The End of a Good Run?

"Groagun" (groagun) 08/19/2015 at 13:40 • Filed to: None

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I thought this photo taken from this Jalopnik post:

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,,, was perhaps the best illustration as to why I think this event and the many just like it may be waning in popularity and even coming to an end in the not to distant future.

There are lots of reasons for my prediction but one has bugged me continously for a very long time and the recent events in America itself over the last 12 months have made me ask even harder questions around this one particular subject.

It’s not that young people don’t seem to be in love with cars like previous generations, nor the idea of outright autonomous driving and the loss of ‘need to own’ a vehicle, nor the impending implosion of the industry itself with out of control costs, nor the seeming rise of new players on the block like Tesla, Google or Apple or any other possible reason on the horizon you can think of.

No, I think it’s a much broader and complex question about society, life and the relaization of what constitutes a happy life. I know this will make many of you mad and even feel that this has no place in OPPOland or anywhere near the sacred pages of car-enthusiasm but, I’m going to bring it up anyways: Are there any Black people or non whites who attend this event?

All the pictures I see and have seen from this years or any years past are a complete wash of white privilege. Seemingly in one event that at least all of us who consider ourselves ‘car guys’ pay attention to, encapsulates social injustice and a system of inequity in one seminal moment each year.

Yes I do know that some peoples of non white communities do attend and have cars entered into the show, it’s not %100, anymore. Let’s not lie to ourselves however, this is a small private club for members only and only if the existing members like you. I am not condemning the organizers or any of the participants or officials: I’m quite sure the event would like more participation when and if possible by new peoples.

The events leading up to this years Concours d’Elegance I spoke of earlier, Donald Trumps lead in the Republican primary and his vile hatred of ‘Rapist’ Mexicans and illegals, the seeming out of control rascist police departments and their actions in the last year, but not limited to one year only, the fight, an actual fight, over the removal of the confederate flag on public lands, I’m not even going to mention monuments, park names or even highways named after conferate generals and many more public policy issues and movements have left America, in particular, with a very tough and long road to travel.

You may see this event and all others like it as nothing but celbrations of cars and car culture and I am not here to tell you otherwise. All I ask is that you take a deeper look at the life we have carved out for ourselves and ask if really it’s fair and a level playing field.

The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is a wonderful show but understand that it is a private club and party for the privileged. You and I are not invited to join and the deck is stacked against us when it comes to joining. If ever there was a showcase for white supremicy and power, this is it and this is why it will change in the not to distant future: That will be a good thing!

Party-vi > Groagun 08/19/2015 at 13:49

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Obviously someone in blackface as we know those types of people aren’t allowed at Pebble Beach.

/really?

Goggles Pizzano > Party-vi 08/19/2015 at 13:56

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V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > Groagun 08/19/2015 at 14:00

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Really ?

Groagun > V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches 08/19/2015 at 14:21

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Yes!

RallyWrench > Groagun 08/19/2015 at 14:57

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That’s a bit much. It’s a party for rich people, period. Yeah, I’m a white guy, but I sure as hell don’t get to play on that field either. I can’t afford the gate fee, much less the cars. I live 2 hours away and used to go to the Historics at Laguna Seca every year, but as costs have climbed I gave up. I’ve never even considered going to Pebble Beach.

There are myriad injustices perpetrated against non-whites in America, all are outrageous and deeply offensive. This is not one of them; it is purely a function of money. While I’m sure we can draw a line from huge money to white privilege, this isn’t the place for it. There are several international and non-white collectors playing on such levels, and many came from nothing, but the focus is not on the owners, it’s on the cars.

Donald Osborne writes for Sports Car Market and is deeply involved in the collector car world, often writing about amazing and vastly expensive events he’s attended around the world. He’s also a black man. I’d be curious to hear what his take on the matter is.

Instead of calling it the end of a good run, perhaps it’s the beginning of another one? A lot of these old rich white dudes are going to die soon, and the market will not support the prices they’ve paid for their collections. The whole demographic is changing, and the hobby will adapt or die. Other pressures include fuel costs, legislation, environmental concerns, and the loss of the people who actually know how to care for such old machines. Not many people know what a carburetor is anymore, much less how to tune multiples of them, or what a magneto is, or how to pour babbit bearings, or manually tune an engine’s spark timing or oiling, or a hundred other things old cars need.

vondon302 > Groagun 08/19/2015 at 16:16

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Two words dream cruise.

bhardoin > RallyWrench 08/19/2015 at 18:12

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Definitely this. When the concours started, all these old Deusenbergs and Mercedes were as relatively old as Muscle cars are today. And every year, they get more expensive and lose even more relevance. I think that exclusivity and disconnect may eventually sink the show as all these old white men die off, but race won’t come into play. This event is already as irrelevant to a white layman’s car culture as a black layman’s.

Groagun > RallyWrench 08/19/2015 at 19:20

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Several great points and some, well, no so great: let me explain.

“,,,, but the focus is not on the owners, it’s on the cars .” Your right and that is why said it was a bit of stretch and that the event itself is not the problem. The problem is the system itself and this simply is the looking glass too which I used to illustrate some inequities.

“ Donald Osborne writes for Sports Car Market and is deeply involved in the collector car world ” Once again true but does this not exemplify what I was saying. You named one, one and only one because I bet you struggle to even think of another. There are others and as I said. “ Yes I do know that some peoples of non white communities do attend and have cars entered into the show” I clearly stated that the event is not %100 white and I too would like to hear from collector professionals like Mr. Osborne on this subject.

Your last paragraph is brilliant and I want to add to it. I definitively do not call the Concour d’Elegance at the end of it’s run, that is why I put the question mark there. Your assertion that perhaps it’s the beginning of another good run, just different is spot on, if we create that and let that be.

Be prepared for the push back from the privileged white power structure though, as that is what we are seeing from one side of the country to the other. That is the basis of the reference to Donald Trump and the other outrageously and deeply offensive actions and words I mentioned. When a group feels that power is being taken from them and things are changing, ugly situations arise and protectionism abounds. People fear change and instead of embracing it, they fight against it. The most profound way I can explain this is to point out that most people implore an outrageous offense to shore up their defense: the best defense is an outrageuos offense.

Groagun > Goggles Pizzano 08/19/2015 at 19:22

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Haha!

Nauraushaun > Groagun 08/19/2015 at 19:39

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I’d say black people don’t seem as interested in this sort of thing. Poncy old rich-guy cars that spend their lives in garages in flawless condition. Horses for courses.

The only notable black car collector I can think of is that boxer guy, Mayweather? And he literally just collects them to show off how much money he has.

RallyWrench > Groagun 08/19/2015 at 20:56

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Thanks for the reply.

You’re right, I do struggle to think of other black or other nonwhite collectors off the top of my head but I also can’t name more than a few white guys, and in any case many of those names are people who are famous for reasons other than their collections (Reggie Jackson, Leno and Seinfeld are examples). This isn’t denying that it’s a white-dominated side of the hobby (because it undeniably is, and painfully so) but it’s not that way because of any latent racism. It’s rich guys buying stuff they like. They just happen to be predominately white, and maybe rich black dudes like different stuff than rich white ones, for whatever reason.

I considered your qualifying sentence about small numbers of nonwhites in the hobby. I brought up Mr. Osborne not as a counterpoint but because I read him every month. His views on the cars and hobby are (obviously) widely respected, eloquent and well considered and are based on long experience, so in the greater context of the discussion you brought up, he’d be who I want to hear from.

The Concours and other events like it will die if they don’t adapt. A post-war car winning last year for the first time ever (despite being fielded by a rich white guy) pissed some people off, and I think it represents the first chink in the establishment’s armor, the larger generational shift that’s occurring. We’ll see how far it goes, or indeed where it stops. There will come a time, maybe in my lifetime, when we can’t even use these cars on public roads. Google pods and Duesenbergs aren’t likely to get along. It’ll be interesting nonetheless.

The push back you mention angers me on a daily basis, because I’m a father of two young children and fear for the future we’re giving them and children of any color. Guys like Trump want to take it away in the name of corporate power and personal wealth, while destroying the planet (further) in the process. In my little corner, I’m deeply conflicted in my love of cars (I work in the industry) and my increasingly outraged environmental and social conscience given the state of play here in the US. They’re hard to reconcile.

The American landscape is now dictated by religion, righteous indignation, ignorance, and vitriol, and it’s deeply concerning. To bring it back, I don’t think Pebble Beach represents that, but in the larger picture the old rich white man’s playground it does is ripe for disruption. It can dance along or be trampled underfoot. It’s social Darwinism writ large, and it’ll be interesting to say the least.

Groagun > RallyWrench 08/20/2015 at 05:03

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Extremely well put and stay in touch, I may have at least a partial answer to your ethical dilemma as pertains to the industry you and I work in.

RallyWrench > Groagun 08/20/2015 at 12:04

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I’d be interested to hear it. I honestly expect to wake up in the middle of the night sometime ready to quit my automotive jobs, sell everything, and buy a Golf E.

Groagun > RallyWrench 08/20/2015 at 12:44

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Oh that’s depressing, a Golf E=( I’m involed in a new company that is going to change the way cars are made, built, constructed, what they are made of, the whole kit and kabootle!

No guarentees but we are getting close to being funded and we will need and want smart, knowledgable and dedicated people who share our vision. It’s not sext, we wont be taking on Porsche or Ferrari, yet, but it’s the start of the change for the industry as a whole.

RallyWrench > Groagun 08/20/2015 at 13:32

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You have my attention. I have to say, I’ve driven a Golf E, and I quite liked it. Put some GTI rubber on it to gain back some grip and it’d be a fun car.