I'll admit, it was only 2013 when I discovered Cars and Coffee, but I'm already a giant fan. What could be better than:
Staggering out of bed an hour later than weekdays,
Not shaving or brushing your teeth,
Wearing your ugly grease stained car themed t-shirt you love,
Putting your chores off for at least 2 hours,
Stumbling to the car to drive to a car show at 9 a.m,
Which is conveniently in front of a coffee shop where you can grab a black coffee and a pastry,
Watching the sun come up over the hill on a convertible Stingray,
and talkin' cars with other nuts just like you?!
Some fine cars show up too. For example, I don't think I'd ever seen a vintage Bentley in the flesh before. Wow, they really are a special car. There's a presence of grandeur when you see them in person. It's as if the castle should be tagging behind shortly. Makes you want to refer to funny things like the "bonnet" and consider drinking tea instead (but only very briefly).
There's also some odd cars. For example, the Lotus Europa is so ugly that I can't help but love it. It looks like a great looking sports car and a little toyota pickup had a baby together.
You'll also find the American car show classics as well. Yes, you've seen 5,000 versions of the same car, starting with the three your dad owned when you were a kid, but there are Chevelles, Corvettes, Camaros, Mustangs, etc. etc. etc.. And yes, I'd still own number 5001 in a heartbeat if I could afford one. Thanks dad, for destruction derbying your big block Challenger because "it was ugly". Ok, I understand that; the later Challengers were ugly, even if people are paying too much for them 20 years later.
Also, the funky cars make an appearance. Cars that when you talk to the owner they mention things like their inability to keep the rear axle together if they actually use the power plant they put in the car. Oops. Some people need a poster in their garage that reminds them, "you're only as strong as your weakest link". But I still admire these people. They are the brave... and generally poor. I guess I'd like to imagine I can relate, but perhaps I'm not brave. My 1957 MGA (budgetmga.blogspot.com) has a big 72 horesepower in top shape.
Note that these guys are proud of their motors. Yes, they did something disgusting... disgustingly awesome. And they're proud of it. Therefore the hood pops open. And guys like me love it! Don't forget, there are two parts of the car, form and function! This is one of my suggestions to make cars and coffee a little better. Even if you have no idea how that noisy thing under the hood works, open the hood up for those of us that do.
But lets get back to who attends, we can't forget the ridiculously expensive cars. And these people don't play around. Life is a competition. "What...", someone else brought a V12 supercar? Park right next to them so you can prove your superiority. Ferrari or McLaren? A question I'll never have the authority to answer. It's like that goofy kid that drives the Geo Metro but wears a Ferrari jacket - he has no real authority to tell the world that Ferrari is so worthy but he'll wear their name on his chest 300 days a year.
I think the McLaren looks better. Seriously Ferrari, hoop roll bars? What is this, a BMW Z3? McLaren's shaped buttresses harken back to the days of 50's sports car racing; dig it!
My first couple of Cars and Coffee I took very few photos and enjoyed the coffee, cars, and people. Then this blog started to get more popular. What does that have to do with the price of tea in china?
I started getting death threats from photographers whose posted internet pictures I was copying and pasting into my blog. Some creepy lawyer-esque guy sent me a two page blog response on legal precedence regarding using photos, even if they're posted on the internet for all the world to see.
I then realized that if I didn't want to have to deal with these types, I needed to have a stock of my own photos that covered all they types of cars I might have an itching to write about.
Today I took more photos to hold in my back pocket. Here's a few of the highlights. And I give anyone permission to use the photos in this blog anyway they want. I won't sue you even if I see my photos printed individually on each toilet paper square. Who knows, it might sell! People really could say, "I wipe my butt with (insert hated car marque here)".
A nice 60s V12 Ferrari was in attendance this morning.
But I hate to say it, I found myself thinking the unthinkable. Pininfarina's influence is so clear that I could see a little bit of MGB in the body lines!
And my photo shooting skills are lacking. I had to "antique" this photo because it was the only way the lack of focus made any sense. Fail at having a vintage Ferrari V12 photo in my stock. From the other side I got an excellent photo (sarcasm) focused on the battery post, while behind it you can barely make out a blurry Ferrari valve cover.
And I can't forget the random angle photos I shot trying to be artistic. Too bad there's a 240Z tattooed on the leather seat and my pants are displayed prominently in the mirror.
But I did get away with a Ferrari emblem. And it's MY PHOTO. Bwa ha ha ha. I can use it without anyone suing me. Old man Ferrari probably could/would but he's dead. Ain't it pretty?
And don't forget the bling; chrome!
I thought a Porsche logo might come in handy some day too. The owner told me this is a very rare factory 911 paint color on this 914. It's green. Slight sarcasm, but I will admit it was a great color for the car.
Speaking of Porsche, I don't normally like them but this one looked great. The color, the mirror, the bumpers, the brass cooler lines, the moderately flared fenders... I'd drive it. Even if my own family would make tons of yuppie jokes. Working in a city, owning a 911, and having country relatives is a recipe for ridicule.
A couple of stalls away I happened upon a vintage right hand drive Porsche that I wanted to know more about. I couldn't find the owner, but I give him props for leaving the windows open so I could check out the interior without glare. This is another thing I'd recommend for all attendees. Hoods up, windows down!
Here's another fail shot at being artistic. Quite the snout on that Porsche huh?
The unimog had a Michelin man mounted on its rear view mirror. You probably get him for free when you buy a set of tires for this truck! No, those aren't spaceships in the background, those are the black dots my camera introduces to photos.
If I've seen 5,000 of everything else American, I've probably seen 20,000 Mustangs. But I still love the fastback. Hence this shot of only the fastback. I'm tired of the rest of the car.
Now imagine a classic beautiful 1960's Lancia. Then imagine if they partnered with Zagato. Remember the magic of the Aston Zagato (picture below is also mine from the Portland museum car show; you can tell because the quality is poor and I didn't capture all of the car).
Here's what Lancia achieved with Zagato. I wonder if Lancia asked for their money back?
I was very impressed with a classic BMW's interior. Looked great! I can imagine he loves to drive it. The exterior of the car... kinda cool. The interior... if I owned it I might sleep in it; excellent!
Well, I hope you enjoyed some of the fruits of my attempt at avoiding litigation. Make sure you check out a Cars and Coffee. And when you're there, and you see the goofy guy taking photos of every little thing with a crappy $200 dollar camera, make sure you say "hi" to me. Don't worry, I'll tell you whether I think the Ferrari or McLaren is better even if you don't care about my opinion because you saw me show up in my Geo Metro (it's just my commuter!).
0 comments:
Post a Comment