Blog

The weekly Cars & Coffee meet at Ford’s Premier Automotive Group Headquarters in Irvine always brings a potpourri of interesting cars. From oldsters to the most recent exotics, Cars & Coffee is an egalitarian event showcasing interesting cars from all eras. As often as possible – or when we get up early enough – AutoPacific and VehicleVoice staffers attend Cars & Coffee.
This week, a lineup of Chrysler 300s, Dodge Chargers and Dodge Magnums rolled into the event and dominated more than a row of show space.

Chrysler LX Lineup Took Over a Row
The Chrysler 300s rumbled in and ranged from stock to heavily modified. Some of the modifications were very well done and probably should be considered for production. Others were overdone… showing a lack of sophistication and taste. They took over more than a row of the show space and attracted interest from both older and younger spectators.

Bentley vs. Maybach – Which Would You Take?
This probably is one the few Maybachs that may be privately owned. What hotel would have a license plate “WHEEEE”? Of course, ridiculous to sublime. Is the Bentley the ridiculous car or the Maybach?

Line of Classic Mercedes Sandwiched Between Ferraris
There were a fair amount of Ferraris, a couple of Astons, a Callaway S7, several Ford GTs and even this line of classic Mercedes roadsters at today’s Cars & Coffee. While the current exotics got a tremendous amount

Golden Retriever Woodie Combination
The Golden Retriever in the backseat of this great looking Woodie considered everybody a friend. What a great combo – Golden and a pristine Woodie. Don’t even think about the dog hair.

Made Me Remember My 1969 Boss 302 Mustang
This new Saleen Mustang is the Parnelli Jones edition… costs a bit over $60,000. Painted Grabber orange just like Parnelli’s Trans Am Mustangs of the late ’60s and early ’70s, this car made me lust after a new one. (The 1969 was notoriously unreliable… had fragile piston skirts and valve train offset by a 50,000 mile powertrain warranty). The backlite louvers reminded me of what a bitch it was to get the snow out of the louvers when the car was parked back to the wind. No rear window defroster. Snow caked under and between the louvers. Frostbitten hands.

Lovingly Restored 1967 Ford F250 Ranger Camper Special
My personal favorite was this 1967 Ford F250 Ranger Camper Special. Lovingly restored, the Camper Special had been taken apart piece-by-piece and brought back to better than new condition. Having been the “chief heater hose engineer” on Ford Trucks as an engineering grad trainee, I appreciated the attention to detail even in routing the hoses under the hood. Wow, nice job. Note, the truck has an auxiliary fuel tank.