What makes the Concours d’Lemons so popular?

When the first Pinto rolled onto the green at the inaugural Concours d’Lemons and the spectators let out a cheer, a quick look around revealed something I had not expected: a who’s who of heavy hitters of the car show world. 

I thought the show was just a fun joke to play on the car show world, honoring the “un-best” with categories like Most Dangerous and a top prize of Worst of Show. But I quickly released it was something much more, an event that put aside the quality of the cars and instead focused on the people, stories and emotions that they create. 

Attendance of automotive glitterati has steadily grown over the years. Today the judging corps is filled with heads of design from major automakers, media personalities and renowned collectors. It’s likely that person showing a Crosley at Lemons will also have a Delahaye in a major concours on the following day. Organizers, docents and judges from revered events line up to shower the Worst of Show winner with silly string. To understand why requires a short look back. 

It all started because I am a snarky jerk. Some 18 years earlier, I attended the Pebble Beach Concours for the first time. On that morning in August 1991, I was eager to show my freshly granted media credential at the first ticket checking kiosk I encountered.

The pre-dawn fog and unfamiliarity of the grounds meant I lost my way to the hallowed 18th fairway, missing all of the crowd control measures. I stumbled out on the green not via the official spectator entrance but rather an, at the time, unsecured service path. 

At that moment, the snarky jerk in me awoke with the realization that I could drive a Pinto station wagon out onto the lawn and park it before anyone stopped me! That idea remained fortunately unexecuted until 2009, when it blossomed at Monterey Car Week as the Concours d’Lemons and the Pintos received their own showcase event. 

From that first event, the Concours d’Lemons has grown to a series of events that have taken place in three countries and two continents. 

Photograph by J.A. Ackley

What strikes a note with automotive enthusiasts of every caste, collection size and credit score are all the same features of venerated concours-circuit staples–but with comedic consideration. Craftsmanship is honored, quality or questionable. Design that pleases or sears the eyes is brought into focus. Provenance, provincial or posh, is praised. 

Conversations about the cars at the Concours d’Lemons are as likely to be punctuated with laughter and remembrances as they are with backfires. The chord it strikes uses the same notes heard at other events but with a different voicing. The music that chord makes intentionally plays down the focus on purchase and restoration cost and turns up the sometimes rod-knocking sound of emotion. 

That makes the experience much more personal for casual enthusiasts and serious collectors alike. Each feels more familiarity and nostalgia for a rusty VW Bug than a Bugatti. Few of us have tales of road trips in a Talbot-Lago, but many remember playing tail gunner in the lumbering station wagons that frequently vie for Best Back Seat honors at Concours d’Lemons. 

It’s not just about the cars but the deeply personal narratives that unfold. The Concours d’Lemons serves to tell the stories, with a wink and a joke, that ring true for automotive connoisseurs of all stripes.

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