After a quick 11-hour hop across the Pacific, I'm back here in the land of small cars and funny soft drinks. I'll be in Japan for a couple weeks, visiting the in-laws and of course doing some Speedhunting along the way. I'll try to post as much Japan material as I can, but before that I want to post a few photos from a show I attended right before I left – the Belmont Concours d'Eleganza back home in good old Fresno, California.

Typically, the conservative and proper world of the Concours wouldn't really fall under the Speedhunters focus, but since it's Luxury and Exotic month I figured I'd take a look.

Plus I was also interested to see what kind of turnout this first time local event would get. 

It wasn't a particularly large show , but there was a nice sprinkling of cars representing all eras. Several cars from the local Porsche club could be found on the grass of the Belmont Country Club.

Although some might find them unexciting, I've always enjoyed looking at factory correct muscle cars. There were a couple of immaculate Hemi 'Cudas, a Boss 429 Mustang, some Shelbys, and a big block Camaro SS convertible, among others.

A bit more fitting to our monthly theme would be this incredible '67 Cobra. Unlike a lot of the cars being shown, this Cobra is clearly used for more than looking good on the grass.

Ferrari : the quintessential exotic. There were plenty of them on hand including late models like this F430…

…or classics like this showroom condition Dino.

It's been some time since I've been able to drool over an F40 in person. Is this the greatest exotic car ever made?

Besides all of the Italian machinery, there was also a large row of burly high end Americans  – namely Vipers and Ford GT's. I dig the track-ready style of the newer ACR Vipers.

Alfa Romeo has never quite held the exotic status of other Italian car makers, but that doesn't take anything away from the presence that cars like this '62 Giulietta have.

Despite being of an age that's too old to be modern and too new to be classic, this '97 Aston Martin DB7 was looking as sharp as ever,

You really couldn't find a better car for some cross-country touring than this gentleman's exotic.

Another car that looked a bit out of place on the showgrounds was this Shelby Daytona Coupe. It was likely a replica, but that just means there's nothing to worry about when hammering it out on the track.

And finally, my personal favorite of the show – a 100% original '74 DeTomaso Pantera. What could be better than the combination of  gorgeous Italian styling and the heart of an American muscle car?

Every part of the car was factory correct – down to the original Goodyear Arriva tires. I had forgotten how great these cars look in untouched, stock form.

Many times I've found that the small events can be just as fun as the big ones, and the Belmont Concours was a perfect example of this. The proven combination of nice cars and a nice setting made it the perfect place to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Ok…now to catch up on some of the sleep I've lost of the past few days.

-Mike Garrett