Car Week is getting out of hand

Published September 1, 2026

By GRIFFIN STEELY

Each year, Monterey Car Week brings in thousands of visitors and billions of dollars’ worth of cars into the quiet seaside towns of our area. While this provides entertainment for car aficionados and, more importantly, benefits the local economy with fully-booked hotels and thousands more mouths to feed, unfortunately, this region’s infrastructure struggles with the overload of visitors, late-night joyrides and a multitude of other issues.

The downsides of Car Week are starting to outweigh the benefits, especially with the influx of content creators and media about car week, bringing in everyone and their cousin to take a bite out of the clout cake. It feels as if Car Week isn’t about the cars and the almost-magical engineering that makes them run, but instead the price tag and rarity.

An estimate by KSBW Channel 8 before the beginning of car week suggested that over 100,000 people were expected to attend this year and bring $130 million in revenue to the Monterey region. These numbers have been ever increasing since the introduction of social media, and the event has brought in more attention on a global stage, bringing in enthusiasts and owners alike from all over the world.

Many locals start to grumble when the topic of Car Week is brought up, and with good reason. The event clogs the roads especially on Highway 1, leading into and out of Carmel, and down the Big Sur coast. 

This can lead to issues when an emergency or a natural disaster happens, such as the recent Timber Fire that blazed throughout car week. With only one road running down the coast, it is already difficult to make the drive and especially challenging with a multitude of cars blocking the road and clustering around the latest hypercar.

Another notable issue that is causing contention is noise. This was especially a problem last year at In-N-Out Burger in Monterey, where people gathered around celebrities and famous faces late into the evening, leading to noise complaints due to the loud revving.

This is not the only event with issues like this. Last year, at Slammedenuff–a car event that took place in Sevierville, Tennessee–the final day of the event was canceled due to problems similar to those that are starting to arise here in Monterey, including illegal gatherings and traffic disruption. 

Car Week appears to be moving in the wrong direction, but this is not the only path forward. There will always be people who choose to be disruptive, but hopefully, with increased security and preemptive action, the police can keep these from happening. There has to be a balance between the people following the car community and those who would rather it not happen at all. Right now, we are reaching a critical point between these two parties where a solution needs to be found.