The New Jersey Chapter of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club (AROC) sponsored a combination dealer visit/drive event on Sunday October 30, 2022, which saw a significant turnout of older Alfas along with some newer vehicles. The dealership, Alfa Romeo of Englewood Cliffs (NJ), located on Route 9W, graciously opened its doors to us on a Sunday morning, providing coffee and breakfast treats while we owners took advantage of the opportunity to mingle under sunny and unusually warm late October skies.
The size of the group was impressive; aside from six Spiders, there were five Bertone Giulia Coupes, a Milano, a 4C, and modern Giulias and Stelvios. A Fiat 500 Abarth rounded out the Italian entries. As the owner of a GT 1300 Junior, it was most interesting to me that there were four 1300 Juniors present, 3 Coupes and a Spider, incredible given that the model was never officially imported to the U.S.
After our morning soiree, some of us joined our tour leader Scott Klion and followed him in his red Giulia on a scenic ride up the Palisades Parkway and around Storm King Highway in NY, ending with a lunch at the charming Painter’s Tavern in Cornwall-on-Hudson. I’ve always admired how Alfa owners love to drive their cars in a spirited fashion, even if I in my 90-HP Junior struggled to keep up! My wife and I had a long ride back home from the restaurant, but it was good to get out, put some miles on ‘Junior’, and see some of my old Alfa friends again.
All photographs copyright © 2022 Richard A. Reina. Photos may not be copied or reproduced without express written permission.
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Richard,
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div> Nice pictures and you had a beautiful day. I’ve never owned an Alfa Romeo but I can understand why peop
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Hi Hugh,
Thanks as always for the comments! Alfa owners really enjoy the sportiness of their vehicles, and that fun-to-drive quotient more than makes up for the sometimes “excessive” maintenance and repair that these vehicles require. I just wish this particular event had been closer to home, but that is inspiring me to try to lead more events like this in my own backyard next year! Best, Richard
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This looks a really fantastic day and an even better showing of Alfas! The ride up around Storm King is a perfect choice! Note.. the VT antique plate. VT lets out of state residents register older cars under a bill of sale. This is common to see when folks do not have a title (I did this here in FL with a MB 450 SE I purchased). Always intersting to discuss with the owner on the show field and the story behind the VT ride! Best, Ted
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Hi Ted,
Nice to hear from you! Good callout on the VT plates, and that is exactly what the owner of that car had told me. He lives in northern Jersey, so he’s not that close to me, but he had quite the interesting backstory on that car which he totally restored. I hope to see him again at another Alfa function. Best, Richard
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That was a fall great weekend to be out driving. It must have been a surprise to see so many Juniors there. That Vermont-plated car and the Spider are particularly attractive in blue. The design of the Duetto is so perfect with the covered lights and tapered tail.
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Hi Bob, thanks for the comments! Among the Juniors, I had seen the black coupe and blue spider before, they were brought to the event by a father/son team I’ve met several times. The ‘bluette’ coupe was new to me, and the owner told me he had just finished its restoration and was still giving the car its shakedown miles. My camera did not capture the sublime essence of that shade of blue, just beautiful. Best, Richard
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