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

[rcollum]

A cool, mostly-clear morning at Katie's, Easter weekend. A big turnout, and a good showing of Lotus! Mark Franke's Esprit is back from its vacation. (No Sevens today, though...)

 

--Bob Collum

[rcollum]

The first Katie's of April. Temperature was not bad - low 50's early morning, but it started raining lightly, just before 6:00AM. Did it keep some people away? Yes. Did it mean no interesting vehicles? Absolutely not! The first picture is of the Katie's front lot, at 7:40AM. (I drove my Elise, since I knew rain was likely.)

 

 

That last picture - a Lotus cousin!

 

 

--Bob Collum

[rcollum]

It was wet when I left for Katie's, early this morning. It was a bit cold for early spring - 42 degrees. No rain at all on the way in, though. Looks like that was enough to discourage a lot of people, but not all of us!

 

--Bob Collum

[rcollum]

A combination of good weather and lots of car events later today brought out the crowds! A good turnout of Lotus (I hope) means a good showing next week at Britain on the Green, and on Sunday, May 1st, for Get Your Lotus Out... (Sorry to Vic, I didn't get a proper picture of his red Europa Twincam - the corner of it is barely visible in the last picture.)

 

--Bob Collum

[rcollum]

What happens at Katie's when it suddenly starts raining? Well, those of us in open cars... run away! Today's cars & coffee was doing well, until... it started raining around 7:20AM. A quick exit for all the roadsters. A nice turnout while it lasted, though!

 

--Bob Collum

 

P.S.: I hope everyone can make it to Britain on the Green on 4/24/16... They PROMISE good weather! See the thread below for details:

 

http://www.usa7s.net/vb/showthread.php?11099-Britain-on-the-Green-Sunday-04-24-16

 

 

[rcollum]

An overcast morning, which meant a slow start, but we ended up with a good turnout, overall. It turns out the rain will be happening Sunday, forcing us to postpone our Get Your Lotus Out event, originally scheduled for Sunday, May 1st.

 

--Bob Collum

 

[Kitcat]

I will take the silver MGA:).

[rcollum]

I will take the silver MGA:).

I was told the silver MGA had been sent back to England at some point for a full restoration, where they added very subtle fender flares, and made the body perfect. It looked really good. By comparison, the black one was a nice 'survivor'.

 

--Bob

[rx7locost]

... the black one was a nice 'survivor'.

--Bob

It appears that it may be either a twinkie or a deluxe based on the wheels. Both of which, I would take over the silver car. Interesting double-arched windshield on that one. Never seen one like that before.

 

I'd like to find a C&C somewhere near me.

[DeanG]

Going back further in time I have DB9/ Bentley convertible envy. Not very Se7en like but man cannot live by Se7en alone.

[rcollum]

We've had 10 straight days of rain. It rained all day and most of the night Friday. What do we have to do to get a decent weekend? When I left the house, the roads were wet, but we lucked out, and it did not rain at Katie's. The overcast and the wet roads made lots of folks hesitate, but most still showed up, but an hour or so later than usual. An impressive showing, all things considered.

 

My wife made her first trip out to Katie's this morning. Since she arrived much later than I did, and the weather looked better, she brought the Seven, and gave some rides to friends.

 

Last picture - hey, who is that?? (LotusMan1951.)

 

--Bob Collum

 

[rcollum]

This morning, I realized that this year, we are not so much car enthusiasts, as much as sun worshippers. The few times this spring that we see clear skies, the crowds and great cars come out. It sure happened at Katie's this morning!

 

Lots of Lotus there today - Vic and his Europa, an Exige, and at least 5 Elises, including the CO Elise that Schuyler & Ivy brought last week. Welcome!

 

--Bob Collum

[rcollum]

It was a rainy Saturday. That's nothing new; May 2016 has been pretty much a complete washout. It has rained every single weekend, and even caused our first-ever GYLO postponement. Well, it can't beat us! Even when it rains, we have several people who show up to talk cars.

Our friend Chuck brought his week-old Macan S. Everybody spent pretty much the whole time talking inside Katie's. There were still some interesting vehicles on the lot, though.

 

--Bob Collum

 

[rcollum]

Great weather (for the first time in what seems like months) and a holiday weekend made for a huge day at Katie's. The front lot was mostly full shortly after 6:00AM, and parking anywhere in the complex was essentially non-existent by 7:00AM. A fairly good showing of Lotus - hopefully, in preparation for a big turnout on Sunday, May 29th for GYLO!

 

--Bob Collum

 

[rcollum]

More interesting stuff from today.

 

--Bob Collum

[rcollum]

An overcast morning cut back a little on attendance today - but not much. I met an Esprit owner; first time he's had it out to Katie's.

An Elise owner who just bought an Alfa 4C Spyder brought it out.

 

--Bob Collum

 

 

[MichaelD]

Robert,

Do you know who owns the yellow 911?

[rcollum]

The yellow-and-blue Porsche? That's Bob Williams. He also owns a beautiful Lister Jaguar replica with the same paint job. He is an occasional visitor at Katie's on Saturdays, and sometimes at one of the Sunday Cars & Coffees, at either Dulles Landing or Fairfax Corner.

 

--Bob Collum

[rcollum]

A really good turnout today; the front lot at Katie's was full by 6:15AM! A good amount of Lotus there today, but mine was the only Seven.

 

--Bob Collum

 

[rcollum]

Bentley USA (part of the VW Group) brought over a couple of new vehicles, including their SUV, the Bentayga. A local dealer for Superlite brought a couple of their cars. A strange 3-wheeler was there; I never did find out what that was. The Porsche Speedster was an interesting piece. I was told the engine was a 911 6-cylinder, with two cylinders lopped off. The front suspension was from a 944. It was VERY well done, from what I could tell.

 

Finally, 'stance'... What can I say - when I was 3, many of my toy cars had the wheels splayed like that. I got over it - let's hope this guy does, too!

 

--Bob Collum