Cars and Coffee, August 2014

This was First Saturday Cars and Coffee and it did NOT disappoint!  As per our usual arrangement I met up with my friend Neil at 07:30 at the site.  The weather was partly sunny (is that the same as partly cloudy?) and the temp was in the low 70's....absolutely unheard of for Dallas in August.

The crowd was HUGE....cars on every row were double and sometimes triple parked.  I right off spotted this Morgan that was a newbie here....

Oh....that color combination was wonderful!  And how is it that English leather smells so much better than American leather?  *Ding!  I get it now....that men's cologne from years ago....English Leather*

Remember this little odd looking French Panhard from last month?  It seems in the month between the two shows it has found a new owner....to none other than renowned funny guy and supremo car dude Jay Leno.  Right after the show today it was going on a transporter for shipment west.  *Bye little friend*

At the other end of the exotic scale was this brand new Lamborghini Huracan, named after a famous Spanish fighting bull from the 1800's....

 ....hence the license plate.  (Actually all Lamborghini models are named after famous dead bulls.)

We overheard someone say there have been only 100 Huracan's made (so far), with 11 being in the US, and only 2 in Dallas.

Here is the other.

Innit kewl? 

 So was this '46 Ford.

Somebody please help me out here: What is this gizmo on the dash of the Ford pictured above? It appears to say "Fulton" something, but I can't make it out.  Any of you graybeards have a clue?

As interesting as all the cars were, I think the highlight of my day was meeting some interesting people, like....

The Bird with the bird....

...and Jeff Kraemer, shown here beside his custom built 1957...umm...er...  *embarrassed*

I think Jeff could give that "The Most Interesting Man In The World" beer commercial guy a run for that title.  Jeff is from Lake Charles, LA, but moved to Carmel Valley, CA when he accepted employment there.  Living close to the Laguna Seca race track he became interested in vintage car racing.  He is now retired and living in the Dallas area to be close to family, but still has his intense interest in cars.  It was a pleasure meeting you, Jeff.  :)

Ditto for my new buds Mario and Emily.  They are the proud owners of this new Russian Ural sidecar motorcycle.  They were impressed that I knew the manufacturer of their steed was Ирбитский мотоциклетный завод. *I hope I spelled that right...wink*  They were really super fun to talk with.  We agreed to meet again next month and share more of our mutual oddballness.

I looked and looked, but I couldn't find my friend Joe an MGA.  He had one as a yout, and I think he still wets himself thinking about it.  Sorry Joe....maybe I can make next month a Depends moment for you.

I did find you this MGB, though.  That's the best I could do.  ;)

And finally, check this:

As I was leaving I spotted this ^ parked in the lot with us peasants.  Anyone know what it is?

That's right, it's a Hudson Hornet.  Check out that license plate.  Get it?  Funny man, the owner is.  :)

Hope you enjoyed Cars and Coffee, August 2014.

Peace....out.

S

Cars and Coffee, May 2014....and the Cottonwood Arts Festival, too

My fellow motoring enthusiast friend and good all 'round guy Neil and I met up at 7:30 yesterday to oogle cars, as we do every first Saturday of the month.

It was a perfect Saturday morning to be outside looking at cars.  It was a lousy day to be trying to take photos of them....the sun was too bright and the shadows at that early hour too long.  Oh well, whatcha gonna do?

E-Type Jaguars are cool rain or shine.

Ditto for E-Type roadsters.

I'm not a big Lotus fan....they're rather fragile.  But this one, in this color, just exploded in the morning light.  I like the Tiger stripe effect, too.  (Listen to me, all artsy-fartsy!)

Umm....looks like they left the gate unattended for a few minutes and this snuck in.  ("Sneaked" in?)

Wonder if it belonged to this guy?

"Guy walks up and asks, 'Where'd ya get him?'
 The dog answers, 'Aww....I won him in a raffle.'"  :)

The German Goggomobil from last month was back.  Or maybe it never left?  Here's Neil standing next to it for size comparison.

This late model (2002) Acura NSX was a stand out.  We talked with another fellow we met there who bought one new in 1994 and uses it to this day as his daily driver.  He says it's rock-solid.  Try THAT with a Ferrari!

First you start with an overpriced SLR Mercedes, then you let McLaren have a turn tarting it up....to the tune of a cool $500K!

Pay attention kid.  Mother's Day is coming up and she couldn't be any more obvious with her hint.  Tell dad....or maybe that guy over there.  (Not sure what he's looking at behind those sunglasses.  ;)

Ahh....the Frenchies.  The Citroen SM was so far ahead of its time the rest of the world finally just gave up trying to catch them.  Unfortunately it's been pretty much downhill for Citroen ever since.

We visited with the gentleman in the background who also owns an SM and he shared lots of anecdotal stories about these odd eccentric cars.  Meeting people like him is what makes C&C so much fun.

This chopped custom began life as a 1950 Pontiac Chieftain.

Innit kewl?

My first car was a '65 Mustang, but it didn't look anything this nice!

Just FYI, this is the 50th anniversary of the Ford Mustang.

I'm pretty sure it didn't roll off Ford's assembly line looking like this!

There were only 6 Shelby Daytona's ever built.  This wasn't one of them.  This is a replica (kit), and a darn nice one.

I'm generally not a BMW fan, but I seriously looked at a 2002tii just like this back in 1971 (?).  I didn't buy it.  Now every time I see one I kick myself.  DOH!

It's a classic today.

I also considered a Porsche 911 at one time.  Then I could have afforded it.  Now....no way!  *banging head on wall*

A trivia question for you:  Has anyone ever seen an overflow vent hose (?) on a battery?  It left Neil and I both shaking our heads.

I hope that thing is strapped down tight.  If I ever see it on the freeway I'm gonna stay well back.

All I can say is....

And finally, here's a license plate I think many of these fancy car owners can identify with.

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After C&C I picked up K and we went to the Cottonwood Arts Festival.  This was the absolute best art show I've been to.  It keeps growing and the caliber of the participating artists keeps improving, too.

K was too busy watching the gander that chased his lady out of the little pond and up into the crowd with....umm...."less than honorable intentions" to pose for my picture.

Besides checking out the art I always enjoy the people watching.  And the dog watching, too.

This was taken at the Southlake "Arts on the Square" show last weekend.  Our Tarrant County neighbors can't seem to get that "Old West" thing out of their system.  (Hey, I like cows, too, but I like mine served medium rare on a sizzling plate.)

That's all the art shows on our radar until the Fall.

Hope everyone had a great weekend, too.

S

Ahh, the good 'ol days

I saw this on the front page of USA Today online this morning.  It's a picture of a stalwart Communist Party supporter with a picture of her idol, Vladimir Lenin, at yesterday's May Day parade in Moscow.

Talk about living in the past!  It's sad that anyone could look at those Cold War times and think of them as "the good 'ol days".  I suppose as long as there are still Rooskies of her generation alive Lenin's ghost will still haunt us.

How old do you reckon she is?  60's?  70's?  (30's?  Russian women sometimes don't age well, you know.)

What is it about those times that still excites them so?

Memories of the pleasant days spent shopping with friends?
 

 The cool cars?

 

Maybe the fun "Green Acres" country lifestyle so many enjoyed?

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I remember a few years ago I was at a bookstore on a Friday evening and stumbled on to an author who was doing a "book reading".  He was an American who had been living in Paris, Fraaaaace for years.  I overheard a Q&A query:  "What do you see as a difference today between Americans and the French?"

He said that if you talk to an older American today he/she will more than likely be a conservative Republican.  If you talk to a Frenchman of the same generation he/she will likely be an unreconstructed Communist.  Old habits die hard I guess.

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Yea weekend!  Tomorrow: Cars and Coffee, then the Cottonwood Arts Festival.  I'm thinking I'll have some tired but happy feet by tomorrow evening.  :)

S