WebCars!: Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

"The Tour" as it is known, is a recent Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance event. The purpose was to emphasize that the cars are meant to be driven, not just displayed and serves to answer criticism that the concours is only for museum pieces. It is held on Thursday before the main Sunday event and runs through portions of the famous 17 mile drive, various nearby mountains and valleys and Highway One. The cars are then displayed on Ocean Avenue in Carmel before returning to Pebble Beach. All cars entered in the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance are eligible to participate in The Tour. Spectators are invited to view the Tour at key points along the route.

Cars that participate in the tour are awarded a green ribbon. The Pebble Beach organizers have arranged for a much stronger incentive: should there be a tie in the judging points, the win goes to a car that participated over one that did not.

Despite meticulous preparation, breakdowns do occur on The Tour. As originally designed, the intended life span of these cars was usually much shorter than the fifty or so years that many have been running. Keeping the cars alive and healthy requires more than money; you also need passion, dedication, patience and tenacity.