2016 Katie's Cars & Coffee Thread - Great Falls, VA

[MichaelD]

I was referring to this one.

 

http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=11963&d=1479590583

[rcollum]

OOOhh! That Alfa! That's a 4C, their latest sports car. Carbon fiber tub, mid-engined, 1.7 liter turbo 4 cyl, 237hp. Where it loses me (vs my Elise) - it weighs over 500lbs more than the Elise, has far less luggage space, and is only available as an automatic! Oh, and the one pictured was list-priced at over $75,000. I heard that the sedan model just didn't sell - I don't know how this will do in sales. The roads tests, in general, are not flattering. It's pretty, but strangely-proportioned: it's 6 inches wider than the Elise. It's been argued that a present-day Federalized Elise would weigh more than the 1975lbs. of my 2007 model, but my car has an aluminum tub. I'd like to think Lotus would do far better, weight- and size-wise, if they could afford to do a carbon fiber tub!

 

Below are some side-by-side pictures I took of my Elise and the coupe version of the 4C.

 

--Bob Collum

Edited November 22, 2016 by rcollum

[MichaelD]

I think it looks better in the 3/4 view.

Is the engine f,r or m engine?

Why do you think is has less storage?

[rcollum]

I think it looks better in the 3/4 view.

Is the engine f,r or m engine?

Why do you think is has less storage?

The direct front- or rear-views are not the best,it's true.

It's mid-engined.

The guy opened the rear lid, and I could see that, while it was a slight bit deeper than the Elise trunk, it was lots narrower, side-to-side. I know that the 'sport' exhaust has no muffler - it's possible that's how they were able to make their trunk deeper. Several reviews complained about the excessive noise of the car - especially the engine noise, around town. (Few among us minds a throaty note on acceleration, but constant din can get old).

 

--Bob Collum

[rcollum]

A holiday weekend is always a crapshoot at Katie's, as far as attendance goes. You know a lot of people are out of town, but with a good number of out-of-town guests visiting, attendance can be good. This morning we started fairly slowly, but we ended up with an excellent showing of beautiful vehicles.

 

A group of us were having breakfast while it was still pitch-black outside. We mentioned some cars we wished would show up, sometime. In particular, I mentioned two Italian/American amalgams - the Bizzarrini and the Iso Grifo - both with custom Italian chassis and bodies, with American V-8s. When we went outside, less than an hour later, what did we find, but a beautiful, perfect version of the Iso Grifo, with a Corvette 327 V-8.

 

--Bob Collum

​

Edited November 26, 2016 by rcollum

[Kitcat]

The 'Vette engined Iso Grifo even looks like a '63 'Vette from the side. Who copied who:)?

BTW Bob, does anyone have a better attendance record at these events than you????

As I have mentioned before, I look forward to your weekly photo spread.

[rcollum]

Several more, including a front and rear shot of the Alfa 4C Coupe and Spyder, for Michael D.

 

--Bob Collum

[rcollum]

The 'Vette engined Iso Grifo even looks like a '63 'Vette from the side. Who copied who:)?

BTW Bob, does anyone have a better attendance record at these events than you????

As I have mentioned before, I look forward to your weekly photo spread.

Thanks!

I have been a regular at Katie's since February of 2010, before it was an 'official' event. I miss, on average, maybe 3 Saturdays a year. I have tens of thousands of pictures from Katie's, through the years.

 

--Bob Collum

[rcollum]

There's always something new. That should be the motto of Katie's Cars & Coffee. There are certainly thousands of Cars & Coffee events, all over the US and beyond, and I'm sure they all have their fans. In the DC area, what sets Katie's apart is the variety of amazing vehicles that come here, with new ones almost every week.

 

Below: An Alfa 4C for Michael D's enjoyment; a Corvette with a modified front-end; a 1967 Mercedes, 'stanced'. The last two pictures are of a Dodge Charger that I originally walked right past. A friend called it to my attention; it has a custom body, with a gorgeous rear spoiler, frenched-in details in the front and rear, plus flush doorhandles from a Corvette, and an 1100hp supercharged hemi V8.

 

--Bob Collum

 

[rcollum]

I found a website with more info on the Charger...

 

 

https://www.detroitspeed.com/Projects/moe-1969-charger/moe-1969-charger-pg-1.html

 

 

--Bob Collum

[rcollum]

I have missed the last two weeks of attending Katie's - I was out of town for a niece's graduation one weekend, and it was icy last week. Miss three weeks in a row? Unthinkable! With some minimal email confirmation, our group of breakfast compatriots showed up on Christmas Eve. Not much interesting in the way of cars, but plenty of car-talk.

 

--Bob Collum

 

[rcollum]

For the last Katie's Cars & Coffee of the year (don't worry, we will continue thru the winter...), we had some 'special guests'.

 

A local Alfa dealer gave us our first look at the Giulia Quadrifoglio, while a new owner brought out his identical Quadrifoglio.

 

The LeMay Museum from Tacoma brought some old American cars down, on their "Drive Home" winter driving tour. The cars that made it to Katie's were the Chrysler 300 G, the '57 Chevy, and the 1917 Crane-Simplex Model 5, originally owned by JD Rockefeller. (The Mustang had transmission problems, and was laid up for repairs in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.) Here's a link to the LeMay Drive Home blog:

 

Read it on blog.hemmings.com

 

--Bob Collum

 

Edited December 31, 2016 by rcollum