Cars, and more cars....

This past weekend included the first Saturday of the month, which meant another Cars and Coffee event.  As my friend Neil was out of town and K would rather watch paint dry than go to a car show, I went solo.  The only negative was the weather....hot and humid.  Yuck!

A place of honor right up front went to this Ferrari FF.  Dunno about a Ferrari in white, though.

As the largest Ferrari in their lineup, including a back seat even, this is the one people either love or hate.  I'm a lover.  Err....umm...

I was surprised by all the vintage off-roaders there this month, like this Land Rover Defender.

Here's another.  I'm told that every farmer in the UK has one, but on this side of The Pond they're somewhat rare.

I was always partial to the International Harvester Scout.  This was a nice one!

Italian cars always have a strong following here.  This Ferrari 458 Italia Spyder was a gem.

Yep, there's an engine in there somewhere.

This is the new(ish) Lamborghini Huracan.  They can usually be seen parked outside pharmacies while their owners are inside getting their Viagra prescriptions refilled.

I'm always on the lookout for a MGA for JoeH.  Sorry Big Joe, but this ragged out example was the only one I could find.

The English were there of course, exemplified by this rather bloated Mini....I can't remember which variant this was as they have so many of them.  I'm just gonna call this one the "Middle Age Spread".

Ahh, but don't worry Brits.  Someone brought their very nice Triumph TR3 to uphold the fine reputation of British sports cars.

A classic....I love this!

Can you see the vintage Triumph's similarities with this new Aston Martin?  No?  (Me either :)

Speaking of cars the public loved to hate, here's another....a BMW Z3 Coupe.

I guess us oddballs have to stick together, cuz I like it.

It looked like a circus was in town Saturday also.

Darn!  I missed seeing all the clowns when they arrived riding their little motorcycles.  :(

Look!  This mutant race car grew a grotesque wing on top!

And this one must have been left in the dryer waaaaay too long!

 

Of course there was a huge contingent of American iron present, but of them all I'm always drawn to the old ones, like this beautiful '57 Cheeeeevy from my yout.  :)

What's all the hub-bub about the NEW Sting Ray?  How you gonna beat an original '63 split rear window?  (Correct answer:  You can't.)

And just for giggles, hats off to Tiff, whose Subaru WRX was otherwise spotless.

Lastly, my favorite of the day was this BMW Z4.  This color was even appealing.  Not too big, not too small....juuuuust right!

That was Cars and Coffee/Dallas for September, 2014.  Right after this I traveled to Grapevine, TX for the annual Italian Car Fest.  I'll have pics of that later in the week.  Have a great day everyone.  :)

S

Cars and Coffee, April 2014

A cool, cloudy early morning didn't deter the few thousand Cars and Coffee fans who came out to see interesting cars.  My friend Neil and I met there around 7:30 and were pleased with the offerings this month.

The first car I stumbled across as I entered was this Austin Healey 3000. 

It's a good thing K doesn't let me take my checkbook to C&C, never mind that my mad money account wouldn't buy even one of the wire wheels on this beauty.  (I could have a helluva nice head start before the check bounced, though.)

The Brits were well represented today by some other fine examples, too, like this MGB GT V8....

....and it's topless cousin, this MGB roadster.

But I've saved the best from Morris Garages 'till last, this 1961 MGA.

Listen up Joe H:  Rob the grandkid's piggy bank, mortgage the house, sell a kidney, whatever you have to do....the original (and still current) owner, a retired TWA pilot, is downsizing his lifestyle and is willing to part with this prized toy.

For a more-than-fair price of $26K you can relive your yout and once again own a MGA.  Wow, was this car nice!

On to something(s) German:  I still like this Z3M Coupe.  It was shunned by buyers originally, but I think its odd shape is interestingly quirky. 

Eat your heart out Winnebago.  THIS is Bohemian RV-ing at its finest!

 It also sported my co-favorite sign of the day.  :)

A couple of other, slightly hotter VW's caught my eye today too, like this R model (V6, AWD)....

....and this GTI.  (The Gen-7 model will be here in the States soon.)

How 'bout some new American muscle?  This is the new Dodge Viper, which sported the finest rear end I saw today.  (Or at least the finest that I'll admit to ;)  I wonder if Italian coachbuilder Zagato knows Dodge has pinched their famous "double bubble" roof design?

And in fairness, some old American muscle, too:  This really nice Plymouth Barracuda.  (Remember the Barracuda?  Remember Plymouth?)

Lots of Jeeps there today, too.  None, though, were any nicer than this classic Willys Jeep pickup.

It was wearing my other co-favorite sign of the day.  Beautiful rifle in the gun rack, too.  (Hey, this IS Texas :)

 Screw Mustangs!

THIS is the Ford I want!

 Here's some trivia for you:  This is a '50's vintage Goggomobil.

 It was built in Bavaria after WWII, I'm guessing to satisfy an urgent need by circus clowns to have a tiny car to climb out of.

 

In a more serious vein, this is a very rare Nash Healey, and a spectacular example it is, too!  It's the first one I've ever seen in the flesh.

 

This was an odd duck of a car, a collaboration between the American Nash-Kelvinator Co. and England's Donald Healey Motors (who later built my fave, the Austin Healey).

It was a Nash Healey that was driven by Clark Kent in several episodes of TV's The Adventures of Superman (when he wasn't wearing his leotards and leaping over tall buildings in a single bound).

I'll close out this month's C&C review with this cute little '50's vintage BMW Isetta 300 that the owner has nicknamed "Snail".

As it drove off you could almost hear everyone say in unison,

 "Look at that S-CAR-GO!"  :)

Hope you enjoyed Cars and Coffee, April 2014.

S

Cars and Coffee, March, 2014

The morning started out cool and cloudy, but quickly warmed up when the sun came out.  The locals seemed to be grateful for the nice weather as this was the largest turnout I think I've EVER seen at C&C.  My friend Neil and I met up around 7:30 and were amazed by the crowd.  Every parking spot was taken and they were double parking the overflow in the lanes.

Right as I walked in the Sports Car Club of America had set up their recruiting table.  Tempting!

I'm just not sure my 'lil Audi would fit in among that crowd.  But If I just had a proper sports car, like this Jaguar F-Type....  :)

 While I'm not all that enamored with Lotus cars, I'm awed by the camaraderie shown by the Lotus Owners Club.  They turn up en mass at every show.  Kudos! 

And this group was impressive, too.  I've never seen such a large collection of pristine Honda S-2000's.  Whatdaya think?  Screaming Yellow, or....

....a more sinister looking (think Texas Tech) Scarlet and Black?

The VeeDub Club was well represented today, too.  I've always been a fan of the little Karmann Ghia, and this was a fine one....with one picky flaw.  Why the Porsche wheels?  

And I don't think I've ever seen a nicer VW Beetle Cabriolet than this.  The headlight visors were a nice touch.

It just goes to show it doesn't have to be a muscle car or a European exotic to be "cool".

This one needs a little narration:  There's a growing movement among car guys to collect old derelicts and get them running again.  Many are highly modified / souped up and are known as "Rat Rods".  This piece of crap is a prime example.  OH!  NOW I GET IT!  Now I understand why they call it a "movement".  *wink*

Let's just jump from the absurd to the ridiculous in this ridiculously desirable "La Ferrari".

The way the Italians can sculpt metal is just sublime.

Erotic even.  *sigh*

I'm generally not a fan of Nissan GT-R's, but this one I liked.

The owner had a fun sense of humor, exemplified by this little bumble bee thingy that was perched on the rear wing.  I have no Idea why it was there, but I liked it.

Even the license plate was funky...."Lunatik".  Ha!

Oh, and by the way....this is Luna.  (No, really  ;)

After visiting with Luna for a while Neil eventually regained his composure enough to declare this Toyota Supra his favorite of the day.   (OK, you can stop smiling now, Neil.)

Decisions, decisions.  Which to cruise 'round town in today?  My Aston Martin, my Alfa Romeo GTV, or my Alfa Romeo Montreal? 

I think I'll go with the GTV.  A very nice example, this.

Anyone remember the old Ford Woody wagon?  Here's someone's version of an Audi R8 Woody.  (Dude....the Woody died for a reason.  It needs to stay dead!  Just sayin'.)

So THIS is how the other half lived.  A MB 190.  :)

Anyone reading this old enough to remember the '56 Cheeeeevy?  What a gorgeous deep purple!

And it extends to the interior, too.  While not exactly stock, I didn't hear anyone complaining.

Anyone from the land of escargot and stinky cheese?....Your Citroen SM is waiting.

This English Triumph TR-6....

....and its baby brother, the English Triumph Spitfire....

....and this English Bulldog who was also taking in today's C&C reminded me of my friend "Big Joe" Hagy ( ^ the resemblance is striking :) and his pining for some pics of his first car....

....the quintessentially English MGA.

And boy did I find him a beauty!

Such a beauty, in fact, I'm naming it my personal Favorite Of The Day.

Finally, let me leave you with this short video of the Ferrari Formula One team changing tires at a routine pit stop.  Think you could top their 4-tire change in 1.8 seconds?

That was Cars and Coffee, March, 2014.  Hope you enjoyed.  :)

S