Pucker Up! Concours d’Lemons 2018
Concours d’Lemons in Seaside, California during Monterey Car Week is one of those nice, breath of fresh air breaks from the auctions and high-dollar classics that takeover the bay. Stuffiness isn’t spoken here – random and bizarre is indeed the order of the day. It’s a good reminder that, as much as we love cars, most were built for the purpose of getting from A to B.
Not that the all the cars here are all that great anymore, but it’s good to remember that cars aren’t always a serious thing. Everyone has different memories in different makes and models, and sometimes a boring people carrier can be just as interesting as a hot rod or a Ferrari.
And what they lacked in decent parts and quality, they certainly made up for in character. If a car wasn’t nice, it certainly was funny. Some were neither, really making it all the more hilarious that someone showed up.
While not as completely packed as some other events during Car Week, it’s easy to say that attendance was very, very good. A free show, it’s definitely one to add to the list next year if you’re going to the shows in Monterey.
The main rule for the 24 Hours of Lemons series? The starting base of your car can only cost $500 or less. The same idea applies here at Concours d’Lemons, where the cars in question are supposed to be bad. Some take the theology so far that it really is one of the most fun shows you’ll go to.
With the tenth annual show taking place this year — the emcee mentioned that Concors d’Lemons is now heading overseas, taking over three continents.
It might not be the sort of thing you travel internationally for, but if you really want to follow the series, you can find them in Australia and the UK as well now. It’s all good fun, and only makes sense to share with our neighbors after all.
Across the street were the cars involved in the Lemons Rally, and I heard the owner of this van complaining about getting ‘less than 10 miles per gallon.’ As long as it doesn’t make sense, it belongs here.
You don’t need to look any further than this Land Rover pirate ship to confirm that. And despite the less than stellar quality of the cars, people here were arguably having a better time than anywhere else during car week. With a crazy mix of awful cars, there’s definitely nothing else like it.
