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

Saturday was a rare "double your fun" kind of day

Yesterday was both the first Saturday Cars and Coffee AND the 10th Annual Italian Car Club of North Texas car show.  Cars in the morning, football in the evening.  Doesn't get any better!

It was another miserably hot summer Texas day, but at least there were some clouds around that gave us a little respite.  I met my friend Neil around 7:30 and we promptly began comparing notes on how we would spend our lottery winnings.

We both agreed dropping a few coins on this custom Porsche would be a fun investment.

This BMW Z3 M Coupe is just odd enough to be interesting.  And I like the color, too.

The Audi TT seems to have lost some of it uniqueness, but I'd still like to have one.  This TT RS was slick!

I've never been a big fan of the Chevrolet "fiberglass coffin", but if the Lottery Commission said it was mandatory that all winners must buy one, I'd go for an older model like this.

My very first car was a 1965 Mustang.  Unfortunately it didn't look anything even remotely this good.

Next we went to "Something-or-Other Farms", a pleasant park-like setting in Grapevine,  just north of DFW airport. 

First car inside the gate....BAM....I'm met by a gorgeous classic Ferrari Daytona.

One of my two favorite Cars of the Day (it was truly a toss-up) was this 1967 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2, owned by McKinney, TX car dealer Pat Lobb.

It was pristine inside and out.  And the aroma of that fine cream-colored leather is still with me today.  So nice!

One of the Italian Car Club gate monitors must have been geographically challenged....he let in two British Triumphs.  :)

Interesting story of the day:  The owner of this beautiful 1985 (?) Alfa Romeo GTV6 bought it new from the Alfa dealer in San Francisco, trading in an old Toyota Celica on it (he got $3K for it).  The window sticker on the Alfa said $17,503, a pretty hefty chunk of change back in '85.  I'd say he was smart to hold on to it all these years.

This Alfa Romeo Guilia GTV was Neil's favorite of the day.  I must admit it was pretty special. :)

One of the most unusual cars there, a model that I'd never seen "in the flesh" before, was this '60 vintage Lamborghini Espada.  It was "different".  OK, who are we kidding....the proportions were just odd.  (Sorry Mr. Espada owner.)

One of the local Maserati dealers was there showing off the new, redesigned Quattroporte.  List price was $167K, and it was noticeably bigger than the old Quattroporte.  Too big IMO.

Here is my other personal "Co-Car of the Day"....a 1930's vintage Alfa Romeo 1600.  It was owned by a retired Coast Guard Commander who spends his summers in Seattle and his winters here, coming back early for just this event.  Thanks, Commander!

*OK...deep breath*   Today I'm prepared to "come out of the closet" and admit it:  I'm not really a car "petrolhead".  Instead, I'm an automotive "esthete" (noun:  esthete 1. a person who has or affects to have a special appreciation of beauty).  

I realized this when I kept seeing guys gathered around the open hoods of cars talking about camshafts and compression ratios and dry sumps and such, while I kept thinking, "I wish they'd close the hoods and boot lids so I can get some pictures of the fine lines on these beautiful cars."  ;)

Finally, my favorite window sticker of the day:

Hope you're enjoying your weekend.  Stay cool.  :)

S