THREE DAYS IN MONTEREY

Posted on August 29, 2026August 29, 2026 by MartynL

CGC’s Jim Palam spent THREE DAYS IN MONTEREY, shot almost 3,000 photos & boiled it down to 18 highlights in this special report. You might think that our report's lead photo, above, is of a group of historic racecars charging into the squeeze at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca's infamous Corkscrew during the 2026 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, but this is actually one of the many instances of congestion in Monterey street traffic! And, futile attempts to reach a Car Week destination...

MONTEREY CAR WEEK 2022 – THE AUCTIONS

Posted on September 21, 2022September 21, 2022 by MartynL

We asked our man Jim Palam to paddle his way through MONTEREY CAR WEEK 2022 – THE AUCTIONS in a bid to hammer-down a Car Guy Chronicles' Special Report. It is estimated that over 85,000 car enthusiasts made their way to California's beautiful Monterey Peninsula from destinations near and far to enjoy the pomp, pageantry and pizazz of Monterey Car Week. While Car Week events, rallies, races, lectures and auctions put a strain on the Peninsula's infrastructure and residents’ nerves, Monterey ...

MONTEREY CAR WEEK 2022: PEBBLE BEACH.

Posted on September 6, 2022 by MartynL

The 71st Concours d'Elegance delivers a lavish smorgasbord of show & go at MONTEREY CAR WEEK 2022: PEBBLE BEACH. David Stivers, the Chief Executive Officer of the 71st Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance reminds us in the event catalog's introduction letter that this historied and lauded event is an 'Elite Competition'. Yes, it's a showy-show known as much for its champagne flutes and celebrities as it is for its priceless coachwork and racing pedigrees. But it's also clear to everyone...

PORSCHE: WERKS REUNION MONTEREY 2021

Posted on September 9, 2021September 9, 2021 by MartynL

Having recently joined the Porsche owner’s ranks with his ‘Poor Man's' 914, Car Guy Chronicles’ Jim Palam took a Friday-the-13th detour from Car Week events in Monterey and headed to Seaside to catch the air-cooled action at the PORSCHE: Werks Reunion Monterey 2021. In the wide-wide-world of sports cars, Porsche is the one enthusiasts call The Perfect Athlete. Built with the promise of perfection, performance and reliability, over two-thirds of all Porsches ever built are still on the r...

MONTEREY 2021: ROLEX MOTORSPORTS REUNION!

Posted on August 24, 2021August 24, 2021 by MartynL

Jim Palam set his GPS and focus on WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, as he headed out into a dense morning fog to capture the action and excitement of Monterey Car Week's largest event – historic car racing at MONTEREY 2021: ROLEX MOTORSPORTS REUNION! I consider myself a good driver but I was unusually nervous heading into a heavy fog shrouding the long, ridgetop South Boundary Road that leads to the admissions checkpoint at Laguna Seca. The unforgiving fog was one thing, but the realiza...

MONTEREY MADNESS: IT’S A WRAP!

Posted on September 11, 2019September 13, 2019 by MartynL

CGC’s Jim Palam wraps up Monterey Car Week 2019 with a bevy of weird & wonderful deserts, perfect for savoring the hobby’s preeminent seven-day smorgasbord.

CGC’s Jim Palam wraps up Monterey Car Week 2019 with a bevy of weird & wonderful desserts, perfect for savoring the hobby’s preeminent seven-day smorgasbord. If you’re on a diet, you may want to skip this story. By now, car guys around the globe have consumed a veritable smorgasbord of news stories, video posts and water cooler tales about Monterey Car Week 2019. It’s appropriate that this ballyhooed extravaganza is at its purest construction a seven-day experience; this aligns nicely with a...

MONTEREY MADNESS: AUCTION ACTION!

Posted on September 2, 2019September 2, 2019 by MartynL

CGC's Jim Palam raises his camera – not paddle - at RM Sothebys, Gooding & Company & Mecum and grabs twenty standouts. By now you’ve heard the reports: 2019 Monterey Car Week auction results were soft. Not Charmin soft or Pillsbury Doughboy soft, but financially soft – like my timeworn leather wallet. Other analysts described the results as depressed. Not a depression like Shelly’s Frankenstein monster struggled with, or depressed like the seat of a plastic-webbed lawn chair. No, depress...

MONTEREY MADNESS: PEBBLE & THE QUAIL!

Posted on August 25, 2019August 25, 2019 by MartynL

CGC’s Jim Palam ‘captures’ 20 gems from Monterey Car Week’s lauded treasure troves. How do you do it? How do you pick just twenty cars from two of the highest-profile Monterey Car Week events – the 69th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering – now in its 17th year? It’s a daunting task, much worse than selecting your favorite faux meat snack or all-time best action hero. But car guys do what they gotta do: MONTEREY MADNESS: PEBBLE & THE QUAIL! So I started b...

MONTEREY: MCCALL MOTORWORKS REVIVAL!

Posted on August 21, 2019August 21, 2019 by MartynL

When it comes to world-class eclectic events that showcase luxury lifestyle and power, nobody does it better than Molly and Gordon McCall. Mike Matune represented the CGC at the 28th annual extravaganza. The traditional opening of Monterey Car Week again this year was Molly & Gordon McCall’s MONTEREY: MCCALL MOTORWORKS REVIVAL! at the Monterey Jet Center. This event combines the best of aircraft, motorcycles and cars with world-class cuisine and mixology. Adding to the treats for all the sen...

MONTEREY CAR WEEK 2018: THE PADDOCK!

Posted on September 11, 2018September 12, 2018 by MartynL

The pulsating paddock is the heart of WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Its function is to create an adrenaline-rush by pumping fossil-fuel-burning machinery into an 11-turn, 2.238-mile arterial adventure. When functioning properly, factory race teams and privateers are able to “live life” in the way we were all meant to – behind the wheels of rare, expensive, and sometimes dangerous racecars, blogs photojournalist Jim Palam.Exploring the paddock is one of my favorite things to do during Monterey...