Cars and Coffee!

It started off in California (where else?) and is now spreading like virus; a simple idea of car lovers gathering early on a Saturday morning, checking out some cars and chatting. No traffic jams, no minivans on the road, no non-carguys walking around asking dumb questions. Brilliant.

Usually, gatherings such as this have two problems: location and cost. Around Boston there are few large chain dealerships and the biggest one is Herb Chambers. A quick look at their website and you will see that they are selling everything from Audis to Vespas, with a ton of high-end brands thrown in. Having recently opened a new BMW dealership, what better to show off the new digs than to invite a whole lot of car lovers over for some coffee? Everyone wins. It also helps the fact that Herb himself is a serious car enthusiast (you may have seen him on HD Theater’s Chasing Cars) and owns a few nice pieces, such as the above McLaren F1.

The dealership showed off some very nice hardware including the above Black Series SL65, looks of which I just happen to love (despite what Jeremy Clarkson saya about it). A drop-dead gorgeous Aston Martin DBS in the perfect color combo might I add.  Rolls Royce Phantom Coupe which is simply huge, yet does not appear so thanks to a perfectly proportioned body, for instance: the wheels are of 21″ variety with tires that have a good amount of sidewall, and the mirrors are bigger than ones that come on a Suburban. 997 GT2 (that’s the twin-turbo RWD model) was also there, looking rather understated, and a dime-a-dozen Audi Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder. Few Bentleys, some Range Rover, X5-M, and some M cars that looked as plain as a Camry. Outside was a trio of American V8-powered pony cars. All-in-all, very cool.

The real show was outside however, and despite the slightly wet morning the turnout was quite good. Amongst dozens of cars (I’ll bet many people did not know about this or stayed home because of the rain), the most memorable to me were these: Audi R8, which I would adore even if it had a Prius power-plant in it, a duo of what looked to be nicely modified GT-Rs (the smell of the exhaust was a dead giveaway), few E39 M5 that sadly looked a bit dated in comparison to others, an R34 Skyline which was also modified (is there a stock R34 anywhere in the world?) but looked like it’s been living a difficult life, and just a mix of other cars including a 996TT, nice Mini Copper S, EVO and nemesis the STi (or rather STI?), and some bimmers. There was a Lotus Esprit, some classic American trucks, Smokey’s Trans Am, and a handful of Ferraris. As I was leaving a classic Jaguar pulled in, and on my way back home I saw a black SLR Roadster heading there and some Italian cars from a company that once made tractors.

It was a great event, and even thought some may perceive is as an attempt to bring people into the dealership, at no point was anyone approached by a salesman of any kind. The facility, by the way, is really nice and it is worth a trip in and of itself. I wish the event was more publicized as it has a huge potential; the only way I found about it was through an invitation email from Herb Chambers and the only way that they had my email address is because I had my car serviced by them a few times. Also, late Friday a thread about it appeared on AutoBlog.com which some people told was the only way they found out about it. I also probably missed a whole lot of cool cars as I had to leave by 8:30. Coffee, donuts, muffins, and cars… they all go so great together.

Enjoy the pictures, if you see a picture of your car and want me to email you a high resolution, please use the contact page.