Whenever Hollywood needed race consultants and drivers it was pretty easy for them to tap local talent.  I was a consultant and stunt driver in the movie The Killers that came out in 1964 of which I remember mainly Angie Dickinson (she’s pretty easy to remember) and Ronald Reagan (his last film role). A Cobra roadster played a pivotal role in the movie. Years ago someone told my wife, Gayle, that if you slow the movie down to frame by frame, in one frame you can see a moment’s glimpse of my derriere as I jump over a fence. They offered to show her at which time she said she was already familiar with that view, but thanks anyway (-: I was also a driver in The Love Bug but most of my scenes were cut. To do these films I needed to join the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). SAG decided my name was too close to another actor, Peter Brooks, so they made me come up with something different. I chose Hall Brock, Hall being my mother’s maiden name. Hall Brock still receives royalty checks (small as they may be) whenever these movies play!

Monday – Tuesday

There are a lot of great car activities free of charge.  The Automobilia show Monday and Tuesday is always a treat to walk through. We’ve found some hard to find items there, like the leather helmet and goggles Gayle wanted to wear when driving her Beck 550 Spyder. It was made in France, just like the originals.

Tuesday the Concours on the Avenue in Carmel-by-the-sea is a great way to start the week with 18 blocks of the downtown area roped off, showcasing a variety of cars. Walk around and enjoy the cars and take a break for a fine lunch at any of the many upscale restaurants the cars will be parked in front of (be sure to save extra $s for the great meals available in the Monterey area).

Wednesday

We attend good friend, Gordon McCall’s, Motorworks Revival on Wednesday night at the Monterey Jet Center.  Jets, fine automobiles and great people watching it’s how we normally start our Monterey Week. There are several attendee packages available in the three digit price range. This year, amongst other amazing vehicles and jets (of which you can go inside and tour (and dream) was Camilo Pardo and his beautiful Ford GT, which he had me sign, as seen here.

Thursday thru Saturday

There are numerous car auctions occurring during the week such as Mecum, Sotheby’s, Bonhams and Russo and Steele. Many, if not all, require a paid admittance. It’s not a bad way though to see a lot of fine cars as well as their estimated values at a less expensive price of admission than some of the car shows. Look at the cars, take a seat and enjoy the bidding. It’s a fine way to spend some time. It’s not unusual for me to give some background on a car at an auction, as seen here.

All throughout the week, including Sunday

Laguna Seca is humming like a hive with track practice, qualifying and racing on Saturday and Sunday. Reasonably priced, a lot of action and attendees in jeans, it’s where I try to spend most of my time during Monterey Car Week.

Saturday

A highlight for us this year was the Concours d’Lemons, another free event, this one held in a park near the Embassy Suites in Seaside. Held on the Saturday of Monterey Car Week, it features the deplorables of the automotive world. Gayle and I haven’t laughed that hard in ages. What a hoot! My favorite was a rusted out Karmen Ghia with tarp straps holding down the hood, duct tape over a headlight, a patina that can’t be described and too many other features to mention. Gayle and I were interviewed about the event, showcasing a Sci-Fi B-Movie Packard for a TV show in France called “Turbo”.  We had a great time and highly recommend this Saturday morning event.

We then went from Lemons to the Concorso Italiano. This is a long standing event that has evolved to include many marques. Special cars are brought up to the announcer’s stand where the crowd is educated on that particular auto’s specialness. Seen here is the DeTomaso P72 with Matt Stone interviewing me about the car on stage. It’s a nice event.

Throughout the week are various special events and unveilings, such as the U.S. unveiling of the De Tomaso P72 on Thursday at the Pebble Beach Lodge. I have been honored to have De Tomaso include me, and the P70 I designed in 1964, at the worldwide unveiling at Goodwood and the US unveiling. I was especially thrilled when the fine folks at DeTomaso presented me with this lifetime of design achievement award. It looks really good in my awards case at the BRE shop! Sunday is of course the Pebble Beach Concours.

First, thanks for acknowledging the book award. Time passes so quickly we haven’t had a chance to even post the news on our own social media pages. The award is a real honor, especially considering the competition it was up against and that it’s a reasonably priced soft cover book. I never thought it would be a contender but thankfully the judges focused on the content and quality.

The book covers my years of design at Shelby's. Several cars are covered in detail such as the Nethercutt Mirage, Lang Cooper and of course the Shelby - DeTomaso P70. My time designing the P70 in Modena, Italy was some of the most educational and enjoyable of my life.

To celebrate the Gold award and the excitement around the DeTomaso P72 being at Monterey next week we’re offering a special on the book. This applies ONLY from the time of this posting through Friday August 30^th 5pm Pacific Time. 15% off brings the price of this “awarding winning!” book to only $29.71.  Get yours now!

Now on to the DeTomaso P72. When I saw the car at Goodwood I was really impressed. I evidently wasn’t the only one as the DeTomaso people just informed me that ALL 72 cars they plan to build have been sold! Pretty incredible if true. What interests me about this success… oh wait, let me address the comments about the P72 not having any resemblance to my P70.

I don’t think Jowyn Wong, the P72’s designer, ever had any intention of following my lines exactly. The P72 is simply an homage to the mid ‘60s era in GT form.  Yes, there are a couple of subtle details but this is Jowyn’s creation completely and I think it’s pretty wonderful. It’s a return to the soft sensual forms of those cars that were built in Modena back then. There were really some fine, sharp-edged designs being created in that era by Giugiarao, like his fabulous Mangusta, but those were created as forms that could use the crisp-edge tooling available for production cars like Tjaarda’ s Pantera.  Cars being hand-built in Modena were, by necessity, much softer as each was essentially a hand hammered form.

Others have commented that the P72 looks similar to Ferraris’ P3 and P4. Possibly… if so that’s a real compliment but I feel that Wong had his own ideas of what a “retro looking” GT DeTomaso should look like. Government regulations continually change, so cars have to change to keep up. In addition, new technologies (e.g. lights and lower profile tires with larger diameter wheels) allow for different shapes to be created. I think the comparison images of the P70 and the P72 in inverse seen to the right  (which will be offered as a limited edition poster at Monterey next week) show some inspirational “resemblance”.  Pretty cool…a real honor for a design that’s now more than 50 years old!

Now back to what I find amazing about the success of the P72.  It’s acceptance and success is all based on the car’s visual appearance; its aesthetic DESIGN. The car’s power plant and chassis details haven’t even been released . The P72 concept shown at Goodwood was based on the same organization’s Apollo car, which is more of a racing GT.  The P72 is a real GT designed for the street.

The P72 will be shown at Monterey next week for the first time in the U.S. We’ll be there at a press event at Pebble on Thursday and with the car at the Concours Italiano on Saturday. Friday we’ll be at the Bonhams auction at the Quail when the original DeTomaso P70 will be auctioned (approximately 11:30am). It’s going to be a very DeTomaso week for us at Monterey. Very exciting!  We hope to see you there.