FABULOUS YOU: There are some spectacular stretches of road that make you feel fully fabulous while you sit behind the steering wheel. You may only be in a tee and jeans, but toodle down 17 Mile Drive on a perfectly sunny Sunday afternoon and suddenly you're Cary Grant or Grace Kelly in "To Catch a Thief," at least in your own mind (it's a free fantasy, and a nice one, too). That cinematic spirit of sheer coolness paired with beautiful autos paired with an extraordinary location comes to life in Pebble Beach each August, when the Pebble Beach Tour d'Elegance visits the surf-close stretch. Bevies of rare autos'll make the coastal drive on Thursday, Aug. 18, lending an even more movie-esque quality to the famously picturesque area. But the cars won't bid their goodbyes after their 17 Mile Drive idyll. It's a week of vivacious vehicledom in Pebble Beach and beyond, and the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is the swanky capper to it all. Make for The Lodge at Pebble Beach on...
SUNDAY, AUG. 21... for the showiest show of automobile fanciness. "The Concours is not a contest of speed, but elegance," says the event's HQ, and you you'll see that elegance aflow in categories covering Delahaye, Two-Man Indianapolis Race Cars 1930-1937, the BMW Centennial, and more. You got it, auto buffs: Best expect to see "200 of the most prized collector cars in the world" near the 18th hole at the Pebble Beach Golf Links. If soaking that all up, from the woodsy dashes to the silver-shiny hubcaps, isn't enough, there's plenty more to do in Pebble Beach and beyond over the third week of August. Eye hard-to-find collectibles at RetroAuto, jump into an auction, or find your car-fun go-out in Carmel or Monterey. Where's that engine of helpful information revving? Right over here, so vroom vroom.