MotorEthos

Well, to start off, how many car shows have you gone to that are serving fresh oysters on a half shell and free flowing champagne? Exactly.

Sports car racing... it's a sport held close to my heart. And when the Tudor United Sports Car Championship is in Monterey my happy place is a quick drive to the California coast. This year the series is in year two of a marriage between ALMS and Grand-Am and by my track side observation there's no annulment in sight. Teams, drivers and fans all seem to be benefiting from the merger.

Tucked away in the small charming foothill town of Murphys, CA is Ironstone Vineyards which hosted it's annual Ironstone Concours d'Elegance on the last Saturday of September. This years' event featured nearly 300+ antique, classic and sports cars from makes like Packard, Duesenberg, Pierce-Arrow, Morgan, Pantera, Corvette, Porsche and more.

You may think that shelling out 500 bucks for a car show is way too much, and maybe you’re right. But if you’re an automobile or motorcycle enthusiast, then The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering is more than just a car show; it’s one of the greatest events you’ll ever attend in your life – period.

As promised last year we made a valiant effort to attend this years' Monterey Car Week otherwise known as holy week to automobile enthusiasts. One of the premier events any first-timer has to attend is the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. This stage plays host to the most exquisite vehicles in the world. The crowd is seduced with polished chrome, perfect paint, untouched leather, and the spectacular views to Stillwater Cove.

The Concours d'Lemons is the unrelenting oil stain to the otherwise polished blue blood events of the peninsula during Monterey Car Week. This is a car show for the downtrodden and destitute vehicles that saw their best days behind them as they rolled off the assembly line. None were exciting to look at then, and time hasn't been kind to them since. But through this egregious event their owners get to drag them off the driveway for ugliest bragging rights.

Carmel by the Sea is the perfect sleepy town backdrop to gather your friends and family and look at some amazing automobiles, but don't just come for the cars.

True to form, Monterey Week is back in full swing this August and we've been anticipating it since last year when we provided 'remote' coverage of the festivities . Well this year is a game changer because we'll be part of the experience covering the action. With that in mind, we break down some of the signature events.

Race season is in full swing and being race fans we took the opportunity to soak in the Tudor United Sports Car Championship at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. If you've been stuck under a rock we'll forgive you for not knowing this is the inaugural race season for the new series that was conceived by the merger of the American LeMans and Grand-Am Series. We can tell you that the marriage, arguably in the honeymoon stage, looks to be off to a great start and we're looking forward to following the races for the continuation of the series. But this post isn't going to recount the blow-by-blow track action and pour stats into your inner monologue. There are dedication professional sports journalists for that. No, instead we're going to tell you the story of taking a sports car fan to their first race and watching that excitement evolve into racing's newest fan.

The latest Cars and Coffee Euro Sunday event held at the Sacramento California Auto Museum had us wiggling in our seats all the way home. But not because of the salted caramel mochas or strawberry banana smoothies (although I'm sure those had something to do with it).

We were invited on the 8th Annual Fall Colors Moto Tour in October. This is an event about Roads, People, and Fun and we feel fortunate to be a part of this enthusiastic group. Drivers come as far away as Seattle, Phoenix and Sun Valley to enjoy the color change that Lake Tahoe has to offer.

For the second time this year we've been invited on a 3-day rally. Our first rally (The Spring Colors Moto Tour), back in April, was the genesis of MotorEthos. We met so many people across all generations we were inspired to share that enthusiasm with anyone who'd listen, read, and follow us. So you can imagine our excitement when we were asked to return for the sister event; The Fall Colors Moto Tour. In fact, we had so much fun the first night we closed down the bar with about 5 other blokes which complicated day two's trip. (Life lesson: don't try to out drink an Englishman). Perhaps we should do a post on what not to do on a 3-day road trip; at least if you want to actually make it through... But we digress. For our first rally we were fortunate to have a friend generously bestow us with a loaner 1966 Porsche 912. Prepped and ready to go he tossed us the keys and we joined the caravan. This time we've got our own cars and it's time to do all the front en...

If you like car shows and hot rods there's no better place to celebrate the custom rod culture than the rolling hills of Pleasanton, CA at the Good Guys 27th West Coast Nationals Presented By FlowMaster . We spent the better part of our Saturday at the Alameda Fairgrounds hoofing it through polished clear coats and conditioned leather at one of the best American car shows on the planet.

The results are in from the Gooding & Company Auction from Monterey Week and living up to their reputation several records were broken. The specialty classic car auction house cleared $112 million during it's weekend under the lights. Just shy of the nearly $114 million of four wheeled beauties sold last year. Today and we check in to see how we fared with our predictions .

Like you, we day dream. Big. Bold. Beautiful day dreams. And as we gear up for this weekend's Gooding & Company auction we sit down to pick our favorite lots to populate our hypothetical dream garage. The assortment of cars is fascinating and we like so many it's hard to narrow them down. So some ground rules. Okay one rule; keep it under 500,000 bucks. This is for two reasons 1) it makes things more interesting when rules are applied and 2) nearly everything above that price point is a no-brainer.

You've been aching to get to this show for a few years now and you've finally managed to pry yourself away from those crushing work deadlines and familial responsibilities to enjoy a long weekend away surrounded by the smell of fresh leather interiors, Meguiar's Chrome polish and tire dressing. Now it's time to tackle the task of your itinerary! If we were lucky enough to attend this year's 2013 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance this is how we'd setup our rolling start, pit stops, and final lap.

As if you didn't already know, the 2013 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is being held this weekend in Monterey, CA. Only the most rare and beautiful automobiles are invited to this world class event which has raised over $16 million for charities over the past 60 years since it's inception in November of 1950. Tickets to the event range from $225 for General Admission to $600 for VIP 'Club d'Elegance passes.  Find them here.

Fun. Friendly. Free. Those are three words that can easily sum up the North Valley Vintage Touring Club's 3rd Annual Volcano 200 this coming weekend, August 4th. Now in it's junior year, the club founders have developed a mid-summer tour that brings together the camaraderie of classic car owners for all makes and models of pre-1980 cars and motorcycles.

Whether you decide to keep it completely stock, or switch out the factory seats for a nice set of Recaros and drop an M3 engine in it - the BMW 2002 & 1600 is a timeless classic with endless amounts of potential. We were in Brisbane, CA this weekend checking out the Bay Area 02 Swap & Show. Event information for this and past events can be found here.