“Presidential” car one of many with Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance

A collection of classic cars cruised through the Monterey Peninsula, Thursday, for the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance.

People lined up on the side of Highway 1, greeting the drivers as they made their way down to Big Sur, and back to Carmel, where crowds grew by the thousands.

It is a who’s who of the some of the most famous cars in history. A snapshot in time.

“Unfortunately, the day the President (John F Kennedy) was shot, (this car) was used as the backup to Kennedy in the Lincoln,” said John Carefoot, the Director of the Harry Yeaggy Collection.

The 1956 Cadillac is seen in some of the country’s most viewed images.

“The agent … on the driver’s side, is the one that jumps off and pushes Jackie back in the Presidential car,” Carefoot said.

This was originally the personal car for President Dwight Eisenhower, and later used by the Johnson and Nixon administrations.

“If you are a history buff, you appreciate all the other cars that are here because there’s history in cars, but this also adds another level to the history in cars. It is the history of the United States,” Carefoot said.

Even older was a 1929 Packard. Its current owner, Howard Leight, says it belonged, then, to the Mayor of Chicago. Now, it is here at Monterey Car Week.

“This car would not feel normal on Los Angeles, on the streets. But here for car week it just feels normal, like you’re back 90 years ago,” Leight said.