Spinning Wheel Diner Cruise Night, August 7, 2025

August 8, 2025 RichardReina Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Jr., Cruise nights, Events Cars and Coffee of Central Jersey, Spinning Wheel Diner

The Spinning Wheel Diner on Route 22 in Lebanon, NJ, has been hosting a weekly collector car cruise night on Thursdays all summer long. If the diner’s name sounds familiar to regular readers of my blog, it’s because the NJ Chapter of the Alfa Romeo Owner’s Club has been visiting this diner as part of our monthly breakfast meets.

I’ve known about the Thursday cruise nights for a while, but did not get a chance to attend until this week, so there we were, my trusty Alfa companion and myself, on August 7, 2025. I arrived promptly at 5 p.m., the official starting time, to find very few parking spots remaining. I parked next to my friend John’s beautiful teal blue “retro-Bird,” and as cars continued to file in, they were directed to park on the grass behind the paved lot. More than one attendee was overheard to say that this was possibly the biggest crowd of the season at the Spinning Wheel, no doubt helped by the tremendous weather, with temps in the low 80s and low humidity.

Glancing around, I quickly surmised that my Italian mistress was the only furrin car there. In actuality, most of the cars were either ‘50s and ‘60s muscle cars, or street rods of one kind or another. I felt out of my element until a few other imports showed up. John and I walked the lot together, taking in the variety of vehicles on display, which included not one but two 1940 Fords, an assortment of Thunderbirds, a Triumph, an MG, a Miata, and Corvettes of various vintages. I’m sorry, but if you’re driving a C8 Corvette (and there were several) to a “collector car cruise night,” you’re just showing off. I get the appeal, but a C8 parked next to a C2 makes it blatantly obvious which I’d rather have in my garage.

My wife arrived to join me for dinner in the diner (and for which I had a 10% off coupon as a show participant), and after the meal, I was ready to head home. At about 7:30 p.m., I hopped into my car, started it up, and saw that the representative from Cars & Coffee of Central Jersey, who was hosting the event, ran up to my open window to present me with a trophy! I’m not sure what I won or how my car was selected, but it was a nice gesture nevertheless. The diner is only a thirty-minute ride to my house, so I was back by eight, which made for an easy night. All in all, it was a fun way to spend a Thursday evening.

1963 Ford Thunderbird Roadster

’57 Chevy Nomad on L, ’55 Chevy wagon on R

1st gen Mustang (which also won a trophy)

Maserati coupe, the only other Italian there

The Somerville, NJ, Cruise Night, July 11, 2025

July 14, 2025 RichardReina Cruise nights, Events Somerville NJ Cruise Night

When I first spotted the signs taped to every parking meter which read, “SOMERVILLE CRUISE NIGHT, 35 YEARS,” I was shocked. Was it really thirty-five years ago when the town of Somerville, NJ began hosting Friday night cruise nights? That brings us back to 1990, eleven years before I moved back into the area and first became aware of the event. As I’ve posted about before, at first, the local businesses were aghast at the idea of their quiet little town overrun by hot-rodders. However, when they saw revenue jump, and further realized that these undesirables in fact consisted of well-mannered individuals and families, they embraced the concept, with many restaurants and stores extending their open-for-business hours in order to accommodate the thickening crowds.

Aside from visits with my local Alfa Romeo club, it had been a while since I brought the Alfa to this cruise night. This past Friday, July 11, turned out to be a beautiful evening: warm, not too humid, sunny, and with no threat of rain. Although the official hours are from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m., I knew from experience that car owners arrive much earlier. Indeed, I hit Main St. just a few minutes before 4 p.m. and it appeared that over half of the available parking spots were already occupied by show cars. Nevertheless, I managed to quickly find a spot without doubling back, and once parked, I was free to grab my camera and stroll.

It would almost fit in the back of that Suburban

Compared to an AACA event, where 100% of the vehicles are showroom stock, and compared to an Alfa event, where all the cars are from a single marque, the Somerville cruise night offered true variety. Let’s start with the modified cars. Are the typical modded cars of the ‘30s, ’40s, and ‘50s gone? Not the case here. It was fun to see these old-school rods, reminiscent of what I saw as a boy, still out and about. The next surprise was the number of pre-war vehicles. There are many who think that these cars are no longer collectible and have disappeared, yet, owners brought them to Somerville. And finally, there were the imports. A small number of interesting European and Asian collectibles were in attendance. Overall, to call this cruise night “eclectic” would be quite accurate.

My friends Larry and Art drove down from Bergen County to meet me. We grabbed a bite at a new brewery on Main St., then took in the show. They both observed that it was nice to see a different selection of cars than what they would normally come across at a cruise night in their area, and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves, as did I. They split around 7:30 p.m. and I hung out by my car for another hour, chatting it up with a few passers-by who stopped to admire the only Alfa Romeo on display on this particular evening. All in all, it was a great night, and given Somerville’s proximity (six miles from my house), I need to make the effort to attend a little more frequently.

PRE-WAR

CLASSIC HOT RODS

MUSTANGS

IMPORTS

Datsun 280Z. From this angle, its resemblance to a Jag E-Type is strong

This Triumph TR-4 was sharp inside and out

I was completely smitten with this Fiat 500 “Abarth” (probably a recreation). It was parked in front of an Italian restaurant that also offered curbside gelato.

AND THE REST

’70 Plymouth Road Runner. I spoke with the owner, who has owned the car since the late ’80s. He did the entire restoration himself.

’57 Thunderbird. I liked the look with the wide whites, steelies, and no caps, giving it a “hey, it’s just a driver” appearance

And another C1 Corvette. The late sun really warmed up the white paint

1970 Chevy wagon (aka “long roof”), appropriately parked in front of a travel agency

Another ’57 Thunderbird, stunning in the unusual gray

The Metuchen, NJ, Cruise Night, July 2025

July 4, 2025 RichardReina Cruise nights, Events Metuchen Cruise Night

The town of Metuchen, NJ, has been sponsoring a midweek cruise night for at least the past twenty years. How can I be so sure, you ask? Because in August of 2006, I trailered my BMW Isetta there, and it was a lot of fun. But I haven’t been back since, and when my friend and fellow Alfa owner Tony suggested that we check it out, I took him up on his offer. It’s a once-a-month arrangement for Metuchen, and always on a Wednesday, so Tony and I were there this most recent Wednesday, July 2, 2025.

We both decided to drive modern cars for this run, and after meeting Tony at his house, I hopped into his brand-new Ford F-150 Lightning, which is 100% EV. It was quiet and comfortable, and frankly, if you didn’t know better, you’d easily mistake it for a gasoline-powered truck. Perhaps the biggest giveaway while riding in it is the complete lack of noise within the cabin. We got to Main St. in Metuchen about thirty minutes before the official 5:30 p.m. start, so we headed into an Irish pub for a quick meal. By the time we alighted, most of the parking spots along two blocks of Main St. were taken with classic cars.

Compared to the Somerville Cruise Night, I would give Metuchen higher marks for its slightly classier Main St., and also for covering the parking meters with “cruise night car parking only” signs. On the flip side, Metuchen’s set-up is much smaller, as they devote only two blocks to cruise night cars. At least on the evening we attended, there were a few empty parking spots. In Somerville, you practically need to arrive two hours early to get street parking for your classic. There was a nice variety of domestic fare, several of which I’ve not seen in many years. There were also almost no import cars, but Tony and I may hatch a plan to get our local Alfa club to caravan to Metuchen for a future cruise night. All in all, it was a pleasant evening of car gazing, and my attendance brought back great memories of my 2006 visit.

Sign on this Mustang claimed that it had 194,000 miles on it

I spoke with this owner, who has had the car all of three weeks. It’s a 1966 Buick SPECIAL, not a Skylark. Not sure I’ve ever seen a Special convertible from this year.

A very nice chrome-bumper C3 Corvette, before they got ugly.

I spoke with the Riviera owner, who has owned this car for 35 years, since he was 19. It’s a ’63, first year for the model, and he’s done some mechanical work, including an engine refresh and some brake (Wilwood) and suspension mods. The red leather interior is original to the car. Paint may have been as well.

My favorite car at the cruise night, if only because I don’t know when I last saw one. It’s a 1968 Pontiac Grand Prix, the final model year on the full-size platform, before the complete (and highly successful) redesign for 1969. My photos do not do justice to the visual impact of this automobile.

NJ Alfa Club at the Somerville Cruise Night, May 30, 2025

June 4, 2025 RichardReina Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Jr., Cruise nights, Events Alfonso's Somerville NJ, NJ-AROC, Somerville NJ Cruise Night

The month of May was cruel to us in the collector car hobby, as cool, wet weather caused postponements and cancellations of various events. In some cases, events proceeded regardless, with disappointing results. A few months back, the NJ Chapter of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club (NJ-AROC) reached out to the folks who put on the Somerville, NJ Friday night cruise nights. The organizers will reserve parking in one section for car clubs, and our Alfa club did this last year. Because the date is chosen in advance, it becomes a “rain or shine” event, and the weather forecast for May 30, our assigned date, was iffy. I actually didn’t make the decision to attend until several hours prior to the 5 p.m. start time.

Several club members were already there when I arrived a few minutes past five, and we immediately noticed that there were no “Reserved for Alfa Club” signs in place, as there were last year. As parking spots opened up, we placed a folding chair to hold the spot for the next Alfa to arrive. That was working well until a Somerville cop stopped and told us “you can’t hold parking spots!” I was about to exchange a few friendly words with the officer when a Cruise Night representative approached the black-and-white Ford Explorer and explained that he was late in posting the Reserved Parking signs, which seemed to smooth things over for the patrol officer.

Despite the threatening weather (which held off for the entire evening), we had a nice turnout of about a dozen Alfas, dominated by Spiders, and also cars from the modern Giulia, Stelvio, and Tonale lineup. The camaraderie in our group is strong, and we enjoyed the evening chatting among ourselves as well as the passers-by who took note of our Italian macchine. (One woman walked up to my Junior and asked me, “is that a Volvo?”) Bill ordered pizza from Alfonso’s, generously paid for by the Chapter, and by 7:30 p.m., with darkening skies overhead, several of us (including me) headed home. It was wonderful to hang with fellow Alfisti, and we already have a date in August to return to Somerville.

Our club enjoyed the pizza (with Girl Scout cookies for dessert)

The NJ Alfa Club Returns to the Somerville Cruise Night

August 24, 2024 RichardReina Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Jr., Cruise nights, Events Somerville NJ Cruise Night

For the second time this year, the NJ Chapter of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club (AROC) gathered at the Somerville NJ Friday night Cruise-In. A total of eight Alfas (a nice mix of old and new) showed up and parked in the area which can be reserved for clubs. (A big thanks to Bill D. for making these arrangements for us!) As was the case during our previous visit to Somerville in May, the weather was near-perfect, with none of the high heat and humidity which we’ve been forced to endure for much of the summer.

A new club feature, first seen at the recent New Hope show, made a repeat appearance: Paul’s flagpole, hoisted high above his Giulia and flying the Alfa Romeo flag. It certainly helped draw attention to our display, in case there was any doubt about the brand of vehicles in the lineup. We also treated ourselves again to an al fresco dinner courtesy of the local Italian restaurant, including pizza, calamari, and spicy wings.

With Labor Day approaching, the collector car hobby will scramble to fit in as many activities as possible during the next two months, before the driving season ends for our older cars. AROC’s NJ Chapter will continue to host monthly breakfasts, so I’m hoping to get my Alfa out to one or two of those before it goes into hibernation for the winter.

ADDENDA

Last Saturday we were on our way to the Jersey shore and stopped for a break at a Wawa somewhere along Route 539. In pulled this 1960 Chevy bubble top right behind our Volvo XC40. The contrast between the two cars, 64 years apart, is incredible. And I can’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, the Impala’s trunk holds more than the Volvo’s (with the 2nd row seats up).

The Alfa Club at the Somerville Cruise Night

June 2, 2024 RichardReina Cruise nights, Events AROC NJ Chapter, Somerville NJ Cruise Night

The Friday night cruise night in my local town of Somerville NJ has been a neighborhood staple for decades. I posted blog stories about it as far back as 2004, when I put my Isetta on display there. I was also there, without a car to display, in 2015 and in 2022. In August of 2016, the NJ Chapter of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club (AROC) appeared en masse, and we’ve now repeated that effort in 2024.

This past Friday, May 31, nine vehicles belonging to NJ-AROC members lined up on Main St. in front of the Somerville Courthouse, where parking spots were reserved for us. It was a night of gorgeous weather, which brought out the gearheads, both as attendees and as spectators. Our club was ably represented by a nice mix of classic (pre-1995) Alfas and modern (2017-present) Giulia and Tonale models.

For me, the Alfisti at the cruise night were a pleasant mix of old friends and new faces. It was a delight to meet some new club members, two of whom drove in their Giulia Quadrifoglios. (A friend recently asked how is it that the Alfa club seems to so easily accept owners of both older and newer machines. I responded that there is no sense of competition or superiority among the brand’s fans, all of whom embrace the full history of the cars from Milano.)

It was so much fun to hang with my fellow club members that I didn’t even get a chance to walk the rest of the show, which consumes about 5 or 6 blocks of Main St. The evening was topped off by the arrival of several pizzas from a well-regarded local restaurant, paid for by the club.

If I had to pick a favorite from Friday’s event, it would be the Junior Z, a rare limited production car which shares most of its mechanicals with Alfas produced around the same time (1970). The one at the show was equipped with the same 1300 engine as in my Junior. The greatest difference, of course, is the sleek and compact Zagato body. According to my copy of The Illustrated Alfa Romeo Buyer’s Guide, only 1,108 Junior Zs with the 1300 engine were built. (In 1972 the engine was upgraded to the 1600 version, but only 402 of those were churned out.) It was a thrill to see it up close and personal!

The Alfa Club plans to return to the Somerville Cruise Night in late August.

A third-series Spider (S3) from the late ’80s

We can’t stop talking Alfas. Note the parking sign.

The modern Giulias share their grille design with all Alfas

The Ferrari-derived V6 as used in the Giulia and Stelvio Quadrifoglio models

THE JUNIOR Z:

Bridgewater NJ Cars & Coffee, August 27, 2023

August 27, 2023 RichardReina Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Jr., Cruise nights, Events Bridgewater NJ, Cars & Coffee

Word went out last week via the NJ Chapter of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club (AROC) about an event which was new to me: a Sunday morning Cars & Coffee in the parking lot of a Dunkin’ Donuts on Route 22 in Bridgewater NJ. This was all of 6 miles from my house, and was scheduled to run from 9am to 11am, so it was an attractive choice, especially if a few other members of the Alfa club were to show up.

I arrived 15 minutes early to find several dozen cars already lined up, most of them late-model Corvettes and Mustangs. I’ve been to, and have heard about, other Cars & Coffee events in NJ like this, and perusing row after row of newer high-horsepower machines driven by millennial hipsters looking for bragging rights isn’t my thing. It was with great relief that I spotted a current generation Alfa Giulia sedan and parked next to it. The owner, Neil, was a younger chap who, with his traveling buddy Caleb, took an immediate interest in my ’67, and we spent a few minutes chatting about the Alfa Romeo brand in general. They both were friendly and delightful, and showed themselves to be interested in all kinds of automotive machinery.

Soon after I arrived, 3 members of AROC’s NJ Chapter showed up, all driving Spiders. Tony had his blue Series 1, Mike arrived in his red Series 3, and Bob parked his immaculate red Series 4, with all of us adjacent to each other. It was a great opportunity to show Neil and Caleb the distinctions among the different generation Spiders.

I broke away from the camaraderie several times to take in the other vehicles. Frankly, a long row of C6, C7, and C8 Corvettes more closely resembles a used-car lot than a car show to me, but I get it. Scattered among the 21^st century iron were a few gems. Standouts included a 1970 AMX, a 1970 240Z, a 928, and an early ‘70s Firebird.

The day was warm and sunny with low humidity, but as the temp started to climb, I decided on a slightly early departure of 10:30, which had me home by 11am. Would I attend again? There was no denying that the shortish drive was a convenience. If I knew I could count on seeing friendly faces, I would certainly pay another visit to this particular Cars & Coffee.

ALFAS:

AMERICAN:

GERMAN:

ASIAN:

Flemington NJ Cruise Night, June 17, 2023

June 18, 2023 RichardReina Cruise nights, Events Flemington NJ Cruise Night

June has been a busy month for car shows, with Greenwich, Quaker Bridge, and now Flemington in 3 consecutive weeks. I had intended to drive the Alfa to Flemington Saturday night, as it’s all of 10 minutes away, but a later-than-expected departure from a relative’s house during the afternoon left me little time, so I darted over in a modern car and managed to take in the show just as some cars were leaving.

The town of Flemington NJ has hosted a bi-weekly cruise night for several years. Held on alternating Saturdays, they announce “featured makes and models”, but from my observation, that doesn’t seem to have much influence on which vehicles arrive. Cars can park along Main St., but there also is a small parking lot which is where I tend to see the best cars. Not one but two live bands were cranking out the tunes, and show-goers were invited to vote for a “People’s Choice” best in show. Local restaurants stayed open, with a few of them offering outside seating. The weather, as it has been for much of the month, was near perfect.

Two nice FoMoCo products: 1st gen Mustang & Mercury Comet

The cruise-in started at 5 p.m. and I didn’t get there until a little after 7, so I don’t know what I missed. There were perhaps a few dozen vehicles scattered around, mostly domestic product. I photographed the cars which held the greatest interest for me, which meant ignoring the heavily modified stuff. I’m hoping to get back here at some point later in the season and put one of my own cars on display, and maybe invite a few of my local car club friends to join me.

One of the few pre-war cars in attendance

’64 T-Bird with ’68 Firebird across the street

(Above and below): This 1957 Cadillac was in the parking lot, hood up, windows down, with its owner nowhere to be seen. I lingered for a few minutes hoping he/she would show up, because I really wanted to speak with them. I go to a lot of car shows an see a lot of cars; this Caddy was truly a #1 condition car, and the truth is, there are very few #1 cars. It was so perfect that I found it hard to believe it was driven here. One question for the sharp-eyed and knowledgeable readers out there: look at the photo of the engine compartment. To the left of the brake master cylinder is a vertical cylinder with a removable cap. What is this??

Above: I managed to chat up the owner of this ’49 Ford just as he was leaving. He was an old codger, and told me that he’s owned the car for about 20 years. He thinks it’s the original flattie V8 under the hood. The car looked and sounded great as he started it up and drove away. It had that look of an honest, old, fun car to me.

Sunday Morning Cars & Coffee, Oct. 23, 2022

November 6, 2022 RichardReina Car shows, Cruise nights, Events Cars & Coffee, Dunkin' Donuts

On Sunday, October 23, 2022, we once again took advantage of a spacious parking lot adjacent to a Dunkin’ Donuts facility to host our own Cars & Coffee event. No driving was included in the plans, and we had a small but enthusiastic group of eight people (plus two VCNA retirees who were surprise guests) willing to mill about on what turned out to be a beautiful autumn morning.

The Dunkin’ Donuts on MacArthur Blvd. in Mahwah did its usual fine job in serving us bagels and coffee, and plenty of Sunday morning visitors were distracted enough by our vehicular lineup to break their routines and come over for a chat.

Cars in attendance included two Corvettes, a Chevy Nova, two Porsche 911s, a Mercedes-Benz turbodiesel, a well-preserved and rarely-seen Volvo S70, and your author’s Alfa Romeo. Interestingly, the imports outnumbered the domestic entries (3 Chevys versus 3 Germans, 1 Swedish, and 1 Italian), something we normally don’t see at our gatherings.

We may try to squeeze in one more driving event before the weather turns inhospitable for the winter. If not, we shall see what 2023 will bring!

Nothing but nothing looks like the back end of a C2 coupe

Somerville, NJ Cruise Night, July 15, 2022

July 17, 2022 RichardReina Cruise nights, Events Alfonso's Somerville NJ, Somerville NJ Cruise Night

This past Friday, July 15, 2022, I attended the Somerville, NJ Cruise Night, held on Main St. It’s been a few years since I’ve attended. In fact, I’m fairly certain that the Cruise Nights were completely cancelled during 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid shutdown. If my own blog is to be believed, I’ve not been in attendance since 2016!

It was good to be back. Both sides of Main St. were lined with a nice variety of special-interest cars. The sidewalks weren’t too crowded, and the warm summer New Jersey air, to my great relief, lacked the usual humidity. I strolled up and down the blocks several times, after which my wife drove into town so that we could share a pizza at the well-regarded Alfonso’s. By the time we were done, it was getting dark and having seen what I was there to see, we headed home.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the town of Somerville was at first against the entire Cruise Night idea. But once they saw the crowds and the business these crowds brought to the local establishments, everyone was on board. Perhaps later this summer I’ll swing back and bring one of my own cars to park on Main St.

There were plenty of Corvettes in attendance: I spotted C2, C3, C5, C6, and C7 generations parked along the street. In addition, at least 3 different C8 Vettes were seen cruising up and down the main drag.

Custom hot rods still show up in significant numbers in Somerville

’52-’54 Fords were at one time very popular with rodders

Triumph TR-6 sports cars seem to have survived in large numbers compared to some other ’70s sports cars

When did you last see one of the Franco-American Renaults? This poor Encore needed a jump.

One of the last of the full-size Olds convertibles

DeTomaso Pantera. Drivetrain axle yokes are the size of my skull; they need to be to put that power down.

VW Beetle does duty as pizza delivery vehicle

I thought this pre-war (’39? ’40?) Plymouth was snazzy

The local Alfa dealer had this gold Stelvio on display

A mildly customized ’55 Chevy, not a Bel Air!

A 1968 King Midget. Had a long talk with the owner (Clifford) and we compared notes about what it’s like to own a small quirky car like a King Midget or Isetta.

Alfonso’s is one of the best Italian restaurants in the area. We walked in and were told (this at 7 p.m.) that the wait for an inside table would be 25 minutes, and for an outside table, 40 minutes. Instead, we sat at the bar to eat pizza and drank beer.

richardscarblog

All automotive, all the time

Cruise nights