La Dolce Vita-Automobili at Black Horse will be held Friday, August 14, 2009 on the Monterey Peninsula in Northern California. Founding Partner Kerry McMullen shares, “When we learned a former Italian car event was no longer going to be held at this incredible site, we immediately approached the owners who were excited to host a quality event”. La Dolce Vita promises a “back to our roots” approach to displaying Italian cars and motorcycles on the green. “This will be an enthusiast’s event organized by enthusiasts”, notes Founding Partner Jerry Kaye.

McMullen and Kaye formed Monterey Bay Concours LLC and established La Dolce Vita in an effort to share their passion for Italian cars with others and to create a comfortable “car guy” environment that is owner-centric. McMullen is President and CEO of MIE Corporation, the largest Maserati parts supply and technical network in the world. He also operates Maserati Club International with 2000 members worldwide. Kaye is no stranger to Italian car events and is a Founding Partner of La Belle Macchine d’ Italia. Held each year in the Poconos, the event attracts a large number of enthusiasts from all over the world. Both own their fair share of Italian automotive machinery. McMullen personally owns three Maserati cars and Kaye owns a beautiful collection of Lamborghini, Ferrari, Maserati and Rolls-Royce cars.

La Dolce Vita has significant support from members of the Italian car community. To date, Alfa Romeo, Fiat/Lancia, Maserati, DeTomaso and several other Italian car clubs are excited for the new event and anxious to resume the annual trek to Black Horse. Numerous Ferrari and Lamborghini owners from around the country have expressed interest in displaying at the event as well. “We want car owners and enthusiasts to enjoy each other’s cars and company in a relaxed and friendly environment, this will not be a carnival”, notes McMullen. The event is encouraging people to “come see what’s new” at Black Horse while picnicking amidst live music and chatting with old and new friends.

When asked why the team chose Black Horse as the site of La Dolce Vita, Kaye observes, “Black Horse is experienced at hosting an event of this magnitude and knows how to treat car owners properly. The venue has outstanding accessibility with multiple ingress and egress compared to most other golf courses and resorts on the peninsula”. Logistics on this scale do not come without a price tag and a great deal has been invested to assure affective parking and crowd control procedures. “We have a system in place that offers safe and secure parking for spectators that will also bring them to the main entrance in a timely fashion without aggravation”, says McMullen.

While the event is focused on Italian cars, featured marque cars from other Monterey Car Week events will be welcomed with open arms to a special display section at the event. “We want people to have choices. There are enough cars and enthusiasts on the Monterey Peninsula each August to support multiple events that will offset unbearable crowds”, says Kaye. Friendly rates have been established for entrants and spectators and the event will admit ages 17 and under free of charge with an adult. “We are encouraging families to visit our event as it’s very important to us to foster education of and passion for automobiles with future generations”, remarks McMullen. Charitable aspects and special features will be announced soon.