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, cars, and more cars!

I was out of pocket most of yesterday as K took the day off and we joined up with my friend Neil and attended the Dallas Auto Show.  We always like to go on a weekday as weekends are a freakin' zoo.  We met up in suburbia and rode the light rail train to the Convention Center in downtown Dallas....the best $5 I ever spent!

Compared to some of the large auto shows around the world....LA, NY, Geneva, Frankfurt, South Fargo ND, Bugtussle AL, etc, it isn't much.  No wild concept cars, no unveils, none of that.  But still this year's show was surprisingly good.

The bright overhead lights that made the cars stand out when seen directly created some awful photo glare, but here goes anyway:

K really liked the new 2015 Mini Cooper S.

I concur.  It was a winner.  I understand they want to keep the retro theme, but the changes from last year's model are too minor to the untrained eye, even though underneath it's completely new.  Still a definite keeper, though.

I specifically went to see the new Mazda 3.  The auto press has given it great reviews, and while I haven't yet driven one, I must say I was disappointed.  The interior just didn't measure up, for example.  

The styling was nice, but overall I gave it just a "Meh".

Aston Martin's really tick all my boxes, they're so beautiful.  

Even the big 4-door Aston Rapide S was stunning.  The price, though, was just plain shocking!

We were told this is the only Pagani Who Are Ya * currently in the US.  No wonder, at a million bucks plus!

* If you can pronounce it, you're a better person than me!

It was actually pretty gaudy.

Yet another McLaren MP4-12-C.  I see these things all over town.  Or maybe there's just this one and they keep driving it in circles.

A Rolls Royce Wraith.  A two-door Rolls?  Umm....no!

I did like the crystal (?) Spirit of Ecstasy, though.  :)

The Range Rover Evoque was especially impressive.  The little splash of mud behind the rear wheel was a nice touch, letting us know it's a serious off-roader.  *snicker*

For a mere $47K it can be yours.

Although the design is getting rather long in the tooth, I still like an Audi TT.  Overpriced, though.  :(

Same with the Audi R8.  

Here's Lexus' attempt to prove it isn't just an old man's car:  the LFA.  It's a $350K super car that took 10 years to design/build.  It's quite good they say, but for a lot less than that you could have....

 ....this Ferrari 458 Italia.  Game, set, match!

I have friends who have Jaguars, and frankly, they spend waaaay too much time in the shop to impress me.  Still, this new F-Type is absolutely gorgeous!

I made it a point to go check out the BMW's.  I really wanted to like them, but after looking them over I was even less impressed than when I got there.  They didn't have the nice thunk you like to hear when you close the door, and the seats didn't swallow me like I want them to. 

The new "baby" Maserati, the Ghibli.  Nice, but no cigar.

The latest iteration of the car that changes super premium fuel into tire smoke and noise, the Dodge Viper.

The Fiat 500 Abarth, because I always include one in my car show pics.

I did find my next car at the show, the upcoming (this summer), all new (although outwardly it's only slightly evolutionary looking), Volkswagen GTI:

They say it, like the previous gen GTI, has magnificent power, handling, comfort, and practicality....a daily driver you can thoroughly enjoy.  The interior quality will blow you away....I can't tell you how impressed I was with the fit and finish.  Kudos, VeeDub!  Seriously, when I'm ready to put my now-7-year-old Audi out to pasture, this is what I will be buying.  :)

And now just some random shots of select vintage cars on display:

Porsche 356

Buick ____

Early Corvette

The inspiration for "Pimp My Ride"?

Yeah....a purple Lincoln.  :0

Nice Jag

Rumble seat on a T-Bird?

That was the Dallas Auto Show 2014.  Next week....Cars and coffee.  :)

S