Originally published in the October 2015 issue of Robb Report Collection as “At Pebble, a Downshift”

The sunshine during August’s Monterey Car Week suggested anything but the slight cooling trend that blew through the auctions that weekend. While totals for RM Sotheby’s and Gooding & Co. broke previous records, it was clear that all but the most exceptional prewar cars could be had for cents on the restoration dollar, and that 1950s-era American iron may as well stay in the garage, so lackluster were th…