Cars and Coffee, February, 2014

It was a cool-bordering-on-cold, windy morning, but the Cars and Coffee faithful were there in force anyway.  By the time I arrived at 7:30 the party was in full swing.

The first car that caught my eye on the British row was this nice Triumph TR-4.

I've seen this one before at the All English Car Show, but it's just one of those cars I never tire of seeing.

This tastefully pimped Mini Cooper S was nice, too.

* "tastefully pimped"....the ultimate oxymoron? *

While nothing at all exotic, I've always liked Audi TT's.  I think my name on the title of this one would look great!

This was your lucky day, Betina.  Look what I found for you....

A showroom perfect BMW Isetta 300.

Did somebody really drive this thing from Oregon to Texas?

One of the better hot rods for sure!  I think Tim "The Toolman" Taylor would approve.

The times, they are a changin'.

Now even the Korean car guys have reserved space.  Car clubs are always present at C&C, the most prominent usually being Lotus, BMW, Mini, Mustang, Camaro, and Subaru.

Oh yes, and the Corvette "comb-over" boys club, too.

I must give the Subaru WRX boy-racers high marks for their sense of humor.  :)

"If it's not leakin', it's empty"

Close, but no cigar.  If it had been blue, this could have passed for my first car.

It was a treat to see this '70-ish Lancia Montecarlo there.

It must have never gotten wet.  If it had, all you'd see would be a little pile of rust on the pavement and 4 tires.

Alfa Romeo Spyder....still on my Lust Bucket List.

I must admit, Ferrari's (458 Italia ^ ) can look good in "non-red", too.

Then again, why upset the ghost of Enzo (Mr. Ferrari)?

While not the newest or the most exotic, I still think the 599 ^ has the most class.  I love those thin "flying buttresses" off the rear glass.  They're both aesthetically pleasing and aerodynamically useful.

Nostalgia time....who wants a ride in my '56 (?) Cheeevy.  (Umm, maybe I'd better ask the owner first.)

The car that made Ralph Nader famous....the Chevy Corvair.  With the engine (and all the weight) in the back, it had a tendency to swap ends while in motion (not good for life expectancy), hence Ralph's book Unsafe At Any Speed.  He's been running for President (and losing) ever since.

Still, I think this is a great looking, very well maintained example.

There was a camera crew there interviewing some race car driver, but I was more impressed with this rig that allowed the camera to very smoothly glide horizontally.  Pretty cool!

And now, for my Show Favorite....

This immaculate Austin Healey 3000.

Achingly beautiful.

That's it....Cars and Coffee, February, 2014.  Hope you enjoyed.  :)

S

The water closet library

Pretty impressive, huh?  No, it's not mine, but while I can't read the titles, I'm pretty sure it belongs to a guy.  It just looks like something a guy would have.  Plus the window has no curtains, and the walls aren't painted lavender or fuchsia.  (Always a dead give-away.)  

There's no telling how many great ideas, how many world-changing inventions, have originated in "think tanks" just like this.  I like this montessori style of learning.  I'm exposed to all kinds of new cultures, ideas, and even exotic languages.

"Foreigners must be perplexed by Whinging Poms but that's just the way it is--play it all down, make out it's really a bit of a fag, then go like the clappers with full commitment."

Well, yes, this foreigner is totally perplexed.  I have no idea what any of that means.  But the important thing is, I read, and I've learned new, exotic jibberish.  This was written by a contributor to Octane magazine, a UK-published car magazine that I read.  

I like leisurely perusing it because it gives reviews and tells stories and shows photos of vintage cars we don't see here on this side of the pond.  Cars like Lancia's and Alfa Romeo's and Delahaye's.

Here's something you're not likely to see in the Walmart parking lot.

I prefer to stock my water closet library with magazines.  That's because I don't eat enough to warrant stocking it with books.  A couple of magazine pages at a time is about right.  With books, some of those chapters can go on and on and....

On a related topic, I read just this morning that American adults are lagging behind adults in most other countries in things such as reading, math, and problem-solving skills.  Yes, part of the problem is probably because our kids are getting crappy educations (everyone gets an A so they won't get their feelings hurt), and of course kids eventually grow up to be adults.  Or inmates.  But my theory is it's because not enough adults pursue "continuing education".  

I think kids should be taught early to read.  If kids are fed properly and given access to thought provoking ideas, and taught it's good to read and learn every day, America will once again be

Or sometimes, #2.  ;)

S

Italian Car Fest 2011

Ear-to-ear grins for me today.  I was at the Italian Car Fest this morning when the gates opened.  The event was held in a city park in Grapevine, near DFW airport.  About 75 Alfa Romeo's, Ferrari's, Lamborghini's,  Lancia's, Maserati's, Fiat's and a few other low-production cars were represented.  Here's a sampling:

Alfa's all ^

Some nice Maserati's ^

An over-the-top Lamborghini (aren't they all?)  ^

Ferrari's ^

A few "cherry" Fiat's ^

A gratuitous Lancia ^

And my personal favorite ^, a 1964 Alfa Romeo Giulia SS.  Innit cool?

I'll share more later.  Happy weekend, everyone.  :)

S

Our weather could get ugly....and more car pics, too

You've heard it said that animals can sense something bad coming, such as an earthquake?  My dog Emma Belle does NOT like to go outside and "do her business" in the rain.  She just refuses, period.  This afternoon when I came home from work I took her out as usual and she...er...well, let's just say her "business" was impressive, if you know what I mean.  The weatherguessers are again predicting an atmospheric "perfect storm" is brewing for us here, and based on Emma's "now or never" bathroom behavior, I think they might be right. Emma Belle, Weather Dog  *has a nice ring to it*

And now for something more pleasant....here are some more cool/unique cars I saw last weekend at the British and European Car Day in Dallas: 

A couple of nice Alfa Romeo's ^

A well-worn Saab rally car  ^

A TVR (British)  ^

A Morgan (also British) ^

A Volvo P1800 (I almost bought one of these many years ago) ^

A "Bug-eye" Sprite (see where it gets its name?) 

A Lancia Beta (Italian) ^

(You can click on any picture to enlarge it)

Hope you're safe tonight, wherever you are.

S

EDIT:  Plano was spared the big storms last night.  Most went south of us, and some went north, but here we just got a little rain.