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01:42
Welcome to the Total Car Score podcast, bringing you the world of cars from inside the car.
01:48
And now your hosts, Carl Brower, Lauren Ficks and Javier Mota.
01:56
Well, here we are sitting in the shady spot that we found here at the beautiful Pebble Beach Concourse Delegance.
02:01
How are you, Lauren?
02:02
I am great. How are you, Javier?
02:04
Good. I'm doing so well.
02:05
We're at a sunny, starting to get warm Pebble Beach morning, aren't we?
02:09
Yeah, and we're going to recognize this voice because he starts and finish every podcast.
02:15
Good, good. Thank you for having me.
02:16
This is actually my first Pebble Beach Concourse.
02:19
Oh, different from us.
02:20
Yes, and our first podcast together.
02:22
I mean, you are in every episode ever, which is like almost six years and 500, 600.
02:30
And he was nice enough from the beginning to share his beautiful radio voice to do the intro and outro.
02:37
So thank you for that.
02:38
Well, thank you for having me.
02:39
No, you just say that at the beginning.
02:44
But anyway, so, Lauren, we started, what, five in the morning?
02:48
4.30 in the morning.
02:49
I got up at 3.30 in the morning.
02:51
We left our hotel at 4.45.
02:53
We parked way out because when you're a judge that's older judges, they haven't parked close.
02:58
Of course, I'm one of the youngest judges, so they had me as far out as I could be.
03:02
San Francisco? San Francisco?
03:05
Well, it was about a 20-minute walk to get around where the auction was.
03:12
We walked down, saw the car's come on, got Paul a hat, got one for my husband.
03:19
Let's explain what it is because this is a hungry Don Patron hat.
03:24
They're hard to get.
03:25
Kind of silly because it's coffee, donuts, and tradition, which sounds a little, but it's valuable.
03:31
It's very exclusive. It's hard to get.
03:33
People want their Don Patron hats.
03:34
And we fight for it sometimes.
03:36
The lady went by me. I had to like do the New York, I used to live in New York City.
03:40
I used to do the New York thing. Hey, give me a hat.
03:44
I would have got one otherwise.
03:45
It's Beanie Babies from the 80s, except for you.
03:49
Once we accomplished that task, getting the precious hat, we started to see the cars coming in,
03:55
and then you actually working.
03:59
We had to walk from the front of the 18th green to the back of the 18th green,
04:04
where the tennis club was just actually outside of it.
04:07
My first year judging, and I'm honored.
04:10
I judge at Amelia Island, Hilton Head, I've judged all over the country,
04:14
but this was the first time here, and it was completely different.
04:18
So what it takes to become a judge?
04:20
Tell people because I'm sure.
04:22
I think I got in because of the class, and it was Cobra.
04:25
So I raced to Cobra, and I was pregnant with my son,
04:27
but we restored Cobra, we restored Shelby's.
04:30
My whole life is about cars, and so they're looking for younger people.
04:34
And that's how Paul needs to be a judge.
04:37
So he judges at Amelia, but they're always looking for people that know the culture,
04:42
that are deep dives.
04:42
Like your son is like that too, just like deep dive into things.
04:45
Yeah, and I believe in Amelia, they have a category of judges who are very young
04:51
that probably don't even know much about cars,
04:53
so they find something cool about the car, like either the design.
04:57
They've seen it in a movie, they've seen it in a video game or something like that, right?
05:03
Some of my first experiences with a lot of the cars I'm seeing here,
05:07
BMW 507 and the Maserati, all the names are 350 GT,
05:14
and of course the Shelby Cobra, although I have a special exception because...
05:18
Okay, who had a tell the story about that?
05:20
Who's telling the story, Paul?
05:21
Okay, so it was Lime Rock weekend, Liberty weekend at Lime Rock.
05:29
I was born in December.
05:30
She was racing in September and the car ended up breaking down,
05:35
the fuel pump failed.
05:37
Maybe the expert weight.
05:38
Yeah, that's for fun.
05:41
That was a good one too, but ESPN too, because they had just started
05:43
and they interviewed her, asked if the car was bucking or kicking,
05:46
or if it was the baby.
05:48
The best part of the story is...
05:50
So you were how many months pregnant at?
05:54
No one was going to touch her, everybody was driving irreplaceable race cars.
05:57
I know, but still, you say it's a race car.
06:00
But you know, you're driving on the street too.
06:02
So, I mean, everybody knew, and I said,
06:04
anyone that had an issue with it passed me wide or let me pass.
06:07
And they were all good.
06:10
The people in the class knew, but the people running the event didn't.
06:13
And as soon as they found out, they came right up to me and said,
06:15
you're done racing.
06:16
And I said, you know, where does it say it in the general competition rules
06:19
they call them GCRs, that you can't race well pregnant.
06:22
And they go, it will on Tuesday.
06:24
So the best part of the story is that was Labor Day weekend.
06:28
This is years later, my husband's racing for a guy named Tony Ave
06:31
and prototypes in the Trans Am series.
06:33
And we're kind of wasting time.
06:34
You know how that is, you stand around the pits.
06:37
And I asked Tony, I said, how long you've been on the competition
06:39
board for the SCCA?
06:41
And he goes, oh, since the 80s.
06:42
I said, you know, somewhere in the 90s,
06:44
there was some girl who was racing pregnant.
06:46
And I had a limerock or something.
06:48
Do you remember who that was?
06:49
And he goes, I don't remember.
06:51
But I remember the meeting was an emergency meeting Tuesday morning.
06:54
We got to put a rule in place.
06:56
Exactly what happened?
06:57
So they put a rule in, you can't race well pregnant.
07:00
And I always say, well, does that mean when the EPT6 says it?
07:02
What is the law called?
07:04
Did they put your name on it?
07:05
No, I didn't get the credit.
07:06
So when I told Tony.
07:08
The law refakes rule.
07:10
So the best part is I said to Tony,
07:11
do you remember who that girl was?
07:15
I swear you could have knocked him over with a feather.
07:17
It was the best part of the story.
07:19
And so now my son can tell everyone he
07:21
raced before he was pregnant literally.
07:23
I think the addendum to the end of that story
07:25
is now 32 years later, almost to the weekend, about a month
07:29
away, I am reunited with the car that I raced in
07:36
And I didn't even see it.
07:37
We're judging 427, that's a 289.
07:40
And he goes, the car's here.
07:41
I'm like, the car's not here.
07:44
He goes, no, it's right there.
07:46
That's mind blowing.
07:47
So to me, I'm not, as you everybody knows,
07:50
I'm not like a crazy car person like you guys are.
07:54
But this is what I love about it.
07:55
Like there's always a story.
07:57
There's always a personal story and memory and event
08:01
like that or something.
08:02
And that's the beautiful thing about the car.
08:04
The car's on their own.
08:06
But even if you're not a car guy,
08:08
the stories that surround cars are always fascinating.
08:10
Because you always need a car to go somewhere or meet
08:12
someone or have an accident.
08:15
So I guess that's why this event is so special.
08:18
It's about the people and the cars.
08:21
It's absolutely true.
08:22
So what else have you guys seen?
08:24
You know, I'm here with Lamborghini.
08:25
I saw the unveil of the fenomenal.
08:30
Is that really what they're calling it?
08:33
Well, that means phenomenal in Spanish and in Italian.
08:37
Well, you know, all Lamborghini or most of the Lamborghini
08:40
names are bulls, fighting bulls.
08:43
And that's what I love Lamborghini,
08:44
because I can pronounce them correctly.
08:45
Oh, because I'm Italian.
08:49
It sounds better when you say it.
08:53
Contache, maybe not so much.
08:55
But matador, I can say.
08:59
Porcielago, I can say.
09:00
You said it pretty good.
09:01
It sounds so much better.
09:03
So anyway, so what did you were saying about the fenomenal?
09:06
Yeah, it's just their latest, like what they call few of,
09:10
which is kind of interesting, they call it the few of series,
09:12
meaning they don't make very many of these.
09:13
Like, I think they made nine revintons, the first one
09:16
of these kind of cars.
09:17
And now this is the seventh one.
09:18
And they're going to make 29.
09:20
So this is a high volume one.
09:23
And it's already sold out.
09:26
Yeah, they're all gone.
09:27
I mean, these are 3.2 million, plus, plus.
09:29
Yeah, yeah, and then you'll be spoken for who knows how much
09:33
But an amazing looking car, I really
09:35
think it's like this clean style.
09:37
Did you get to drive it?
09:38
No, I did not get to drive it.
09:40
All I got to drive was a Revolto.
09:42
They gave me a Revolto to drive up.
09:44
That's not you, but they gave you one to drive up.
09:47
Like, brand new, right?
09:48
So that's the great.
09:49
So I'm making a joke when I say all, obviously.
09:51
I mean, they're like, hey, do you
09:53
want to drive a Revolto up to Pebble Beach this year?
09:55
And I'm like, I think you're still
09:56
saying yes to these questions.
09:57
And it lands in my driveway, and it has 63 miles on it.
10:01
Right over at Sintagana.
10:03
You know, because I wasn't stressed enough
10:05
about having a $600,000, $700,000 car.
10:07
I need a brand new so that every possible car is my flaw.
10:13
I'm going to give it back.
10:14
And if there's any flaws, they
10:15
know where they happen, because the car was brand new.
10:18
But yeah, just a fabulous car.
10:20
And drove it up here.
10:21
And I'm going to drive it back this afternoon.
10:22
Shooting video on it.
10:23
And all we've got some great drone footage out
10:25
on 70-mile drive yesterday with the ocean and all.
10:27
So fun car, fun car.
10:31
They say 2.5 car and driver already got 2.2.
10:37
You want to reveal that?
10:38
I'm not supposed to say that.
10:39
Carl does drag race.
10:40
He's got some really fast cars.
10:42
Yeah, you had the demon.
10:44
What's made for that?
10:45
Now you've got the demon 170.
10:47
I've had two demons.
10:47
Now I've got the 170.
10:48
But yeah, so the car is just a fabulous car.
10:51
1,001 horsepower, 783 pound-feet of torque,
10:55
217 plus mile per hour top speed.
10:59
I drove another 1,000-plus car that's CL-1, the Corvette.
11:02
Yeah, but you drove one too, yes.
11:05
I mean, again, we're not going to compare it yet
11:08
to Ferrari, or Lambos, or anything.
11:11
But I think Corvette is doing a great job with the new cars.
11:14
And it's faster than the Ford.
11:17
No, that's the point.
11:18
I mean, the value performance ratio in the Corvette
11:21
is fantastic, I don't think any other car can beat it.
11:25
So 1,064 horsepower is easy to drive,
11:29
but you've got to say because let's say the car that you
11:33
drove or rode when you weren't even born,
11:35
how many horsepower's that had?
11:37
It was a 289, maybe had 300, 400 horsepower maybe.
11:42
So we're talking about almost.
11:43
But that's a pop can.
11:45
You think about it.
11:47
You're driving with a piece of spaghetti as a steering wheel.
11:49
Yeah, and it weighs like, what, 2,300 pounds?
11:53
I've always said it's like a rocket's
11:55
dropped to a pop can.
11:58
So yeah, the ratio for power weight is way higher.
12:02
But again, we're talking about 1,000 horsepower
12:05
with quote unquote normal cars, production cars.
12:09
Yeah, no, the fact that 1,000 horsepower is the new 500.
12:12
My demon 170, the new Corvette, the new Rivalto, it's like, oh,
12:17
you've got to hit 1,000 now, or no one wants to talk to you.
12:20
So Paul, besides the car that you rode before you were born,
12:24
what else did you like on the show so far?
12:27
There's been a lot of really interesting cars here.
12:29
There's mostly older marks, 20s, 30s, 40s,
12:34
lots of really interesting one-off things.
12:36
There's even a whole section for these miniature cars
12:39
that come out of Italy that have little,
12:41
they have less than 100 horsepower,
12:43
and I think one of them had less than 50 horsepower.
12:46
It's like a golf cart.
12:47
But this is exactly the kind of place
12:48
that you would come if you want to see the most interesting,
12:51
the most special, and the best cars.
12:52
The rarest sometimes.
12:53
Yeah, the rarest, the best kept,
12:55
the best restored versions of these cars.
12:58
Concord like this is the rare occasion
13:00
where you can really dip your toes in and talk to the owners
13:03
and get a sense of what these cars are actually all about.
13:05
And even if you aren't completely
13:07
passionate about the automotive industry.
13:09
You appreciate something about it.
13:11
Here's a chance for you to learn something
13:13
Yeah, and it's impossible.
13:14
It's funny because you see a lot of people on the lawn
13:16
and you know, you can tell by what they're saying
13:19
They're not necessarily car people like we're saying,
13:21
but it's impossible to ignore the atmosphere
13:25
and the level of speciality.
13:27
Yeah, they just look at these cars
13:28
and they can tell they're like works of art.
13:30
Thousands of hours.
13:31
I saw a lot, I heard a lot of reactions
13:34
like that of the concept lawn.
13:38
Why did they make these wheels so big?
13:40
I saw some cars I'd never even heard the names before
13:42
and they look good.
13:44
Don't get me wrong.
13:45
Go over there and we will take a go over there
13:49
I already went, and it's pretty amazing.
13:53
They look like spaceships.
13:55
But that also gives you an idea of what's coming up.
13:58
Like for example, the other way
14:00
is also the Corvette concepts.
14:02
Oh, the Vision Gran Turismo.
14:04
Those are like some people didn't like them.
14:06
I'm getting a lot of comments on my review of it.
14:10
But like the Gran Turismo again,
14:11
going back to the point of like,
14:12
maybe if you don't really like cars,
14:14
but you like video games.
14:17
Yeah, that's what I was saying.
14:18
Video games are the stepping point
14:20
for the current generation of car buyers.
14:23
Where we just saw at RM Auction,
14:25
a R33 GT-R Nismo 400R, very rare.
14:32
Super cool looking.
14:33
And it went for big money
14:34
because the generation of kids
14:36
that grew up loving those cars
14:37
can now afford to buy those cars.
14:40
And they recognize how special those cars are.
14:42
So working with Gran Turismo,
14:43
working with Sony and PlayStation,
14:45
is a great opportunity for them to reach that audience
14:47
so that when that next generation
14:49
is old enough to buy a Corvette,
14:50
they'll probably want to go and buy a Corvette.
14:52
Did you go to any of the auctions at all?
14:55
I didn't have any time.
14:57
That's why we pay our own way to go
14:58
and I don't get hosted because we did RM,
15:01
we did Broad Arrow, we did Gooding.
15:03
And I love, I got him to sit.
15:06
Oh, it was so much fun.
15:08
We stayed right to the end.
15:09
We saw some, you know, some of the high-end people,
15:11
like the guy from Curated, you know.
15:13
We just saw all these high-end buyers
15:15
and they're, we saw one guy, six million, seven million
15:18
and he's flipping his paddle, I'm thinking.
15:21
I wanna tell you a little story.
15:23
I wanna tell you a little story
15:24
about last year in the auctions,
15:26
I'm sitting outside of the backstage.
15:30
And I'm waiting for my shuttle to go back
15:31
because this is where BMW auctioned the first M5
15:34
and I'm waiting with someone else.
15:36
And I see someone across the hall
15:37
looking at me and starts walking at me
15:39
and he comes and says like,
15:41
Hi, do you remember me from Amelia?
15:43
And I start playing the game because I wanna say,
15:45
Oh sure, how are you?
15:47
Nice to see you again.
15:48
And he hands me his business card in a very elegant way,
15:52
like put it with both hands.
15:53
Like, remember, I can manage all your assets
15:56
So I go, whenever you want.
15:59
And I took the card and I gave it to the person
16:01
who was in it and said, Oh yeah,
16:02
he will call you later.
16:05
So Javier, you look like a high roller.
16:08
So they got the wrong guy.
16:10
The story of my life, like full dentinolio maker.
16:13
Well, I was gonna say, I hope you said them.
16:15
Well, I hope around the world includes Chile
16:16
because that's where some of my holdings are.
16:18
But anyway, this is amazing.
16:20
And you are talking, you just spent a month in Chile.
16:23
Yeah, you're building your house.
16:24
So, but let's go back to this to the judging duties.
16:27
Can you tell us who won?
16:28
Pretty much everybody wins everything, right?
16:31
So there's six, four 27 Cobras in my class.
16:35
The people I judge with, and I won't say who they are
16:38
because you probably don't know unless
16:39
you're really deep dive into Cobras.
16:41
They were all known people
16:43
and we each saw different things.
16:46
We each looked at the electric.
16:47
Some cars didn't idle.
16:48
One car didn't have brake lights.
16:50
They did earlier, but that's not my problem.
16:52
The problem is at this moment in time
16:55
we'll judge it much deeper dive than we did at Amelia.
16:59
I mean, really like, oh, look at the shine
17:02
on that steering wheel.
17:03
It's over restored.
17:05
It should be more natural or they buffed that aluminum
17:08
and it should have used a Scotch brake pad.
17:10
I'm not kidding you, your father would have loved it,
17:12
but it was crazy and I'm like, okay,
17:16
I understand people like this
17:17
because I'm married to someone like this,
17:19
but we were half point apart.
17:23
I think the race cars, which being the SX-Wire car
17:26
and the four 27 SC cars were the most significant,
17:30
but the one car had original driveline,
17:33
it had original tires and the car is fantastic,
17:38
but it only had four races ever in its life,
17:41
but the car was the most original.
17:43
Exactly, what's that requirement,
17:44
that to be most original?
17:46
No, but that helps because the car is only original once,
17:50
I was gonna say, yeah.
17:51
And so after that, the SX car was there,
17:53
it had been rebodied three times, total three times.
17:57
New frame, new drive, like there was nothing original,
17:59
but the Firestone tires, yeah, but.
18:02
It's the easiest to ship.
18:04
Actually, the owner lives in Monaco.
18:06
That doesn't give you an idea of the kind of money
18:08
it takes to build that car.
18:10
I'm bringing it here.
18:11
And well, I've known this guy a long time,
18:13
he's a really interesting character,
18:15
but he took 20 years to locate all the parts.
18:19
Because people say I've got the hood hinge,
18:20
I've got the door hinge,
18:21
so he had to literally pay up huge to get all the pieces.
18:24
So that's the problem when you deal
18:26
with some of these super rare cars,
18:28
like whether it be a Dusenberg or a concept car
18:30
or a 427 Cobra, you have to find everything
18:34
to put it together.
18:35
But it was a great experience
18:37
and I hope to be back next year.
18:39
Well, and a great experience for everybody,
18:41
including us, including me.
18:43
So thank you for your time
18:44
and let's keep enjoying the weather, the cars, the people.
18:48
We have a lot more to see.
18:50
Don't forget the stories.
18:51
The stories are the best part.
18:51
There's always great stories.
18:52
Go and get your carpool, maybe.
18:54
You should go and buy it.
18:54
No, we're driving an Audi SQ8 back to the airport,
18:58
so not as cool as your cars.
19:04
That's a wrap for this episode
19:05
of the Total Car Score Podcast.
19:07
Want more expert takes on the hottest cars,
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industry trends, and insider insights?
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Join Javier Mota, Lauren Fix, and Carl Brower
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