rcollum

Another great Saturday at Katie's. No Sevens in attendance, though - it threatened rain, and made good on the threat around 8:00AM. --Bob Collum

If Katie's on Saturdays is "too early" or "too crowded" for you, this Sunday cars & coffee event might just be for you. It's a small but enthusiastic group of car people, and Cameron's is a good little coffee and bakery shop. Bob Scates and I brought our Lotus today. --Bob Collum

My first trip to Katie’s was in 2009. A friend (Alan) told me it was a really cool, small gathering of interesting cars and car people. I took a few pictures; they show an original Mini Cooper, two Elises (Alan’s and mine), and a fire engine. The picture was taken after 8:00AM. Crowds were not a problem. Fast-forward to today, and you have to get to Katie’s INSANELY early to get a ‘good’ spot. As the popularity skyrocketed, so did the quality and variety of vehicles. I have learned a lot by asking questions about what I didn’t recognize or understand. I have a network of friends and acquaintances that all started at Katie’s. There are downsides to such a huge, popular event. Over the years, we have had accidents involving vehicles coming to or leaving from Katie’s – a couple of modern Ferraris on Georgetown Pike and 495, a Cobra replica, and the sad, fatal accident of the young man driving his S2000 down Walker Road. One of the most widely-reported Katie’s stories was the parking accident between the Mercedes and the Ferrari – I heard people on Metro talking about that, the week after. This past Saturday, we had another landmark, and not in a good way: a guy with a ~$300,000 McLaren 720S, bought the day before, crashed the car on Walker Road, and had to be medivac’d out to the hospital. This story has made it to the Fairfax County Police Facebook page, and onto the TV news. The McLaren driver’s injuries, thankfully, are not life-threatening, but he after-effects of such a story will color peoples’ opinions of Katie’s Cars & Coffee. This is NOT meant to be an accusatory screed; God knows, there will be plenty of vitriol from non-car-people. What I want to do, is remind us all that we in the car hobby are very visible, very identifiable targets for people who would like nothing better than to shut down car events they see as being breeding grounds for antisocial behavior. Even many of my car friends have an instant, visceral reaction that ‘that guy (or girl) is an idiot!’ Take that reaction and move it to the large number of non-car-people, and you can see that incidents like this can make for increasing hostility in the general public about “car events” in general. We car people need to move beyond the too-easy excuse that it’s only “idiots” that cause these problems. The roads in this area are filled with people driving distracted and making completely illogical moves in the middle of traffic. Suburban roads, like the ones surrounding Katie’s, are packed with wild deer, which can dart in front of you like a furry kamikaze. These variables could mean that anyone could be involved in a very serious accident, whether or not it is “your fault”. Like me, I’m sure you have done some unsafe moves in your car. We all need to keep in mind that the way we drive our vehicles has consequences. Use whatever helps you to keep that in mind… Do I want to be injured, or to die? Do I want to damage my car? Do I want to hurt or kill someone else? Do I want to have to endure all my friends referring to me as ‘crash’? Those of us who used to enjoy a Sunday cars & coffee at Fair Lakes, VA (Kohl’s) know that it’s possible to lose a venue because of bad actors. Let’s do what is necessary to make sure we, as a group, clean up our behavior, and keep this weekly event safe, and thriving!

I drove my Caterham, accompanied by Mark Franke in my Elise. Chuck Stone brought his Westfield. The Lamborghini Espada is a personal favorite of mine; an Italian oddity, with a 12 cylinder engine, and seating for four! I did a walk around the lot with Michael D. --Bob Collum

I got my seven back from the shop Friday evening. (Cracked header repaired - thanks, R & R Auto!) No surprise that I was the only Seven there, since the NJMP track day for Sevens ran from July 4th thru 6th. I did have several Lotus friends there. A good morning, for sure! That last shot is a bonus - who knows what it is? I figure I'll never see another one! --Bob Collum

A warm, clear, beautiful morning at Katie's. As you would expect, there were a lot of cars, and a lot of people there. Another Seven-related car was there today - Graham brought his Acura-engined LoCost Seven. (My Seven is in the shop, having a crack in the header welded.) Graham is eagerly anticipating his first participation in the Sevens track event in NJ, coming up. --Bob Collum

A good turnout this morning. Two Lotus in attendance - Bob Scates' Esprit, and my Elise. A small, but enthusiastic group, including a Ford GT, a '32 Ford Roadster, a Viper, several Porsches and Corvettes. --Bob Collum

A newcomer visiting Katie's on a morning like today could be forgiven for thinking "what's the big deal about this?" Today's light mist, which kept away the majority of normal attendees, was not enough to keep regulars away. Most other local cars & coffee events would be happy to have the number, quality and variety of vehicles there today. Occasional light mist aside, it was not at all unpleasant to walk the lot, perusing what people brought out. My Elise got a lot of attention today. Michael D. was there today, with his dog, Buddy. --Bob Collum

A pretty good turnout on Father's Day - Bob Scates and I made sure Lotus was represented. Mike D. was there in his Porsche Cabriolet, and Paul M. was enjoying his '32 Ford Roadster, 'Henry'. Dino had his Lambo, and Bob Williams drove his just-purchased Porsche Turbo. A really nice bunch of people. --Bob Collum

Well, finally - perfect weather on a Saturday morning! That means a lot of cars & people at Katie's. Chuck Stone parked next to me in his Westfield Seven. As it turns out, Craig Chima was involved in Chuck's Westfield, and in my Caterham! Michael D. came by, and we talked for a while. We had another Dodge Demon there today. My friend Pete and his son drove their Beck Porsche replicas. The Stanley Steamer is a crowd-pleaser. Check out the rearview mirror hang-tag on the Cobra... --Bob Collum

A good turnout - 3 Lotus, driven by 3 NoVA Lotus members. Dino had his 512BB there, too. --Bob Collum

4 Lotus at Katie's today! Also, several cars there I had never seen before... (I'm a little surprised I had the only Seven there today.) --Bob Collum

I had the only Lotus I saw at Katie's today. (Mark Franke was there, but his Esprit is in the shop.) There was an amazing showing of TVRs - 11 of them, while I was there. Quite a sight! This inspires me - what would it take to get a bunch of the local Sevens to show up someplace? I attend two events, pretty much every week - Katie's on Saturday (very early start time) and Fairfax Circle on Sundays, starting at a more-reasonable 8:00AM. We could also arrange to get together someplace for a lunch. I know the various track and autocross events mean a large number of weekends will not work for a fair number of us. Is there a day/time that would work for a handful of us, or more? --Bob Collum

A very big turnout, even as early as we get there... Chuck Stone, who I know from the Jaguar club, has bought a Westfield 7. He drove his Westfield to Katie's today. A lot of nice cars there, today. --Bob Collum

It was a quick visit to Cameron's for me today, since our local Lotus club had a meet scheduled for 11:00AM out in Leesburg, VA. Actually, the turnout today at Cameron's (on the first non-rain-day in a week) was about as large as Katie's was yesterday, in the rain. It was still wet, with puddles in my neighborhood, so I left the Seven at home. --Bob Collum

It rained today. It's rained for what seems like a week! A small turnout for a Saturday at Katie's, but still, a dedicated, enthusiastic bunch! The guys I usually have breakfast with on Saturdays were there, and we made the best of it. I got there early. Michael D was there this morning, mourning the Seven he sold last year. --Bob Collum

We were approached by a friend who works at the embassy, a couple of months ago. He mentioned the possibility of being able maybe display some cars at the open house - something that had not happened in a while. As we approached the date, we were advised we could bring as few as two, and as many as four of our cars. Since Lotus Cars USA had agreed to supply two new Evoras (and this event is really all about promoting British exports), we figured we'd be able to have maybe two or three of our cars on display. We wanted to display an array of cars from all eras, my Elise was out - too 'ordinary'. Our contact was displaying his Seven, so I couldn't bring mine. We ended up with really nice examples of an Elan and an Exige, to show that Lotus is not just the Elise, or even the Evora. It was a really nice day, very well run. Over 10,000 people came thru to see the cars, have some British food - food trucks with English Breakfast and, later, fish & chips '- and everyone toured the 'official' residence - where they have formal dinners and meetings. I was very happy to have been invited, and look forward to working with the embassy in the future! --Bob Collum

We had a great time at the British Embassy Open House today. They had Revolutionary War re-enactors, several Bobbies in uniform, and over 10,000 visitors! Some seemingly strange additional guests were Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders and drumline. Later, I found out that the tie-in is, the Eagles will be playing a pre-season game in London, later this year. --Bob Collum

British Embassy Open House – Saturday 12 May 2018 from 10:00AM to 4:00PM – Showcasing Lotus & Caterham! Every year the British Embassy opens their doors to the public. Last year, the British Embassy was once again the most popular Embassy, greeting nearly 8,000 members of the public. Access to the Embassy allows visitors to tour the impressive Residence, perfectly manicured gardens and indulge in some British food, art, fashion and music. But of course there’ll also be some impressive cars on display with the likes of McLaren, Rolls Royce, Bentley, Jaguar Landrover and LOTUS! Yes Lotus shall be there with a planned 2 Evoras being showcased by Lotus North America, an Elan courtesy of the NOVA Lotus Club, as well as a member's Caterham Seven. So if you’re in the DC area and wish to attend, please come armed with camera, water and sun screen (fingers crossed we get the weather). Please note that the gates open at 10:00AM and close promptly at 4:00PM. Entrance lines form quickly, so to minimize wait time please arrive early. Photos from previous year’s Open House can be seen at bit.ly/1AcVw7n. The Embassy address is: · 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008. For travel options please note that there is no parking at the Embassy so you will need to find a nearby car park / on street parking or travel in using the Metro. You might find parking in the vicinity of Wisconsin and Massachusetts Avenues. If you find parking there, beware of parking restrictions. It is NOT recommended you bring your 'good' car to this event! It's a 1.7 mile walk from the Farragut West Metro stop. (The Woodley Park Zoo Metro stop is closer, but will be VERY BUSY on a Saturday morning.) If you park near Wisconsin and Massachusetts Avenues, it's about a .8 mile walk. Hopefully we will see you there! Let's support Lotus, and this great event at the British Embassy! Bob Collum, NOVA Lotus

I've been away from this C & C for a while; I met up with a friend today, before heading off to the annual Deutsche Marque German car show. --Bob Collum

Since it was raining lightly when I left my house, I drove the (gasp) Subaru this morning. I had really wanted to drive the Seven, but didn't want to deal with the rain. Luckily, some people braved the weather, which turned out to be a largely dry by the time we got to Great Falls. There were three Evoras there, but I never got a picture of Mickey's car. Keep an eye the NoVA Lotus website's calendar; we are planning several events for Northern Virginia in the new few weeks - DC British Embassy Open House: novalotusclub.freeforums.net/thread/375/british-embassy-open-house-Saturday Jefferson 500 - Kevin McGovern Invitation: novalotusclub.freeforums.net/thread/363/invitation-kevin-mcgovern-jefferson-500 GYLO 15: novalotusclub.freeforums.net/thread/372/gylo-15-20th-2018-00am Memorial Day Weekend Drive: novalotusclub.freeforums.net/thread/377/memorial-day-weekend-drive-sat --Bob Collum

A very good show, as always. We had 13 Lotus, in two classes - essentially, 'old' Lotus, and Elises. New NoVA Lotus member Shannon Way won 1st place with his CO Elise. For 'classic' Lotus category, it was - 1st - Mark Whitaker, blue Elan S4 (another new NoVA Lotus member) 2nd - Bob Collum, Caterham 7 (obviously, he cheated!) 3rd - Tim & Jenn Glahn, white Elan We had a really nice day together - 13 total Lotus on the field, Interesting to note - we had 6 Esprits, only 4 Elises, and no Exiges or Evoras... --Bob Collum

A good turnout this morning! --Bob Collum

Without a doubt, this was the largest day ever at Katie's. Cars were parked all the way around the Great Falls Village shopping center. While I am glad Katie's remains popular, the fact that we had overflow cars parking across Walker Road on the Safeway parking lot, and also parked unsafely along the side of Georgetown Pike. This will generate a lot of complaints, if this is not just a blip in attendance for the first gorgeous-weather day of the year. That MGB is a newly-manufactured car from a firm called British Motor Heritage in England. It runs Mazda MX-5 running gear. --Bob Collum

We didn't think it was very funny; there are lots of deer on the roads around Katie's, and we've had accidents involving cars and deer. This looked like the aftermath...