Monday 2nd September 2013

Cars and Coffee: PH Blog

Matt tastes some Californian car culture and returns very impressed

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Imagine a PH Sunday Service, on a Saturday, in LA. That's exactly what Cars and Coffee felt like. Yes, there are more cars (with too many Mustangs) and it's far hotter but there remains that same sense of like-minded enthusiasts meeting to indulge their shared passion for cars. And donuts, of course (we'll defer to the local spelling in this instance).

It was therefore a superb event, a great end to a few days in California. Moreover, despite being something of an intruder to the event, being neither in possession of a car nor a US passport, everybody I encountered was really friendly. Though that does appear to be the LA way to some extent, to have guys so willing to talk about their cars just made the morning so much more accessible and enjoyable.

Personal highlights from cars and coffee included a beautiful pair of De Tomaso Panteras, a late Honda NSX in Imola Orange and a stunning E28 BMW 535i. Everything though, even the Veyrons, Aventadors and Carrera GTs, was overshadowed by an apparently road-registered Porsche 917. There was a feeling of just total bemusement and wonder from everyone who saw it, a hugely special thing even in such exalted company. The owner of '917-70', you are a hero.

Still, enough gushing, here are some iffy phone pics to give you an idea.

Matt

[scarecrow]

That 917 has to be the ultimate in road presence.

Veyron owners et al would have to bow down to that.

[myhandle]

Unsurprisingly the 917 is a replica; impressive nonetheless.

http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2012/06/street-leg...

[Garlick]

That 'Plateyers' 964 is a bit too low for me, love the colour though.

[Bash Brannigan]

Great gushing, any more photos? That GT40 is rather lovely, did you manage to find out anything about it?

[em177]

That green 355..... <3

[Chris-R]

myhandle said:

Unsurprisingly the 917 is a replica; impressive nonetheless.

http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2012/06/street-leg...

And here's the Porsche factory version at FoS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY8_t0g1Chw

[4a4]

That 964 is Brian (of VW 'sceneboy' wheel of choice manufacturer Rotiform)...'s

Cool car, but i'd want one set up to handle properly as well as just for aesthetics.

Looks like an awesome little meet, good European marque representation as well by the looks of it.

[Cotty]

Nice selection.

[Matt Bird]

Few more here! They're all cropped to a fairly low size to make the CMS run with less aggro. If anybody wants an unedited pic (they can't be called 'originals' coming from a phone!), drop me a message and I'll send one across.

Cheers,


Matt

Bora


Volvos!


That E28


Mercedes Pagoda

[Rpofield]

I moved to California from the UK 4 years ago, I was lucky enough to choose a place to live which is 3 miles away from this event, I go every other week and it's always fantastic, great cars, great people, iffy coffee! Always a nice selection of motorbikes too, vintage through to modern. Sorry about the pic quality!

[sumpoil]

There seems to be a worryingly high 'men in flip-flops' quotient .... is this the dress-code for these shindigs? .... I only ever wear mine with my sarong

[Rpofield]

sumpoil said:

There seems to be a worryingly high 'men in flip-flops' quotient .... is this the dress-code for these shindigs? .... I only ever wear mine with my sarong

What's more worrying than them actually wearing them is what they call them....Thongs!

[Japveesix]

A good friend of my brothers films Cars 'n' Coffee meets in the US where he interviews owners about their cars and car history etc. Quite interesting and easy watching:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHypBjrn3rQ

Think he was keen on filming a PH meet at some point but not quite happened yet.

[mark3man]

Rpofield said:

What's more worrying than them actually wearing them is what they call them....Thongs!

How does it go ?
'Just a thong at twilight' (;-)

[sisu]

sumpoil said:

There seems to be a worryingly high 'men in flip-flops' quotient .... is this the dress-code for these shindigs? .... I only ever wear mine with my sarong

No it is LA weather - It tends to be similar to the weather you go to visit on holiday.
You could carry on the great British tradition of inappropriate clothing for the local weather conditions.

[E30Addict]

em177 said:

That green 355..... <3

Up to now TdF Blue was my favourite colour for a 355. Now I'm not so sure.

[RINGMEISTER]

That Pantera is to die for, how cool are those wheels. I had forgotten just how pretty a 355 was, and the green takes it to a whole different place!

[badmastard]

Isnt it in Irvine and not in LA?

[E60M5]

Am I the only one who finds it a bit vile that somebody would rip off such an iconic piece of automotive history? A very convincing replica, I was tricked for a second too but you can tell just looking at the fan on the back and the headlights. Front decal containing the number 23 is supposed to be round too, not square.

[Rpofield]

badmastard said:

Isnt it in Irvine and not in LA?

Correct, Irvine in Orange County.....

They should've checked out 'Donut Derelicts' too, that's also a great Saturday morning hang out.....next time!