Monterey Car Week is a legendary annual automotive event that usually takes place during the third week of August. It is a week-long gathering that brings together car enthusiasts, collectors, and industry professionals from around the world to showcase aspects of automotive culture. It’s known for its prestigious car shows, auctions, different events, and most importantly, Werks Reunion.
Our friends at Porsche Club of America invited the Ceramic Pro team up to Werks Reunion, and we just had to take the opportunity to showcase our products, educate fellow car enthusiasts, and meet some of our Elite Dealers along the way. We showcased a 2022 Paint to Sample Grey Black Porsche GT3, and our mission was to get it up to Werks Reunion. Here’s a recap of our Monterey Car Week experience from Sam’s point of view.
Day 0: Wednesday
Wednesday was prep day, and we had so much to get done! Our first task was to get the Ceramic Pro branded stickers on the GT3. We loaded up our car with all of our gear, got the GT3 onto the trailer – which is definitely not as easy as it sounds – and strapped it down. The last thing we needed was to worry about our precious cargo rolling off the trailer.
Day 1: Thursday
Road trip time. The day started off dark and early with a 5 AM Starbucks run. Would it really be a road trip without one? The coffee hit our systems, and it was time to hit the road. We started in San Diego, and we were trying to get through LA before the morning rush hour traffic, which definitely did not happen because LA traffic is inevitable.
What did we do on the nine-hour car ride up there? Educate. Introducing: Sam’s Crash Course on Porsches and Monterey Car Week.
I spent the first two hours of the road trip educating our content creators about car week (they had never been before), teaching them about the different 911 chassis and models, emphasizing how cool 964s and 993s are, and how all the modern bolt-on body kits are imitations of the 993 GT2 Evo. I promise you they enjoyed every second of it.
About two hours outside of Monterey, the outside temperature hit 106 degrees, which was a crazy difference from the 73 degrees we left behind in San Diego. Our Suburban did not enjoy this, and pretty much any dashboard light you could think of came on. We parked for a bit, grabbed In N Out (another road trip staple), and luckily, when we started the car again, the lights were gone.
We were in a race against time as we needed to get to the Monterey area in time to prep the GT3 because it was in an open trailer, and we needed to car to be show-ready.
Once we got up to Monterey, we made a pit stop at our Elite Dealer, Ceramic Pro Elite Carmel Valley, in order to get the car prepped. Andrew Reed and his amazing team did an incredible job detailing the GT3. Since the car was protected with the Ultimate Armor Package with an ION coating, it wasn’t too much work. Ceramic Pro Elite Carmel Valley is known for their concours level detailing for Pebble Beach, Quail, Barret Jackson auctions, and so much more. The GT3 was in great hands with them.
Finally, we checked in to our hotel and had dinner – ready for Werks Reunion the next day.
Check Out Our Youtube Video: Our Werks Reunion Recap
Day 2: Friday
Another early morning! We set out early for load-in and booth set-up. There was excitement in the air when we pulled up, got our booth situated, and parked our branded GT3 out in front. We were excited to educate our fellow Porsche enthusiasts about our products and the services we offer.
The highlight of our booth was our tint box that showcases our Ultimate IR and Ceramic IR window films. With our display, you can feel the drastic difference in temperature between the glass with no tint and the glass with our virtually clear 70-80% film. People were amazed at how much heat rejection they could feel with a film that was nearly invisible.
We were asked this question hundreds of times – yes, window tint goes on the inside of your vehicle, not the outside.
Projekt 964 was proudly on display. Vu, from PCA, announced how it was corrected and protected by our Elite Dealer in Maryland, Ceramic Pro Elite White Marsh. Read more about that here.
Our Elite Dealer, Eliel Solorio, from Ceramic Pro Elite Hollister, was there to help and captivate many interested car enthusiasts.
There was so much to see. Here are some of our absolute favorites.
After Werks Reunion, even though we were exhausted, we knew there was too much to see. No time for relaxing! We made our way down to Cannery Row, and it did not disappoint. We got to see the 996 GT2 up close, along with so many other classic supercars that had our jaws on the floor. We even saw my personal favorite, the Ferrari F40. Life = made.
Day 3: Saturday
As Hurricane Hilary was approaching, we needed to get back to San Diego as it was set to hit us on Sunday. But before that, we decided to take the long route through 17 Mile Drive. We saw some amazing cars and captured some amazing content that can be seen on our Instagram.
Overall, Werks Reunion was a huge success and we had the most amazing time. Big shoutout to PCA for treating us so well and inviting us to be a part of this great event.
