S6E46 – Monterey Car Week: More about the people than the cars

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Welcome to the Total Car Score podcast, bringing you the world of cars from inside the car.

And now your hosts, Carl Brower, Lauren Ficks and Javier Mota.

Well, here we are sitting in the shady spot that we found here at the beautiful Pebble Beach Concourse Delegance.

How are you, Lauren?

I am great. How are you, Javier?

Good. I'm doing so well.

We're at a sunny, starting to get warm Pebble Beach morning, aren't we?

Yeah, and we're going to recognize this voice because he starts and finish every podcast.

How are you, Paul?

Good, good. Thank you for having me.

This is actually my first Pebble Beach Concourse.

Oh, different from us.

Yes, and our first podcast together.

I mean, you are in every episode ever, which is like almost six years and 500, 600.

And he was nice enough from the beginning to share his beautiful radio voice to do the intro and outro.

So thank you for that.

Well, thank you for having me.

No, you just say that at the beginning.

Thank you.

But anyway, so, Lauren, we started, what, five in the morning?

4.30 in the morning.

I got up at 3.30 in the morning.

No way. Wow.

We left our hotel at 4.45.

We parked way out because when you're a judge that's older judges, they haven't parked close.

Of course, I'm one of the youngest judges, so they had me as far out as I could be.

San Francisco? San Francisco?

Well, it was about a 20-minute walk to get around where the auction was.

We walked down, saw the car's come on, got Paul a hat, got one for my husband.

Let's explain what it is because this is a hungry Don Patron hat.

They're hard to get.

Kind of silly because it's coffee, donuts, and tradition, which sounds a little, but it's valuable.

It's very exclusive. It's hard to get.

People want their Don Patron hats.

And we fight for it sometimes.

The lady went by me. I had to like do the New York, I used to live in New York City.

I used to do the New York thing. Hey, give me a hat.

I would have got one otherwise.

It's Beanie Babies from the 80s, except for you.

Exactly.

Once we accomplished that task, getting the precious hat, we started to see the cars coming in,

and then you actually working.

I started judging.

We had to walk from the front of the 18th green to the back of the 18th green,

where the tennis club was just actually outside of it.

My first year judging, and I'm honored.

I judge at Amelia Island, Hilton Head, I've judged all over the country,

but this was the first time here, and it was completely different.

I'm sure.

So what it takes to become a judge?

Tell people because I'm sure.

I think I got in because of the class, and it was Cobra.

So I raced to Cobra, and I was pregnant with my son,

but we restored Cobra, we restored Shelby's.

My whole life is about cars, and so they're looking for younger people.

And that's how Paul needs to be a judge.

So he judges at Amelia, but they're always looking for people that know the culture,

that are deep dives.

Like your son is like that too, just like deep dive into things.

Yeah, and I believe in Amelia, they have a category of judges who are very young

that probably don't even know much about cars,

so they find something cool about the car, like either the design.

They've seen it in a movie, they've seen it in a video game or something like that, right?

Yeah, absolutely.

Some of my first experiences with a lot of the cars I'm seeing here,

BMW 507 and the Maserati, all the names are 350 GT,

and of course the Shelby Cobra, although I have a special exception because...

Okay, who had a tell the story about that?

Who's telling the story, Paul?

Okay, so it was Lime Rock weekend, Liberty weekend at Lime Rock.

1993.

1993. Oh my God.

I was born in December.

She was racing in September and the car ended up breaking down,

the fuel pump failed.

Maybe the expert weight.

Yeah, that's for fun.

That was a good one too, but ESPN too, because they had just started

and they interviewed her, asked if the car was bucking or kicking,

or if it was the baby.

The best part of the story is...

So you were how many months pregnant at?

Seven and a half.

Oh my God.

No one was going to touch her, everybody was driving irreplaceable race cars.

I know, but still, you say it's a race car.

But you know, you're driving on the street too.

So, I mean, everybody knew, and I said,

anyone that had an issue with it passed me wide or let me pass.

And they were all good.

Everybody knew.

The people in the class knew, but the people running the event didn't.

And as soon as they found out, they came right up to me and said,

you're done racing.

And I said, you know, where does it say it in the general competition rules

they call them GCRs, that you can't race well pregnant.

And they go, it will on Tuesday.

So the best part of the story is that was Labor Day weekend.

This is years later, my husband's racing for a guy named Tony Ave

and prototypes in the Trans Am series.

And we're kind of wasting time.

You know how that is, you stand around the pits.

And I asked Tony, I said, how long you've been on the competition

board for the SCCA?

And he goes, oh, since the 80s.

I said, you know, somewhere in the 90s,

there was some girl who was racing pregnant.

And I had a limerock or something.

Do you remember who that was?

And he goes, I don't remember.

But I remember the meeting was an emergency meeting Tuesday morning.

We got to put a rule in place.

Exactly what happened?

So they put a rule in, you can't race well pregnant.

And I always say, well, does that mean when the EPT6 says it?

What is the law called?

Yeah.

Did they put your name on it?

No, I didn't get the credit.

They should have.

So when I told Tony.

The law refakes rule.

So the best part is I said to Tony,

do you remember who that girl was?

He goes, I do not.

I go, it was me.

I swear you could have knocked him over with a feather.

It was the best part of the story.

And so now my son can tell everyone he

raced before he was pregnant literally.

I think the addendum to the end of that story

is now 32 years later, almost to the weekend, about a month

away, I am reunited with the car that I raced in

before I was born.

And I didn't even see it.

We're judging 427, that's a 289.

And he goes, the car's here.

I'm like, the car's not here.

It's in England.

He goes, no, it's right there.

There it was.

That's mind blowing.

So to me, I'm not, as you everybody knows,

I'm not like a crazy car person like you guys are.

But this is what I love about it.

Like there's always a story.

There's always a personal story and memory and event

like that or something.

And that's the beautiful thing about the car.

The car's on their own.

They're beautiful.

But even if you're not a car guy,

the stories that surround cars are always fascinating.

Because you always need a car to go somewhere or meet

someone or have an accident.

So I guess that's why this event is so special.

It's about the people and the cars.

Exactly.

It's absolutely true.

So what else have you guys seen?

You know, I'm here with Lamborghini.

I saw the unveil of the fenomenal.

Phenomenal.

Is that really what they're calling it?

Yeah.

Phenomenal.

Well, that means phenomenal in Spanish and in Italian.

Well, you know, all Lamborghini or most of the Lamborghini

names are bulls, fighting bulls.

Fighting bulls.

And that's what I love Lamborghini,

because I can pronounce them correctly.

Oh, because I'm Italian.

Right.

Phenomenal.

It sounds better when you say it.

You know, yeah.

Contache, maybe not so much.

But matador, I can say.

Porcielago.

Porcielago, I can say.

You said it pretty good.

Thank you.

It sounds so much better.

So anyway, so what did you were saying about the fenomenal?

Yeah, it's just their latest, like what they call few of,

which is kind of interesting, they call it the few of series,

meaning they don't make very many of these.

Like, I think they made nine revintons, the first one

of these kind of cars.

And now this is the seventh one.

And they're going to make 29.

So this is a high volume one.

It's 3.2 million.

And it's already sold out.

They're all gone.

Yeah, they're all gone.

I mean, these are 3.2 million, plus, plus.

Yeah, yeah, and then you'll be spoken for who knows how much

more.

But an amazing looking car, I really

think it's like this clean style.

Did you get to drive it?

No, I did not get to drive it.

All I got to drive was a Revolto.

They gave me a Revolto to drive up.

That's not you, but they gave you one to drive up.

Like, brand new, right?

So that's the great.

So I'm making a joke when I say all, obviously.

I mean, they're like, hey, do you

want to drive a Revolto up to Pebble Beach this year?

And I'm like, I think you're still

saying yes to these questions.

And it lands in my driveway, and it has 63 miles on it.

Right over at Sintagana.

You know, because I wasn't stressed enough

about having a $600,000, $700,000 car.

I need a brand new so that every possible car is my flaw.

I'm going to give it back.

And if there's any flaws, they

know where they happen, because the car was brand new.

But yeah, just a fabulous car.

And drove it up here.

And I'm going to drive it back this afternoon.

Shooting video on it.

And all we've got some great drone footage out

on 70-mile drive yesterday with the ocean and all.

So fun car, fun car.

0 to 60 in.

They say 2.5 car and driver already got 2.2.

What did you get?

You want to reveal that?

I'm not supposed to say that.

Carl does drag race.

He's got some really fast cars.

Yeah, you had the demon.

What's made for that?

Yeah, yeah.

Now you've got the demon 170.

I've had two demons.

Now I've got the 170.

But yeah, so the car is just a fabulous car.

1,001 horsepower, 783 pound-feet of torque,

217 plus mile per hour top speed.

Wow.

I drove another 1,000-plus car that's CL-1, the Corvette.

Yeah, but you drove one too, yes.

How was that?

It's really good.

I mean, again, we're not going to compare it yet

to Ferrari, or Lambos, or anything.

But I think Corvette is doing a great job with the new cars.

And it's faster than the Ford.

It's faster.

Yeah, it's faster.

No, that's the point.

I mean, the value performance ratio in the Corvette

is fantastic, I don't think any other car can beat it.

It always is.

So 1,064 horsepower is easy to drive,

but you've got to say because let's say the car that you

drove or rode when you weren't even born,

how many horsepower's that had?

It was a 289, maybe had 300, 400 horsepower maybe.

So we're talking about almost.

But that's a pop can.

That's a deep.

I know.

You think about it.

It's dangerous.

You're driving with a piece of spaghetti as a steering wheel.

Yeah, and it weighs like, what, 2,300 pounds?

Maybe 20.

I've always said it's like a rocket's

dropped to a pop can.

Exactly.

It's nothing.

It'll crumple.

So yeah, the ratio for power weight is way higher.

But again, we're talking about 1,000 horsepower

with quote unquote normal cars, production cars.

Yeah, no, the fact that 1,000 horsepower is the new 500.

My demon 170, the new Corvette, the new Rivalto, it's like, oh,

you've got to hit 1,000 now, or no one wants to talk to you.

It's crazy.

So Paul, besides the car that you rode before you were born,

what else did you like on the show so far?

There's been a lot of really interesting cars here.

There's mostly older marks, 20s, 30s, 40s,

lots of really interesting one-off things.

There's even a whole section for these miniature cars

that come out of Italy that have little,

they have less than 100 horsepower,

and I think one of them had less than 50 horsepower.

It's like a golf cart.

But this is exactly the kind of place

that you would come if you want to see the most interesting,

the most special, and the best cars.

The rarest sometimes.

Yeah, the rarest, the best kept,

the best restored versions of these cars.

Concord like this is the rare occasion

where you can really dip your toes in and talk to the owners

and get a sense of what these cars are actually all about.

And even if you aren't completely

passionate about the automotive industry.

You appreciate something about it.

Here's a chance for you to learn something

and get involved.

Yeah, and it's impossible.

It's funny because you see a lot of people on the lawn

and you know, you can tell by what they're saying

or how they look.

They're not necessarily car people like we're saying,

but it's impossible to ignore the atmosphere

and the level of speciality.

Yeah, they just look at these cars

and they can tell they're like works of art.

Thousands of hours.

I saw a lot, I heard a lot of reactions

like that of the concept lawn.

What is that?

Who makes that?

Why did they make these wheels so big?

I saw some cars I'd never even heard the names before

and they look good.

Don't get me wrong.

Go over there and we will take a go over there

and take a look.

I already went, and it's pretty amazing.

It always is.

It always is neat.

They look like spaceships.

Exactly.

But that also gives you an idea of what's coming up.

Like for example, the other way

is also the Corvette concepts.

Yes.

Oh, the Vision Gran Turismo.

The Gran Turismo.

Those are like some people didn't like them.

I'm getting a lot of comments on my review of it.

But like the Gran Turismo again,

going back to the point of like,

maybe if you don't really like cars,

but you like video games.

He's a gamer.

Yeah, that's what I was saying.

Video games are the stepping point

for the current generation of car buyers.

Where we just saw at RM Auction,

a R33 GT-R Nismo 400R, very rare.

Super cool looking.

And it went for big money

because the generation of kids

that grew up loving those cars

can now afford to buy those cars.

And they recognize how special those cars are.

Exactly.

So working with Gran Turismo,

working with Sony and PlayStation,

is a great opportunity for them to reach that audience

so that when that next generation

is old enough to buy a Corvette,

they'll probably want to go and buy a Corvette.

Exactly.

Did you go to any of the auctions at all?

No, I didn't.

I didn't have any time.

That's why we pay our own way to go

and I don't get hosted because we did RM,

we did Broad Arrow, we did Gooding.

And I love, I got him to sit.

Oh, it was so much fun.

We stayed right to the end.

We saw some, you know, some of the high-end people,

like the guy from Curated, you know.

We just saw all these high-end buyers

and they're, we saw one guy, six million, seven million

and he's flipping his paddle, I'm thinking.

I wanna tell you a little story.

Who is this guy?

I wanna tell you a little story

about last year in the auctions,

I'm sitting outside of the backstage.

Yeah.

And I'm waiting for my shuttle to go back

because this is where BMW auctioned the first M5

and I'm waiting with someone else.

And I see someone across the hall

looking at me and starts walking at me

and he comes and says like,

Hi, do you remember me from Amelia?

And I start playing the game because I wanna say,

Oh sure, how are you?

Nice to see you again.

And he hands me his business card in a very elegant way,

like put it with both hands.

Like, remember, I can manage all your assets

around the world.

So I go, whenever you want.

And I took the card and I gave it to the person

who was in it and said, Oh yeah,

he will call you later.

So the party.

So Javier, you look like a high roller.

So they got the wrong guy.

The story of my life, like full dentinolio maker.

Yeah, yeah.

Well, I was gonna say, I hope you said them.

Well, I hope around the world includes Chile

because that's where some of my holdings are.

But anyway, this is amazing.

And you are talking, you just spent a month in Chile.

Yeah, you're building your house.

So, but let's go back to this to the judging duties.

Yes.

Can you tell us who won?

Pretty much everybody wins everything, right?

No.

So there's six, four 27 Cobras in my class.

The people I judge with, and I won't say who they are

because you probably don't know unless

you're really deep dive into Cobras.

They were all known people

and we each saw different things.

We each looked at the electric.

Some cars didn't idle.

One car didn't have brake lights.

They did earlier, but that's not my problem.

The problem is at this moment in time

we'll judge it much deeper dive than we did at Amelia.

I mean, really like, oh, look at the shine

on that steering wheel.

It's over restored.

It should be more natural or they buffed that aluminum

and it should have used a Scotch brake pad.

I'm not kidding you, your father would have loved it,

but it was crazy and I'm like, okay,

I understand people like this

because I'm married to someone like this,

but we were half point apart.

I think the race cars, which being the SX-Wire car

and the four 27 SC cars were the most significant,

but the one car had original driveline,

it had original tires and the car is fantastic,

but it only had four races ever in its life,

but the car was the most original.

Exactly, what's that requirement,

that to be most original?

No, but that helps because the car is only original once,

right?

I was gonna say, yeah.

And so after that, the SX car was there,

it had been rebodied three times, total three times.

New frame, new drive, like there was nothing original,

but the Firestone tires, yeah, but.

It's the easiest to ship.

Actually, the owner lives in Monaco.

That doesn't give you an idea of the kind of money

it takes to build that car.

I'm bringing it here.

And well, I've known this guy a long time,

he's a really interesting character,

but he took 20 years to locate all the parts.

Because people say I've got the hood hinge,

I've got the door hinge,

so he had to literally pay up huge to get all the pieces.

So that's the problem when you deal

with some of these super rare cars,

like whether it be a Dusenberg or a concept car

or a 427 Cobra, you have to find everything

to put it together.

But it was a great experience

and I hope to be back next year.

You never know.

Well, and a great experience for everybody,

including us, including me.

So thank you for your time

and let's keep enjoying the weather, the cars, the people.

Yeah, it's fun.

We have a lot more to see.

And the stories.

Don't forget the stories.

The stories are the best part.

There's always great stories.

Go and get your carpool, maybe.

You should go and buy it.

No, we're driving an Audi SQ8 back to the airport,

so not as cool as your cars.

Thank you.

Thank you all.

Thank you.

That's a wrap for this episode

of the Total Car Score Podcast.

Want more expert takes on the hottest cars,

industry trends, and insider insights?

Join Javier Mota, Lauren Fix, and Carl Brower

every week for the ultimate auto talk.

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