Eighteen months ago, nobody in their right mind predicted the incredible rise in values that struck the collectible car market alongside the massive boom in automotive enthusiasum that emerged throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Now, following over a year of of lockdown orders, social distancing, and canceled calendar mainstays, the only question remains whether the car community can build on that momentum throughout the process of emerging into the post-pandemic era.
Social media, online forums, and the simple prospect of getting out of the house safely by driving a car all contributed to the boom, without a doubt, but as the pandemic hopefully continues receding, every organized gathering I've attended in the last couple of months struggled to cope with massive crowds—proving the power of anxious, excited gearheads ready to once again visit with friends and enjoy the cars they love in person. And now, perhaps the most highly anticipated event of the annual automotive calendar returns early next month as enthusiasts from around the globe flock to Monterey Car Week.
Before travel plans solidify and hotel reservations entirely sell out, I spoke with The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering Director Courtney Ferrante about coordinating a massive event amid an unthinkable crisis, as well as what to expect at this year's (even more) highly exclusive motoring celebration.
The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering Director Courtney Ferrante
Ferrante joined The Peninsula Signature Events 15 years ago following experience organizing golf tournaments around the Monterey and Carmel Valley regions, steadily working up to her current year-round role leading a team of five other coworkers as they plan The Quail's four annual events. She might never have predicted her own career in the automotive arena, but somewhat fortuitously, Ferrante grew up surrounded by cars.
"My uncle was in restoration," she told me, "So he always had something new in his garage. And my dad was in the automotive business so he was kind of always buying and selling cars. As a kid, he would buy a car and it was old and my sister and I were embarrassed. It was like a 1966 Lincoln Continental with suicide doors and he would want to take us to school in it. And we were like 'No, dad, just drive us in the truck!' So I was always around it but it wasn’t until I started working at Quail that it became my life."
The Quail's Four Annual Events
Every year, Ferrante and her team spend all 12 months organizing those four Quail-related gatherings—booking vendors, selling tickets, and coordinating logistics for the stunning cars and motorcycles that arrive hoping to steal the show.
"There’s four events that take place under the umbrella of the Peninsula Hotel Signature Events," she said, "Two in May and two in August. We have the Quail Ride and the Quail Motorcycle gathering. And then same thing, in August, we do the Quail Rally which is Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Car Week and then Friday is the main event, which is The Quail."
Of course, the plan to hold four events in one year quickly evaporated in 2020 as the specter of Covid-19 loomed, grew, and then eventually ground America to a halt in March.
Canceling Last Year's Gathering
"Last year was difficult," Ferrante remembered. "Obviously, canceling the event took a lot of time. We were already sold out for attendees, so a lot of the back end was detailing the cancellation and the vendors—everything was pretty much set to go."
As with so many businesses that closed doors due to lockdowns and events that required cancellation, The Quail's staff still wanted to organize something, anything at all, as a substitute for in-person engagement.
"We always wanted to make sure that the Quail was still in people’s minds," Ferrante said, "So we partnered with the Petersen Automotive Museum and we joined their digital Car Week and that was a lot of fun. That was how we kind of tried to stay relevant."
Adapting To A New Online Format For 2020
For attendees who look forward to visiting The Quail every summer in Monterey, the cancellation probably came as less of a surprise than as yet another bit of fun vaporized by a horrendous 2020. And joining the Petersen's streaming content never fully replaced a live event, of course, but Ferrante also turned to social media as a way to deliver The Quail to the masses.
"We did what we call The Spirit of The Quail," she told me, explaining, "So our portion of their big week was our finalists and our award that we selected. We did a social media competition and had people submit their cars that would best show The Spirit of The Quail. It’s one of the awards that we give out at The Quail year after year and it goes to the heart and the soul of the car. It’s a pretty special award that we recognize, so we decided to make that the special feature. And the actual winner, Joe Hurwich, he had the 1949 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500. Joe’s been a longtime supporter of The Quail so that was really neat to see him win because he’s shown a car almost every year."
I wondered out loud to Ferrante just how much the sorting process that led to choosing Hurwich and his Alfa could have possibly resembled a normal year's selection, but she responded by laying out how much The Quail's normal-year protocol already differs from a more traditional Councours d'Elegance points system.
Not Quite A Concours d'Elegance Judging System
"All of our judging, even at The Quail, is more fun that it is at a full Concours judging system," Ferrante said. "We have all of our entrants judge each others' cars in their class. The idea is to make it a fun afternoon for everybody, and we think that the actual entrants in their class are kind of the experts in their class. So they pick the best vehicle in their class—not their own, they can’t vote for their own—but with The Spirit of the Quail, we actually had the Motorsports Council review all the applications and they narrowed it down to six finalists and eventually the winner."
The Spirit of The Quail may have lived on as an award last year in place of a live event but the true spirit of the gathering returns at (almost) full force this summer, with featured themes like Cars of Curiosity, 50th Anniversary of the Alfa Romeo Montreal, and Automotive Couture, French Cars. And simultaneously, the 24th Annual Bonhams Motorcar Auction should provide plenty of bidding action on the same grounds.
Even More Exclusive This Year (With More Space, Too)
Knowing that Ferrante typically works throughout a year-round planning process, I asked at what point the team reached a decision on whether The Quail could, in any way, return for this summer. She explained that the planning never stopped, but rather required bit more finesse.
"We were making all our plans but we were not signing contracts," Ferrante said, "Kind of getting everything detailed, set up, booked, and about two months ago it was kind of like, 'Okay, this is going to happen.' And that was our real go-time."
But the plans also include some changes to the usual docket that account for the pandemic and, specifically, the mindset of attendees who might still feel hesitant around large groups of people. To assuage concerned parties, Ferrante and her team cut attendance by 1,000 and booked additional outdoor space that expands the event's field in raw square-footage terms. The efforts all translate to 200 cars and somewhere around 6,000 people set to attend next month—an even more exclusive version of what was perhaps already the most exclusive event at Monterey Car Week.
"We’ve always been known for the limited attendance," Ferrante said, "Even before Covid, we would sell out. We want to make it special for our guests to be able to see the cars one-on-one and not be three or four people deep to look at the cars. So that’s been kind of our vision from the beginning to make it a very beautiful garden party with beautiful cars and a lot of space."
Prize-Winning Cars Return To The Quail Lodge
Highlights of the cars slated to appear at The Quail this year include a 1931 Duesenberg Derham Tourster, one of eight built on a wooden-frame chassis, a 1937 Bugatti 57S Gangloff representing the pinaccle of pre-war supercars, a 1978 Lamborghini LP400 Countach that benefits from an extensive nuts-and-bolts restoration courtesy of Lambo's Periscopio program, and a 1967 Shelby Amerian King Cobra Can-Am racecar. With so many incredible cars on hand year in and year out, I asked Ferrante what she typically remembers as her favorite part of the weekend.
"For me, it’s seeing it all come together," she responded. "My team works year round on this making it happen, it’s like this giant jigsaw puzzle and you’re putting all the pieces together. And as soon as event week happens, you start to see the big picture. The cars start to arrive on Thursday, the tents are being installed starting on Monday. So you just see the progression that week and then finally it hits and it’s there and it’s magical."
And how about a favorite car, now that she's fully enmeshed in an event hosting the world's most elegant, historically significant, and gorgeous makes and models?
"I don’t think I have a favorite," she laughed, "There’s just so many stories with each of the cars that are out there. I guess it’s like picking a favorite child, you just can’t do it.
Ferrante herself drives an Audi A6 but, perhaps thanks to such mind-boggling exposure each summer at The Quail, she remembers her earlier years with cars all the more these days.
"My first car was a Karmann Ghia that was pretty cool," she recalled, "But I was definitely too young to be driving an old car that didn’t start when it was supposed to. Driving home, the lights would go out—but I wish I still had that car!"
Sources: peninsula.com, whatsupmonterey.com, motortrend.com, and bonhams.com.