Cars and Coffee, July 2014

As I suspected would be the case, attendance at this month's Cars and Coffee event was down by roughly 25% due to many of the regular attendees being out of town for the holidays.  That turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it was much easier to walk around and take photos....there were lots of unique cars there I hadn't seen before.

The oddest of the odd had to be this 1960 Panhard.  Can you guess its country of origin?

A clue?  OK...."stinky cheese"...."escargot"....DOH....

Yes, France!  The home of the world famous Le Odd School of Automotive Design.

Doesn't it just scream, "Stop the assembly line!  We're out of wine." 

It completely out classed the East Germans, who nevertheless proudly displayed their ever-popular Trabant.  How 'bout that fine build quality, huh?  (Take note J.D. Powers.)

McLaren was there showing off their uber-exotic P1.

Fetching from any angle.

Here's one I'd never heard of...a Rossion Q1.

It's a specialty American maker and it's based on the British Noble M400.  Meh.

I saw this Jaguar F-Type coupe there, the first coupe I've seen in the flesh.  It is truly spectacular from this angle. 

Unfortunately IMO the front doesn't impress as much.  It seems a bit busy.

This was a true rarity....a 1990 BMW Z1.

The owner told us there were only 8000 made, all for Europe, although a dozen now reside in the US.

The most interesting thing about this unique car were the doors.  They "opened" by sliding down into the door sills.  Oh, those wacky Germans!

Whatcha lookin' at Scott Tweety?

Anglophile that I am, you knew I'd be drawn to the British sports cars.

This very nice 1962 Triumph TR4 stirred me.  ( I said "stirred", not "shaken".  :)

Likewise did this classic Triumph Spitfire, although I think it would have looked better in British Racing Green, especially with that tan leather interior.  That's my favorite color combination on British sports cars.

How about some vintage off-roaders?  This was one of the best back in its day, the Toyota 40-series Land Cruiser.

Newly refurbished Ford Broncos like this have developed a cult following and are now demanding top dollar.

Most unusual paint job of the day went to this iridescent purple/green Mazda RX-8.  The verdict is still out.

The worst....this Fiat 500, although Peter Max fans might disagree.

This BMW 1600 Cabrio was impressively restored and maintained. 

Beautiful!  Love it!

Some classic Americana....

....a '59 Cheeevy.  Fins rock!

Anyone remember the Nash Rambler?

Yes, this was the car immortalized in >>the "Beep Beep" song<< by the Playmates in 1958. 

Ahhh....Hula girls, fuzzy dice, curb feelers, and necker knobs.  Who remembers?

I know!

Looks like the rolling Tacky Party made it to Dallas just in time. 

Note the Sapporo beer tap handle as the gear shift. (Walmart, here they come!)

But for simple, classic understated style....

....I think I'd take this '70's-era Ferrari 308 home.

Hope you enjoyed Cars and Coffee/Dallas, July 2014.  :)

S

Cars and Coffee, August, 2013

HOT!  Yesterday was Cars and Coffee first Saturday and it was HOT!  Because it was so HOT attendance was noticeably below normal.  And those that brought their nice cars were all crankin' 'em and leaving by 9:30 because it was so HOT!  Did I mention it was HOT?

I honestly didn't even get to walk the whole parking lot because while I was only half way through the mass exodus began.  Sorry for the abbreviated photo display this month.  :(

First thing I saw when I arrived was this BMW Z4 M Coupe.  I personally wouldn't tacky my car up with decals like this, but I must say he had a sense of humor.

Looks like he's overdosed on BMW's Kool-aid, too.

The local VeeDub Club was there in force.  A very nice 1970 (?) Beetle Cabrio.

Notice the original owner checked all the option boxes, too.  Look....a radio!

This was an early flat-screen (windshield) model.  Absolutely mint!

I suppose this nice BMW 2002 from Nevada was just passing through.  I'm glad he stopped and shared his car with us.

This is apparently becoming a big deal:  People are mounting these GoPro cameras on their cars so they can record their driving exploits.  I'm thinking of getting one, too.  "Here I am waiting in line at In-n-Out burgers, and here I am on my way to the SuperTarget...."

A couple of interesting vintage Porsche's caught my eye:

A 356 Cabrio....

....and a Continental.  Notice the location of the gas cap.  How odd.

Ahhh....the Italians.

A 1972 Ferrari Dino GT.  This didn't actually carry the Ferrari badge as it was meant to be an entry level (6-cylinder) model, unlike the powerful 12-cylinder "true" Ferrari's of the day.  (Enzo Ferrari was very touchy about things like that.)

An early '70's (?) Ferrari Daytona Spyder. *still drooling*

A bit out of sequence....This Porsche Carrera GT is an incredible performance car, but to me it just looks clinical...cold...brutal.

Now compare that to this Ferrari 458 Italia...curvy...sensual...like a beautiful woman...who could still kick your ass!  ;)

Even the badge is sexy.

And now for my Car de Jouir:  Because of it's uniqueness I chose....

....this 1930 Studebaker.  I remember the old Studebaker Avanti's and Lark's and such from my yoot, but I'd never seen a Studebaker this old.  The current owner bought it from a 94-year-old man who had it for 60 years!

I always thought the steamer trunk on the back was just for storage, but it turns out the gas filler is inside that box.  And the gas gauge is a dip-stick.  (Wouldn't all your stuff smell like gas?)

Now here's some automotive trivia for you:  See that little round red piece of glass on the side of the Studebaker's headlight?  That was on the left (port) side, and a matching green light was on the side of the right (starboard) headlight, just like navigation lights on a ship or plane.  Who knew?

Maybe Coffee and Cars next month will enjoy cooler weather and better attendence.  Fingers crossed.  (Missed you Robert.  Hope to see you there in September.  :)

Have a great day everyone.

S

Oh yeah....

Bazinga!