum curators -- and helps them find the right cars. One of them was his good friend Chandler, who in 1987 put together the Chandler Vintage Museum of Transportation and Wildlife in Oxnard.
In return for Passey's help selecting cars and a few other deeds over the years, Chandler gave him the Lincoln. This four-door luxury car has a top that folds down and skylights above the windshield and was loaned to the Red Cross during World War II.
For Passey, going to Pebble Beach is a chance to see "once-a-year friends," such as Max von Pein, managing director of the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. They became acquainted when Passey judged a Mercedes category one year.
"It's been really fun for me," says Passey of judging the different categories. "You go to judges meeting once a year, and you'll see automotive giants from France, Germany, America. It's a great experience."
Passey mostly judges classic cars.
"I can do most classics and most antiques. If I run into a category that I'm not extremely knowledgeable about, I will study the class and get all the information I can before the car show.
Jack's son, Bill, is also a judge, with several Concours under his belt, inheriting the family love of cars.
"The Concours D'Elegance is part of my life. If Pebble Beach came and I wasn't there, I would wonder what happened. It's basically a friendship thing,
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