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The Weekly Driver Newsletter (SUBSCRIBE FREE HERE)
It’s
often simply called Monterey Auto Week. No one organization oversees
all of the activities, and it's possible to attend perhaps only half of
the events. The Concours d'Elegance, the grandfather of celebration,
has been around for more than 50 years. And it's still the grand finale
to the festivities. But
there's plenty else to do, parties to ralleyes, auctions to other
concours-type events that have begun flourish in recent years. Add it
all up, and it's automotive sensory overload.
Last
week, I drove a 2008 Ford Focus coupe to the Monterey Peninsula and
back, and in many ways it put a recently driven $140,000 Audi A8, W12 to shame. It's an unfair
comparison, really. But the $20,000 Focus SES coupe performed as well
as any car I've test driven in recent years. It had 140 horsepower,
five-speed manual transmission, comfortable leather seats and zipped
around corners and fit quite nicely into tight parking spaces. It got
24 mph in the city and 35 mph on the highway versus the 12 and 19 mph Audi averages. You make the call.
Driving
greatness doesn't have to mean driving luxury. A few weeks ago, I drove
the most successful, and thus arguably the best car ever made. It's
sold more than the Ford Model T, Volkswagen Bug and Golf and more than
the Ford F-150 Pick-up truck.
Despite
super horsepower engines, extravagantly plush interiors and any exotic
or luxury option you can think of, no car comes close to the impact of
the car of the century — the Ford Model T.
Copyright 2009 The Weekly Driver. All rights reserved.
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