Vendors and Car Clubs at the 2025 Auto e Moto d’Epoca

November 7, 2025November 7, 2025 RichardReina Car shows, Events 30, Auto e Moto d'Epoca, BolognaFiere

THE VENDORS

Spare parts vendors were a big part of this year’s Auto e Moto d’Epoca, taking up approximately 20% of the available floor space at the BolognaFiere. When I write “spare parts vendors,” I am including businesses selling everything from original-equipment replacement items to performance components, clothing, books, magazines, scale models, and lots of automobilia (collectibles like signs, oil cans, gas cans, advertising material, toys, etc.). The photographs below highlight some of the more interesting vendors I visited during my romp through Building #30.

Alfa parts vendors were aplenty, which was no surprise given our location:

Note the orange-and-black NOS Alfa parts boxes

MyAlfaGroup was a vendor I utilized for some small items last year, and again this year:

If you needed new keys cut, this vendor stocked plenty of key blanks:

Several upholstery vendors were on hand. While my car does not need upholstery work, I thought it would be a good idea to gather some intelligence for future reference. Looking at the upholstery job in this Maserati, I was impressed. The company name was Commerciale MediciStyle, and I gave my contact info to the young woman behind the counter, who followed up with an email to me. BTW, her name was Giulia!

Here was another upholstery vendor who looked like they had interesting things:

Are you out of room for the full-size items? Scale models take up much less space:

If you want to relive your boyhood and purchase a kit for assembly, this vendor had one for a 1955 Alfa Giulietta Spider. And it was only $265!

This body shop was demonstrating its glass-out approach to a complete paint job:

I must give a joyous shout-out to D’Angelo Motors. I remember this vendor well from last year. They make performance parts for the classic Fiat 500, offering everything from bolt-on suspension components to major engine overhauls to outrageous resto-mods. This year, they also hosted my new artist friend Ada Gambino, who was the subject of a recent previous post.

Me and my new friend Marco (and dig the ‘stache)

This 500 had a complete air suspension, allowing it to be raised or lowered by several inches:

THE CAR CLUBS

Car clubs (along with organizations, teams, and museums) occupied four of the sixteen buildings, so their presence was significant. Unlike in the U.S. , where we mostly have car clubs devoted to one manufacturer (with exceptions, of course, like the Mustang Club), in Italy, it is quite typical to see car clubs devoted to a single model. For example, for Fiat, there were clubs solely for the 124 Spider, the Barchetta, the X1/9, the 127, and the Ritmo. For Alfa Romeo, I spotted car clubs for the Duetto and the 916. Lancia had a club just for cars with boxer engines! The photos below illustrate these examples.

The Fiat 500 Club, a big club for a little car

Part of their display included this illustrated tribute to Tom Tjaarda, who designed the 124 Spider among other cars.

The Fiat 127 Club. Wonder if they have a U.S. Chapter?

The Fiat Ritmo Club. That car was sold in the States as the Strada.

The Lancia Club, which looked like they embraced all Lancias

But here’s the Boxer Lancia Club; that name has got to fool the unknowing

The ASI (Automotoclub Storico Italiano) is an overarching organization for historic automobiles

Introducing Automotive Artist Ada Gambino at the Auto e Moto d’Epoca

November 3, 2025November 3, 2025 RichardReina Car shows, Events Ada Gambino, Ada Go, Auto e Moto d'Epoca, BolognaFiere

Before arriving in Bologna for the Auto e Moto d’Epoca, we spent several days in Torino. Traveling as I was with my wife Margaretanne and her brother Kevin, with whom I attended high school, Kevin and I had a mutual school colleague named John Rasiej, who now resides full-time in Torino. We three alumni had a fantastic reunion, highlighted by John and his wife Luisa in the role of our own private tour guides. During our days there, John introduced me to an artist friend of his named Ada Gambino. After seeing that she had creatively painted the entire side of a vintage Fiat Cinquecento (500) for display in a barbershop’s entrance, John commissioned her to paint an original image of Marilyn Monroe on a piece of automotive sheetmetal, specifically, the front clip of a Fiat Cinquecento (500). The flat, grille-less front provided plenty of space on which to paint. Subsequently, Ada received an invitation from a vendor in Fiat 500 performance parts to set herself up in their booth at the BolognaFiere, giving her the potential for huge exposure.

In Torino: Margaretanne, Ada, John, and Kevin

In Torino, I spent some time getting to know Ada, which was a fun challenge as she spoke almost no English, forcing me to utilize my months of Duolingo Italian training. Of course, John, who is bilingual, was always close by and ready to bail me out. With Ada set to work all four days of the show, John decided that he would also travel to Bologna in support of Ada, which also enabled us to spend some time walking the show together.

On my first day at the show, I immediately sought them out. There was Ada, comfortably perched on her artist’s stool, at work on a delightful painting on another Fiat 500 nose. This image would depict a Fiat 500 in the Italian countryside, and this painting was being done for Raffaele D’Angelo, the proprietor of D’Angelo Motors, who so generously offered Ada her own work area. I watched as many show attendees stopped and gazed as the painting progressed in real time. Ada seemed completely at ease fielding questions and comments. Amazingly, a national news reporting crew who was covering the show stopped by to admire her artwork and interview her, and the clip ended up on Italian TV.

This woman actually asked to touch Marilyn’s lips

According to John, as the weekend went on, some of the passers-by expressed serious interest in acquiring a painting from her. She is open to either supplying a piece of sheetmetal herself (she has a local source for that), or having the customer provide the “canvas.” This is a somewhat new venture for Ada, who, previous to this, has both painted on canvas as well as painted on copper jewelry of her own design.

As her business card states (in English), “Ada Gambino: Hand-painted Italian masterpieces of automotive art.” During the week with him, John picked my brain, asking me what I thought about the market for this type of art. I first told him that this is a new field to me; at the same time, I informed him that in America at least, the collecting of “automobiliia,” including everything from spark plugs to oil cans to road signs, is huge. Certainly, there are collector car hobbyists who would be interested in adding a custom hand-painted painting such as Ada can create to their collection of garage art in their man caves.

John’s finished piece was displayed just a few meters from the work in progress

Ada’s business card is attached among the images. It includes her phone number, email address, and a QR code to her Instagram account. Should anyone reading this post have an interest in her art, or be simply looking for additional information, please reach out directly to her. If you do so, as an option, let her know that you found out about her from this blog post. I wish her nothing but the best success with her automotive artistic endeavors.

Admirers were stopping by all day long (Note John’s phone on the right capturing this same image)

The Rare and the Unusual at the 2025 Auto e Moto d’Epoca

October 29, 2025October 31, 2025 RichardReina Car shows, Events Auto e Moto d'Epoca, BolognaFiere

This year’s Auto e Moto d’Epoca (Autos and Motorbikes of the Classic Period) was again held at the BolognaFiere, a massive exhibition hall located in its namesake city. Every day spent there was an overwhelming automotive delight for the senses. Most of the the Fiats, Alfa Romeos, and Lancias which were everywhere were familiar to me. But if I thought I knew Italian cars well, it only took a few minutes of strolling the aisles to teach me otherwise. At almost every turn, I came across some vehicle that I had never seen in the metal before, or had never heard of before. Below are the highlights of the cars I’ve grouped together as “the rare and the unusual.” Note that I have indicated the prices in Euros as displayed. At the time of the show, the equivalent dollar value would be calculated by multiplying the Euro by 1.15.

This 1971 Fiat was labeled as an “850 Grand Prix.” From what I could translate, the description read: “This rare version of a Fiat 850 was made by the noted Francis Lombardi design house. Mechanically functional, it is a good base for a restoration.” It was for sale for an asking price of €17,000 ($19,500). Because of its positioning, this was the only shot I was able to take of it.

This very 1950s-looking thing was listed as a 1956 Fiat 1100 103 Elite Vignale. The windshield placard opened with “Vignale is one of the more important Italian automobile design houses,” and it further identified Michelotti as having had a hand in this car’s design. Mechanicals are based on the Nuova Fiat 1100, and while production numbers of around 250,000 are quoted for the “regular” Fiat 1100, the placard further stated, “it is unknown how many of the Elite Vignale were produced.” The dealer was asking €24,950 ($28,700) for this rare Fiat.

The Alfa Romeo 75 of the 1980s was sold in the States badged as the Milano. But I never heard of the “75 Evoluzione” version. This one was a 1987 model year, with an 1800-cc turbo engine. Supposedly one of only 500 produced, the placard said “everything works.” Asking price was €65,000 ($75,000).

This Alfa 1900 Coupe was stopping traffic based on its color alone, never mind its striking design. A “Touring Superleggera,” the only signage on the vehicle itself was a phone number. Several design houses did their own versions of the 1900 Coupe, but this one from Touring is magnificent.

Here is another Alfa 1900, this time, a four-door Berlina. Again, no further information was provided.

An Italian version of the VW Microbus? That’s what this “Romeo” van looked like. It appeared like you could seat about eleven people in there. I especially liked the roof-mounted windows, which really gave it that Microbus vibe.

I was greatly helped by a placard that was 100% in English: “1967 Osca 1600 GT2, with 48,000 km (about 30,000 miles). Four cylinder 1568cc engine with 140 HP, four-speed manual. Osca GT2 with Fissore bodywork. Twenty-one units built. Fiat-derived engine, Maserati chassis. Price on request.” (Badge on rear says “Sebring”.) Osca was the company started by the Maserati brothers after they sold the company named after them. This tiny car was adorable.

This Alfa 6C was on display by an organization sponsoring a reenactment of a tour/rally throughout Sicily to be conducted in May of 2026. There was no signage about the car anywhere. Based on its design, I’d pin it as from the late 1940s. Maybe if I sign up for the event they would let me drive it for a day.

The Lancia Club displayed a number of cars including this Gamma Coupe. According to Wikipedia, the coupes were designed by Pininfarina and were built from 1977 to 1984. The car bears some similarity to other squared-off designs from around this time including the Ferrari 400 and the Fiat 130 Coupe. I don’t think I had ever seen one before.

The signage had plenty of information in English about this car: “The Fiat 525 SS (the initials SS stand for high-compression) is considered the most beautiful Italian car of the period between the 1920s and 1930s, achieving numerous victories in Concours d’Elegance.” Further to that, it was identified as 1929 model year car, with a 3.8L engine producing 88.5 HP at 3350 RPM, allowing it to hit a top speed of 120 KPH (75 MPH). I found the design striking for 1929, and I can even see how it may have influenced some Mercedes-Benz and BMW designs of the ‘30s.

A Fiat Barchetta (little boat). An Italian Miata? I remember seeing photos of these when they were introduced, and at that time, did not find the looks to be attractive. In person, though, the car has a certain quirky charm.

A Fiat 8V. The story goes, Fiat wanted to name this car the “V8” but they were convinced that the Ford Motor Company held the rights to the V8 name. Ergo, they named it 8V (in Italian, “otto vu”; doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue the same way). Turns out that Ford in fact did not own those rights. I think this one was designed in-house. I’ve seen more attractive versions penned by outside design houses.

This 1960 Abarth 850 Scorpione Allemano looked great in giallo (I would bet money that before this, every Abarth I’ve ever seen was red). This sign claimed that this was one of only forty ever produced.

This Alfasud Sprint Veloce 1.3 looked like an Alfetta coupe that had been shrunk by 20%. It was the opening of a factory in the south (sud) which caused Alfa to drop “Milano” from their badge. I believe that all Alfasud models were FWD with boxer engines. These were never sold stateside.

Here is a very cute pair of the original Fiat Topolinos.

Again, I’m helped by a placard in English: “1965 Fiat 1200S OSI Spider. Rare spider designed by Giovanni Michelotti and produced by OSI in Turin (Torino), only 280 produced, 1221cc engine, 58 HP, only two owners.” Hmm, looks a bit like a TR6 from the front. And who designed that? Oh, wait…. The vendor was asking €29,500 ($34,000).

From the same vendor: “1965 Fiat 1300S Coupe Vignale, very rare car, produced in only 50 units by Carrozzeria Vignale of Turin based on a design by Michelotti, 1295cc engine.” Asking price was €32,000 ($36,800).

Here’s another pre-war car: a 1938 Fiat Balilla convertible, looking very dapper in light yellow. The vendor started out asking €39,900 ($45,900). By the time I saw it, the price was marked down to €34,900 ($40,000), “trattabile” (negotiable).

Another Alfa 6C, this one a 1949 6C 2500 SS Passo Corte. The placard stated that this car has an SS engine with 110 HP.

Still to come: posts about car clubs, vendors, and cars for sale. Stay tuned….

Overview: the 2025 Auto e Moto d’Epoca Car Show in Bologna, Italy

October 28, 2025October 28, 2025 RichardReina Car shows, Events Auto e Moto d'Epoca, BolognaFiere

The 2025 Auto e Moto d’Epoca (Cars and Motorbikes of the Classic Period) car show in Bologna, Italy ran from Thursday October 23 through Sunday October 26, and I was thrilled to again be in attendance this year. I have hundreds of photos to sort through, and once that is done, numerous posts about the many different aspects of the event will be coming in the next few days. In the meantime, here are some photographs to whet your appetite for this automotive version of La Dolce Vita.

The doors opened at 9am each morning, and the crowd excitedly poured in

Each of the many buildings was filled door-to-door with cars

Italian cars were in the majority, but other European makes were there as well

Fiats of all years, shapes, and sizes were well-represented

This Lancia Stratos was one of many at the show

This vendor was advertising a 2026 tour of Sicily

The building with parts and automobiia for sale was full of vendors like this one

Ya gotta eat! The food there was 100% Italian, of course

Hershey 2025 Part 2: The AACA Car Show

October 12, 2025 RichardReina Car shows, Events AACA Hershey

We made the discovery by accident. It was the late 1990’s, and my rally brother Steve and I both took the week off from work so that we could attend Hershey. When Saturday rolled around (at that time, the judged car show was on Saturday; it has since been moved to Friday), for reasons which are lost to time, we got up extra early and headed to the show field, arriving around 7:30 a.m. To our amazement, we stumbled upon the sight of the show car owners driving their cars onto the field. We quickly secured a convenient vantage point and stood, transfixed and unmoving, for several hours as we saw and heard these exquisite antique automobiles being driven to their assigned Class parking spots. (As per AACA Judging Guidelines: “All vehicles must be driven on the show field under their own power, except motorcycles and race cars.” Once on the show field, cars are NOT checked or judged for the operational ability of any equipment.)

This Ford is parked adjacent to its Class sign

Since that discovery, whenever I’m at Hershey, I’ve made it a habit to attend this morning parade. This year, I arrived at the show by 7:45, and found a great viewing spot, with the glorious golden sunlight on my back (and good thing, too, as it was 37 degrees F). For an hour and a half, I held my ground as I snapped photos of hundreds of cars motoring up the entrance road. By 9:15, it was time to move, so I headed across the street to take in the rest of the show.

This row of all 1942 model year cars is part of the NB Collection of Nicola Bulgari

What is posted below is a huge photo dump of the morning parade. The morning sun bathed every car in a light the quality of which only comes along at certain times of day. The temps rose to a tolerable low 60s, and I walked the rows until early afternoon, by which time I was ready to head home. Hershey 2025 was a rousing success.

I know the owner, Alex, from the NJ-AACA. This is the only 1944 model year ANYTHING ever entered into an AACA National.

Coming up: Part 3, the RM-Sotheby’s Auction.

Hershey 2025 Part 1: The Car Corral

October 10, 2025October 11, 2025 RichardReina Car shows, Events AACA Hershey, Hershey Car Corral

The AACA Eastern Fall Nationals, known simply as “Hershey” for its location, ran from Tuesday through Friday, October 7 to 10 this year. The first three days’ focus is on the combination flea market/car corral, and since my interest has historically been with the car corral, that is what I am covering below. As per AACA rules, cars in the corral must be twenty-five years old or older, and in essentially stock condition. With that understood, there was the usual wide variety of domestic and import, pre-war, early post-war, and ‘80s and ‘90s metal on display.

Given the general softening of prices which has been observed in the collector car market this year, I was a bit shocked to see some asking prices well above recent documented sales. Nevertheless, if one is open-minded regarding the year, make, and model that one might consider, there were some bargains to be spotted. I’ve provided details for about a dozen and a half cars that caught my interest. Vehicles are arranged in asking price order.

1998 Chevy Blazer 2-door SUV, RWD, V6, automatic. Asking $7500. My wife bought one of these new, and gave it to her son to take to college in New England, which he did for four years. He put over a quarter-million miles on it, and not once did it let him down. He also, to my utter amazement, claimed that he got around in Massachusetts winters “just fine” with the 2-wheel drive. I liked this truck if only because it reminds me of the days when SUVs were reasonably sized.

1999 Porsche Boxster, automatic. Asking $7995. I’m sure there’s a market for the slushbox, but there are plenty of sub-$10k Boxsters on the market with manual gearboxes if one insists on shifting for oneself, as one should.

1973 Ford Maverick, 6-cylinder, auto. Asking $8,900. Yes, Virginia, there was a Maverick before the current entry-level pickup truck in today’s Ford showrooms. This car was clean but did show some rocker corrosion. I think one could do worse things with their 8,900 bucks.

1976 AMC Pacer, 6-cylinder, auto. Asking $10,500. Rambler/AMC had a long history of needing to be different in order to compete with the Big 3. This might be Exhibit A, although, I recall these being somewhat popular when new. Asking price was on the windshield on Wednesday. On Thursday, new writing said “SOLD, $8,500.” It’s always worth it to haggle.

1980 Fiat 124 Spider, 4-cylinder, 5-speed, missing bumpers. Asking $11,500. This was slightly crusty underhood; I was afraid to look underneath. These have softened as of late, based on Bring a Trailer results. There are plenty of better-looking 124s online at any time. Bring a magnet.

1968 AMC Rebel convertible, V8, automatic, sign claims it’s all original. Asking $13,880. This struck me as potentially one of the few deals in the corral. V8 power, top goes down, and you’ll have the only one at any show you enter.

1973 Triumph TR6, 6-cylinder, 4-speed. Asking $17,900. TR6 prices vary a lot based on color and condition. This one looked good from 10 feet, but I admit that I didn’t perform a closer inspection. I think it’s a fair price if it’s solid, but if I were interested I’d start at $12.5k and see where it goes from there.

1948 Packard Eight Deluxe Touring Sedan, straight-8, sign on car claims that it is in mostly all-original condition and has 40,000 original miles. Asking $19,900. When new, the styling was derisively called the “bathtub Packard,” or worse. Up until recently, I never found these to be attractive, but in my old age, my opinion has softened. Seemed like an affordable entry ticket into the Packard Club.

1952 MG TD, 4-cylinder, 4-speed. Asking $19,995. The MG T-Series cars (TC, TD, TF) fired the opening salvo in starting the post-war sports car boom in this country. Of the three, I find the TD the least attractive, but compared to the TC, you get LHD and a more comfortable interior. Compared to recent sales, price seemed fair.

1991 Porsche 928, V8, automatic. Asking $21,500. This second-generation 928 has the 32-valve engine with more oomph than the original 928 which debuted in 1978. Car looked clean, and this is about where they sell on BaT, but I would personally insist on seeing service records first.

1961 Triumph TR3, 4-cylinder, 4-speed. Asking $27,000. This appeared to be a very nice, very fresh restoration. Red might not be my first pick for a TR3, but it worked here. On Thursday, the “27k” was crossed out, replaced with “25k,” which was also crossed out and replaced with “23k.” Offer 15, and when he gets back up after falling down, see if he’ll take a more market-correct $18k.

1973 Volvo 1800ES, 4-cylinder, 4-speed manual with overdrive. Asking $29,900. The last year of the 1800, and only the ES (hatchback) was offered that year. The green over tan was attractive, but value here is largely based on the quality and correctness of the restoration. That said, asking price sounded like a fair jumping off point. Many of these were automatic, so the stick is a plus.

1968 Ford Mustang California Special, 302 V8, automatic. Sign claims complete restoration. Asking $55,000. I’m including this only because I owned one in the same color. Mine had the 390 big block, and was just a “driver,” which I sold at Hershey in 2012 for $20,000. I guess they’ve appreciated since then….

1969 Jaguar E-Type (XKE), 2+2 body style, 6-cylinder, 4-speed. Asking $69,500. This is a Series 2 E-Type, with the open headlights, larger tail lamps below the bumper, and some interior refinements. I watch these on BaT, and given that a ’69 ROADSTER sold on Wednesday of this week for $39,000, I would hazard a guess that the ask on this 2+2 (the least-desirable body style) is not market-correct. I’ll leave it at that….

THE MEASURE YOUR GARAGE FIRST SECTION

All these cars have an ask below 20 grand, and I found something appealing about them, even if they are not what I’m normally attracted to. HOWEVER, it is imperative that one measure one’s storage space first! But on a dollar-per-pound basis, some of these could be considered bargains.

1998 Lincoln Town Car, white over tan. Asking $10,900. Instant eligibility at any AACA show, and you’ll get there and back in speed, comfort, and luxury.

1964 Imperial 4-door hardtop. Asking $13,900. I’ve always been drawn to the 4-door hardtop body style. Here, you can comfortably take 5 or 6 of your buddies to the game, and, have trunk room for food and drink while you tailgate.

1972 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. Asking $14,500. Enough green to be measured by the mile. Start a limo business, but get a green leisure suit first.

1973 Olds 98 2-door hardtop. Asking $18,000. More green. The two-door body really set this one apart for me. Put a set of sway bars on it and go chasing TR6s.

Coming up: Part 2, the Friday Car Show, and Part 3, the RM-Sotheby’s Auction.

Macchinissima: L.A.’s All-Italian Car Show

September 29, 2025 RichardReina Car shows, Events All Italian car show, Macchi, Macchinissima

Several weeks ago, my wife and I planned a quick, four-night visit to the L.A. area to spend time with her brother, who has lived in Southern Cal for the last thirty years. After securing our airline tickets and hotel room, I searched the ‘net to see what else was going on. I stumbled across a car show scheduled for Saturday September 27 in downtown L.A. called Macchinissima. The name is a made-up word that even the locals can’t pronounce, and I discovered that most folks have shortened it to “Macchi.” Works for me. Now in its third year, it is a display of 100% Italian machinery and culture: cars, motorbikes, bicycles, food, drink, and music. I bought my ticket before leaving NJ, and at 9 a.m. Saturday morning, my wife and BIL dropped me off. (And by the way, why does NO ONE believe me when I say that my visit to Los Angeles during Macchinissima was a complete coincidence??)

Rolling Greens was the name of the spot hosting the show

At first, I wondered about my surroundings. I was in an industrial neighborhood with low-rise offices and warehouses, and graffiti plastered on every outside wall. The first show cars I spotted were all 105/115 series Alfa coupes and Spiders from the ‘60s and ‘70s, and I thought that this might be everything. As soon as I made a left turn through an open gate, the rest of the show opened up before me. The outside automotive displays extended as far as I could see, and the two buildings on either side of me were open and filled with more mechanical treasures. Besides the Alfas, within the first ten minutes I spotted Ferraris, Fiats, Lancias, and four Lamborghinis: two Miuras (both orange) and two Espadas. The hip L.A. crowd ranged from Millennials to Boomers of both sexes, absorbing the culture through all five senses. My wife had jokingly asked if she should pick me up in an hour. I realized now that I would be sticking around for most of the day.

The show’s organizers worked hard to make this something other than your typical car show. Vehicles were placed in small groups based on make, or model, or even color. There was no attempt to cram as many cars as possible onto the showfield; in fact, the spaciousness around some cars was refreshing and assisted with my (and others’) photographic efforts. The aforementioned graffiti actually provided a unique background for pictures. Inside one of the buildings, cheekily named the “Redrum,” every car was some shade of red. Instead of monotonous, it worked (helped by the popularity of rosso on Italian cars).

The evening before the show, I took a chance and emailed Elyse Barrett, who is the Managing Editor of the Alfa Romeo Owner’s Club (AROC) national magazine, Alfa Owner. She has published several articles of mine in the past, and we have never met. I was thrilled to hear back from her, informing me that she would be there. We found each other, and she and her husband Jim were very giving of their time with me.

There were almost too many highlights to call all of them out here, but for starters, there was a new Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale supercar; a DeTomaso Vallenuga; a 1935 Fiat Biallia; a Lancia Stratos; and my favorite car of the show, a one-off custom 1974 Alfa Spider with significantly modified sheetmetal, a custom interior, and a three-liter Busso V6 jammed under the hood (more about that car below). Italian cultural highlights included a coffee bar, an adult-drinks bar, pizza, Italian heroes, and gelato. If there was a disappointment, and it would be a minor one, it was the relatively small number of Fiats. There were no 124s of any body style, no 130s, no 850s, and a lone Fiat Dino, a Spider. Not sure if this was by choice or by availability.

At Macchi, pizzas are za’s, sandwiches are sandos, and drinks are bevies. Must be a local thing.

We have many wonderful concours on the East Coast, including Lime Rock, New Hope, and Hershey, all of which have been covered extensively on this blog. However, Macchinissima has no rivals on my home turf. While I wouldn’t make the long trek every year, it might be worth winging my way back every second or third year for the one-day immersion in La Dolce Vita, automotive style.

ALFA ROMEOS

This GTV (above) had a Busso V6 under its hood

Factory reps from Alfa Romeo North America were there with Alfa’s current lineup

(Above) an Alfa Romeo 1900 Zagato coupe

(Above) the 33 Stradale

The 1974 Alfa Spider Custom

I approached this car and could not make sense of what I was seeing. The windshield, door handles, headlights, and instrument panel left no doubt about its Spider origins. Or was I hallucinating? Not a single body panel looked like any Alfa Spider I had ever seen before. The grille was there, but the hood’s center section was raised. The side scallops were obliterated, replaced by smooth sheetmetal that reminded me of a ’50s or ’60s Ferrari Spider. The tail end, with its large round lights, was reminiscent of a Fiat Dino. What was this? Who built it? Was there more than one of these lurking somewhere? Personally, I found the changes to be breathtakingly beautiful, and I am at heart an “all original” kind of guy who eschews customization of almost any kind. All morning long I kept circling back, hoping to run into someone who knew the story. Finally, after lunch, the hood was opened, and yet another surprise: a 3.0L Alfa “Busso” V6 sat there looking like the car was born with it. The owner was present. I gushed. He told me that he is an architect, and he did 100% of the design work. But it was his brother, a “master metal fabricator,” who brought this dream to reality. Wow. If one popped up for sale, I would need to talk to my financial advisor to figure out a way to put in my garage.

LANCIA

FERRARI

(Above) One of the few new cars at the show was this 2025 Ferrari 12Cilindri. These photos do not do justice to the visual impact of this drop-dead gorgeous automobile. Yours for a cool half-million. Oops! Looks like it’s sold out.

FIAT

(Above) 1935 Fiat 508S Balilla

(Above) Fiat Abarth

(Above) Fiat Dino Spider

DE TOMASO VALLELUNGA

LAMBORGHINI

Local Church Combines Car Show with Annual Picnic

September 19, 2025 RichardReina Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Jr., Car shows

Our local Catholic Church held its annual picnic on Sunday, September 14, 2025, and for the first time, a parishioner worked to include an informal car show as part of the festivities. I drove my ’67 Alfa Romeo to the event, which was all of two miles away, and was delighted to find an assortment of vehicles on display (even if it was a little heavy on the Corvettes, with four in attendance).

The weather was perfect, and more than one attendee stopped to admire my car and its originality. My wife and I partook of the BBQ food, and after about three hours, the crowds dispersed, and I was back home in a matter of minutes. Nice cars, nice people, and nice weather converged to create a great afternoon!

The Lime Rock “Sunday in the Park” Show, 2025 Edition

September 1, 2025September 7, 2025 RichardReina Car shows, Events Lime Rock Historic Festival, Lime Rock Park

We East Coasters caught a real break with the weather, as our climate moved away from the hot and humid conditions of July and August and into cooler and less humid (but still sunny) days to close out the month. This made our annual trip to Lime Rock Park on the Sunday of Labor weekend even more enjoyable. This year, two of my NJ-AROC (NJ Chapter of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club) buddies rode along in the persons of Bob C. and Paul M., both of whom took care of all the driving! All I had to do was sit back and relax.

We arrived at the track at exactly 10 a.m., grabbed some coffee, and proceeded to the show cars. As always, there were special classes designated by the show organizers, as well as the popular “Gathering of the Marques,” populated by local clubs as well as individuals who wanted to show off their rides without preregistering for any particular class. This year, classes included the 50^th Anniversary of the BMW 3-Series, One-owner Cars, “Body Doubles” (essentially replicars), Porsche 356s, Spirit of the Roadster, Designs of Giorgetto Giugiaro, Hemi Evolution, and Classic Ferrari V12 Coupes. In other words, something for (almost) everyone.

As we began our stroll, someone tipped us off that the cars in the “Marques” section might start to leave early, so we decided to beeline to the end of the show, where we would reverse our direction and slowly take in the displays. I’m glad we did because vehicles began departing by 11:45 a.m.! This was the only disappointing aspect of the day, but we still got to see what we came for. One highlight was the larger-than-usual turnout of Alfa Romeos, including two modern 4Cs and three Zagato GT Juniors. Mustangs were out in their usual large numbers, but the BMW headcount looked a bit shrunken, especially lacking in 2002s. The Ferrari V12 coupes were my personal highlight, as it included two 330/365 GTCs, my all-time favorite model from this fabled Italian marque.

The award ceremony began at 1:30 p.m. and concluded soon after, and that’s when the real exodus started. Mental note for next year: try to arrive a little earlier and be aware that many show cars depart sooner than might be expected. We three decided to tour the paddocks, as we were in no rush to hit the road, finally getting underway about 3:30 p.m. Except for some unexpected traffic on the NYS Thruway, the drive up and back was a joy. Lime Rock’s Labor Day Sunday show is a permanent event on my calendar.

ONE OWNER CARS

A more careful reading of some of the placards on cars in the class revealed that several of them are “one-family owned,” slightly different than “one owner.”

I normally don’t spend a huge amount of time around 356s, but this color was particularly attractive

The BMW Z1 was never officially imported into the U.S.

The Z1’s most unique feature is its sliding doors

This one-off Alfa features a handmade body of the owner’s design, sitting on a chassis from a 1930s Alfa.

This class disappointed me, not for its cars, but for its paucity, although I suspect that a few cars in this class may have departed before I got to this display.

1981 VW Scirocco (with my friend Alicia)

CLASSIC FERRARI V12 COUPES

The Ferrari 330 GTC (later renamed 365 GTC when its engine was enlarged) has a shape which has charmed me since I first saw a photograph of one in a magazine as a thirteen-year-old. This year I was honored to find two of these on display, one in classic red and the other in Pino Verde (pine green).

THE GATHERING OF THE MARQUES

ALFA ROMEO

OTHER ITALIAN

Yes, this Chrysler TC by Maserati was parked with the Italians. Who am I to argue?

1980 Ferrari 308 GTB, Euro spec with carbs and small bumpers

LORENZO’S 308 GT4

Fellow NJ-AROC member Lorenzo proudly showed his unrestored Ferrari 308 GT4 in the “Barn Find and Unrestored” class. He performed significant mechanical reconditioning to make it roadworthy, and he’s doing his best to preserve the original lacquer paint.

BRITISH

GERMAN

AMERICAN

PARTING SHOTS

The 2025 New Hope Auto Show

August 25, 2025 RichardReina Car shows, Events New Hope Auto Show

My most recent blog post focused solely on the Alfa Romeos at this year’s New Hope Auto Show. This post will cover the remainder of the Sunday import car show field.

The featured vehicle this year was the VW bus, in its various generations. It looked like there were perhaps fifteen buses on display, making for a colorful lineup. Of course, other Volkswagens were there as well, but I noted a surprising lack of water-cooled VWs, at least compared to what I’ve seen at New Hope previously. Porsches dominated the show field, although Alfa Romeo wasn’t far behind in the count. British cars, mostly MGs and Triumphs, also made a strong showing.

In general, New Hope limits show entries to vehicles twenty-five years old and older, in original and “show-ready” condition. A small number of exceptions are made, primarily for low-volume vehicles which continued to be sold in this market beyond the year 2000. Judging is taken very seriously, and focuses on originality and condition.

The school parking lot limits the show size in a good way. It’s easy to park, wander in, and stroll around the lot, taking in all the show vehicles in just a few hours. The New Hope Auto Show, which began in 1957, shows no sign of slowing down.