FRIDAY AUG.15TH 2008, but get your tickets soon and save...............
tickets will always be cheap. It's the hotel that you need to get really early! Thinking of just going to the Quail this year.
Wow, that's the first I've heard of them being kicked out of Black Horse. Is there a press release, or a thread somewhere that I missed?
Regardless of the Coastal Commies, it would be a traffic disaster if the Concorso was held in Pacific Grove. Only two ways in and out, both would grid lock the entire area. It is a nightmare during rush hour already. Blackhorse seemed to be a good place for the event, traffic was not too bad last year. The Pebble Beach event is done up really nice. You can take a bus to the even, if you drive in no problem they will direct you to a parking area away from the event and then bus you in, all in all very pleasant.
I love coming to Monterey for Concorso Italiano and Pebble Beach. I just wish about 2/3 of the crowd would stay home. LOL
I vowed to never go back after 2004. I really enjoyed 2001 at Quail. Missed 2002. 2003 at Fort Ord was miserable. They promised to make it all right in 2004. It's hard to treat a bunch of exotic car owners as poorly as they did and expect them to keep running back. From traffic to food to layout, they missed badly, IMO. Moving to any new location will mean terrible traffic, because they just don't put enough effort into that challenge prior to the event. There's nothing like overheating and the smell of expensive burning clutches to start your day. I hope everyone has a ball. Be sure to send in your money before the price increase, even though you still don't know where you will be going! They have known for at least two years that the course would be torn up this year and they still don't have an alternate site? Seriously, why let yourselves be jerked around in this manner?
One thing for sure, the Concorso is no place for vintage cars, the last year I tried it had turned into a parking lot, both on the approach and at the display grounds.
I attended in 2004, and it took forever to get the car in the corral. I passed many older, overheating exotics that were not designed to idle for 2 hours. But I had a great time once I got in. I attended again in 2005 and the access was much faster. I went last year and we were in line less than 30 minutes. Each time I went I brought an adult relative and two children. For $75, it was a bargain! It is really cool to drive the car on the grass, and spend the day surrounded by 500 Ferrari's.
Sure it does - it says "Monterey Bay, California". They just need to narrow it down - hope its not a hotel parking lot! While the ticket price is somewhat reasonable - $75 for your car plus two adults - what drives me nuts is the additional $150 needed to buy lunch for those two adults. Call me cheap but $150 for a lunch for two given the craziness that normally goes on is just nutty. They started off like this last year but eventually added a "Clubhouse Buffet Luncheon" for $37 per person which was reasonable. -mick
Exotics were overheating while waiting to be parked. This is completely inexcusable. For the entrance fees based on the public seeing our exotics, I would expect no less than respect for the engines. I see they are including BMWs and all types of common cars for a cash out quick
Mine included. After idling close to 3 hours in line, my gauges all went dead when they were almost pegged - they share a fuse with the engine fans. So I pulled the car out of line and ran it up into the Fort Ord hills to cool it off. I had to take a leak, stopped in the middle of a desolate area and proceeded, at least until I noticed I was standing next to a "Warning Unexploded Ammunition" sign. Not the sort of hospitality you maintain and prep a valuable antique for.
i just called them(CONCORSO ITALIANO) on the phone today and they said its still being held at the same place as of now(BLACk HORSE)and the car placement will change, due to the rebuilding going on there......but they have other places that want them in the MONTERY area....but if they move it is going to have to be bigger & better or they will not move..........
I will agree with those that complain about the lines the first two years they had it at Black Horse, but last year I thought the traffic was handled much better. They need to get the spectators to park far away on the other side of fort ord and bus them in.
If you go to the Blackhorse/Bayonet website, they maintain a link to Concorso Italiano. CI should be August 15. I see that they have a tournament scheduled for August 14. Hmmmm......
I went last year, but probably won't be participating this year with the Ferrari for some of the reasons posted here. The logistics were a hassle - from finding the unloading zone for the car (had it transported up), to parking overnight, to cleaning pine needles out of the vents, to waiting half an hour in line for lunch, to the "VIP" parking for my other vehicle which seemed to be somewhere in Wyoming. That said, the Monterey weekend is a ball if you're just visiting. I might head up there just to be a spectator at the various events.
There will be an alternative event to CI earlier in the week for pre-1973 Ferrari's in Carmel. Check out www.motorclubevents.com to see last years show and see the registration form for this year. The plan is to have 75 Ferrari's and 75 vintage Porsche's on Ocean Avenue. There will be parking for newer cars just off Ocean.
Everyone- I agree completely w/ the various complaints posted here. A few words to the wise, having taken my Dino to this event twice: If your schedule allows, take your car on Thursday afternoon. If you can't do this, arrive Friday AM 1-2 hours earlier than the organizers say to show up. I did this the last time I went ('06), and they let me in; no problem. The only bargain at the event is the $75 car + 2 humans for early registration. Virtually anything exse they offer is a ripoff, ESPECIALLY the food. We cured that issue by packing our own picnic supplies including wine/drinks and folding chairs, and made the car our base of operations for the day, and had a great time. This really is a good event; I've been able to meet other F-chatters that I've only known previously through this site, share stories, finally see their cars, etc. BTW, if your think the CI is expensive, they raised the price of the Quail this year to $250./per, and I suspect they're already sold our, or soon will be. My only real complaint about the CI and Quail is that neither organizer will bend a little and move their event to some other day (eg Thursday), so you can actually attend both.
There will two events in Carmel. The Ferrari and Porsche show and then the regular show the next day. Last year they only had the one day event and it was excellent. They had 130 cars of all different types and even vintagee motorcycles. Most of the cars had great stories behind them such as one owner cars. The best part was no entry fee. I hope to spend most of the week in Carmel this year and attend both of these shows along with CI and the vintage races.
I attended for the first time in 07 and will not go back. Outside of meeting a lot of great people the venue coordination was awful. I paid full price for Gold Class tickets and couldn't have been more disappointed. I wrote them the following email: ---- Our experience was poor enough that we've decided not to attend Concorso next year (unfortunate because I have a car which I was planning to enter in '08). We arrived around 11 a.m. and the VIP parking was full. There were also no shuttles available. Not a good start since my wife was 6 months pregnant. When it came time for lunch the lines were long. We waited in line for over an hour only to be stopped at the door for an additional 15 min. Once we were let in their was little or no food. When the food did come we went to find a table and the tables were very dirty so I bussed ours myself. I even had to pay $5 for a soda (inc tip). I appreciate that things do not go as planned however we paid full price for Gold Class tickets. A real disappointment. ---- To my surprise (and to their credit) I did receive a call and a scripted apology from them on my answering machine. I was waiting for a final statement that I'd get free passes for 2008 but all I got was an offer for an unknown price reduction if I called them. Considering the problems and promises made to those from previous years stated here I have no confidence that 2008 will be any better. See you at Pebble Beach.
I've been to Concorso about five times over the last 15 years. I get there early, and bring my own lunch and drinks. I've only waited in traffic a few times and although it has sucked the reality is I don't think I've really been held up for more than 20 minutes. (A couple of times I was on a motorcycle, and I do remember passing a few stopped cars in traffic.) Traffic is usually just as bad at Laguna Seca for events. The whole area just isn't built for the massive influx of people and cars that happens in mid august, and to a lesser degree when the Bing Crosby/ATT is in town. I've never purchsed gold class tickets, and based on the above I'm glad. The people are great, the cars are great, the vendors are at least entertaining with their pricing, and the auction tent is pathetic. I don't reccommed going every year, alternate with the Quayle and other activites. But at $75, it is the bargain of the weekend.
