Monterey Car Week hits the road, until next year

Car Week has wrapped up but thousands of cars are staying on the Central Coast for a few more days as they wait to be transported home.

Just as they came, packed in trailer trucks, some exotic cars are making their way back to their owners.

“Cars are loaded and driven on (to trucks). They have straps that fit over each wheel well and secure the car well, which you can’t move in each direction or up and down, and you are traveling and transporting them across the country,” said Sam Cavagnetto, with Passport Transport.

Cavagnetto has already made six trips for Car Week.

Cavagnetto said, “I will probably come back in another two or three days to pick up another load.”

“It used to be just Americans and some Europeans. There’s a lot of Chinese, a lot of Asian people, a lot of people in tech, young people. And they have money, and ‘Wow, I can enjoy this hobby and have these cool cars and not lose money,'” said classic car consultant Andy Cohen.

Local restaurants made big money during Car Week, too.

“This was definitely the busiest weekend we had all summer for sure,” said Lily Anderson, hostess at Dametra Cafe in Carmel.

It’s a late start to peak tourist season for some Central Coast businesses because of Big Sur closures.

“It definitely brings in, I’d say, two times, three times the business we usually see in a normal weekend,” Anderson said.

The total amount of money Car Week brought in is not clear yet. Pebble Beach, however, raised $1.6 million for charity.

The Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau said, on average, Car Week generates more than $53 million a year.