Today was the final day of the show, and this will be my last “on site” post until I get back home.
Zingara pizza: eggplant, zucchini, and peppers
Have I mentioned the food yet? I’ve long espoused that there are no bad meals in Italy. Last night I had pizza for dinner for the first time, and of course it was great. When you order pizza, you get a small personal pie, thin crust, rather easy for one person to devour. A beer helped wash it down.
Cars arranged by brand, Alfas on top, Fiats on bottom
To close out the show, I swept through several buildings where I felt I had not spent enough time earlier. I was especially interested in revisiting some of the cars for sale, to check on asking prices. I thought there were some deals to be had, however, an American would also need to factor in shipping costs.
Top: 50 years of the VW Golf. Bottom: The Volvo club of Italy
Up until today, 100% of my focus had been Italian cars. Today I documented vehicles from other countries, represented either by their manufacturers or by clubs.
The lunch deal of the day
The show was crowded again today, with very long lines at all the lunch counters. I strolled away from the crowds, and came across this vendor selling a fixed price lunch for €10. I had my choice of a sandwich or rice ball, a dessert, and a bottle of water. It all was great of course!
Some of my favorite cars!
Aside from meals, I had not spent any money on merchandise, so I fixed that by picking up a couple of books and a couple of t-shirts. I was quite happy with what I was able to find.
Once I get home and recover from this trip, I’ll post a more thorough report, which will include many more photos. Stay tuned!
It’s day five in bologna, and it’s day three at this tremendous show, which continues to exceed my expectations.
Lancia Fulvias, more than I have ever seen in one place in my life
Day One was used cars for sale, Day Two was parts and literature, and Day Three was car clubs and organizations. I’ve observed that Italy has very strong support for collector cars, based on the number of clubs here for the show. There are also some large dealerships specializing in collectible automobiles, and they were well represented as well.
Ferrari 275GTBAncient Fiat race car The nicest Fiat 850 I have ever seen Fiat 124 Sport Coupe alongside several AlfasFiat Abarth in front, Lancia Stratos in back
Today being Saturday, the crowds were much larger than they were Thursday and Friday. It was a bit more difficult to take photos without people in the way. This next photo gives you some idea of the size of the crowd.
Sprinkles do not keep people from enjoying their Panini and coffee.
Tomorrow is the final day of the show, and I need to make sure that I’ve hit all 13 buildings!
Today I focused on the one (huge) building with spare parts, and it was as amazing as yesterday. There was a combination of vendors selling new reproduction parts, and vendors selling old original parts. There was nothing in particular I needed, but I did take the business cards of several Alfa Romeo parts vendors.
Many book vendors were in attendanceJust like an American flea market, you need to know what you are looking for Signs and other automobilia were plentifulLots of model cars, including this one with Donald DuckI took a quick walk through the motorcycle hall, although motorbikes are not a big interest for me The most interesting find of the day was this Iso Isetta, the original bubble car, which was built under license later by BMW
Today was opening day for the Auto Moto d’Epoca. I have been to hundreds of car shows, and I am overwhelmed. This is quite possibly the greatest car show I have ever attended: Dozens and dozens of Italian cars, many of which I have not seen on US roads in 40 or 50 years, and many I’ve only seen in photographs before this.
The exhibition area consists of 13 separate Halls, or buildings. Today I only made it through three of them, which consisted of cars which are for sale.
Below is a small sample of photographs from today. There will be a full report posted after I am back home.
My first sighting of the EX30 EV. Approaching from the rear, I thought it was a Polestar, with a tail light design like the Polestar 2. And it’s small: compared to the XC40 I’m leasing, I’d guess it’s about a foot shorter and 3-4 inches lower. Americans are not going to like that lack of rear seat room.
Citroen Ami “100% Electric”
One of the smallest street cars I’ve seen anywhere. Its slab front is reminiscent of an Isetta. The body appeared to be unpainted plastic, with rear-hinged doors.
The “Auto e Moto d’Epoca” 4-day car show starts tomorrow!
An Alfa Romeo wearing aftermarket performance goodies, something I’ve not seen much of in Italy.First time I’ve seen an auto parts store in Italy. It’s right down the street from my hotel. Bardhal oil is a big part of the display, as are old school jumper cables.
I’m here for a week, with a major auto show coming up in two days, so watch this space! More to come.
The New Jersey Alfa Romeo Club (AROC-NJ) might be setting a record this month, with three events on the calendar. Last week was our monthly breakfast, and Sunday October 20 was a fall foliage driving tour, arranged by our event coordinator Bill D. Starting in the Wegman’s parking lot in Bridgewater, NJ, a group of 12 Alfa Romeos wound its way through Flemington, Frenchtown, Stockton, and Lambertville NJ before crossing the bridge at Lambertville and into PA. From there, we headed north on Route 32, drove through 3 covered bridges, stopped for a scenic overlook at High Rocks Vista, and concluded our 70-mile, 2+ hour drive with brunch at The Narrows Restaurant in Upper Black Eddy, PA.
The weather again cooperated, and the scenery was wonderful (even if the traffic through some of the NJ towns wasn’t, but it was a beautiful Sunday morning and everyone wanted to be outside). My only regret is that I was not able to capture more photos. The meal at The Narrows was wonderful, and the kindly waitress agreed to photograph all the smiling Alfa owners and passengers.
This coming weekend, the Alfa Club is visiting the Simeone Museum in Philly. I won’t be there as I will be out of the country. Watch this space for updates about that trip!
Our AROC-NJ monthly breakfast tradition continues! On Sunday October 13, several NJ Chapter members met at the Bernards Café in Bernardsville, NJ for a delightful morning meal. As is typical for our group, a mix of older and newer vehicles were in attendance, including ‘60s and ‘70s era Spiders, along with modern Giulias and Stelvios.
The wait staff at the Café did their usual exemplary job in satisfying our appetites, and at the end of the meal, a few members broke off and caravanned to a local farm stand for autumnal goodies. I will conclude by stating that I have been overwhelmingly pleased by the way the NJ Chapter has been able to consistently maintain what is certainly now a Club tradition.
Returning from a quick shopping trip, I spotted this beast as I exited the parking lot. At first glance I thought it was the National Lampoon Vacation Truckster. Maybe it’s a variation thereof. Whatever it is, pretty it ain’t!
How does one explain how 1,200 classic cars, trucks, and motorcycles, beginning at 7 o’clock in the morning, are paraded through the streets of Hershey and are then driven onto a grassy field and are then arranged in a pre-determined exact order, so that thousands of spectators can then descend upon these wondrously restored vehicles to gaze at them and admire them while their justifiably proud owners look on?
That’s the logistics of Hershey. It’s the exhilaration which overcomes you when you realize that cars worth anywhere from $5,000 to over a million dollars which have been restored to better-than-new condition are here for you to enjoy. This year, with bright blue skies, abundant sunshine, and slightly cool but still comfortable temperatures, it was one of my better Hershey car show experiences.
Oh, dear reader, but wait! I almost forgot: It’s NOT about the cars at all. The car is an inanimate, replaceable hunk of steel, glass, rubber, and plastic. Anyone with the means can restore a car or buy one already restored. And in some cases, the folks who do that are only interested in the ROI, or maybe aiming for bragging rights among their peers, or perhaps seeing how many trophies can be collected, requiring that more shelf space be erected to hold said trophies.
Now I’ll tell you what REALLY makes Hershey so special: It’s the stories behind the cars, the stories that most owners are only all too happy to bend your ear about, stories about a life-long quest for a particular automobile, or about a 20-year-long restoration, or about a car bought by their grandfather 60 years ago, or about a project which was given up on multiple times before a final reawakening motivated the owner to see it to its completion.
I’m here to share just a few of those stories with you.
HOWARD AND HIS VOLVO 265
I didn’t see Howard this year; according to his wife, he was too busy attending to one of the 3 (or was it 4, or 5, or 6?) other cars he brought to Hershey this year. Howard is completely devoted to the hobby, which is quite a statement given that he’s still working as a full-time physician. I only know Howard through Pete Wyman. Of course, regular readers know that it’s Pete who sold me my Alfa. And Pete sold his 1979 265 which he had purchased new to Howard. It’s not Howard’s only Volvo, although he also has BMWs and Jaguars. I spotted the light blue wagon from about 30 paces away. It’s easy when you know there isn’t another Volvo wagon like it anywhere in the show. I’m glad to see that Howard continues to maintain the car to Pete’s standards. Pete, whom we lost last year, would be very proud.
It’s still the way Pete kept it
ALEX AND HIS 1944 VW KdF-Wagen
Alex is a member of the NJ Region of the AACA, as am I, so we are acquainted. I’ve been hearing about this uber-rare VW for years, and some of what I gleaned from Alex was that it has been an uphill 20-year-long restoration. When Alex told me a short while back that he thought the car would be ready for Hershey this year, I kept my fingers crossed. Sure enough, here it was! Given that World War 2 was still raging in 1944, it is amazing that this car got built, and that it somehow survived. Take the time to read the placard which summarizes this story of one man’s dedication. I think this KdF-Wagen may have been the highlight of the entire show.
A GREEK BOY’S DREAM BECOMES A REALITY
I was drawn to this Volvo 1800S due to its similarity, in age and color, to the 1800 owned by the late Irv Gordon (a car which now resides in the Volvo museum in Gothenburg Sweden). I approached the owner and my first words were, “it looks like Irv’s!” But I did go on to compliment him on the car, which appeared nicely restored. He proceeded to tell me that as a boy growing up in Greece, he came across a sales brochure for the Volvo 1800 and was immediately smitten. After moving to the States, he began searching for one, and about two years ago, he found this car and had some restoration work done on it. I congratulated him and wished him luck today. I expect that he will have done well with the judging.
ANDY AND HIS ALFA SPIDER
I opened my dialogue with the owner by asking: “Is this the only Alfa on the show field today?” We both laughed and agreed that this was likely the case. Since his car was a ’78, that made it a Series 2 Spider, but those cars did not come equipped with a rear spoiler. He responded that his car was, to the best of his knowledge, a Niki Lauda Special, on which the rear spoiler was standard, but so were some stripes and badges, all of which have been removed from his car. (I’ve only ever seen one other Niki Lauda Special, which was at last year’s Greenwich Concours. A photo of that car is below under ADDENDA.) His Alfa also appeared to have non-original upholstery, and he admitted to me that the judges already told him that his car had “too many modifications”. That’s too bad, and I sincerely hope that does not discourage Andy, because perhaps with some documentation and some stripe and badge replacements, he can verify for the judges that his car is correctly represented.
DAVE AND HIS 1955 T-BIRD
I first encountered this car and owner at the 2021 AACA Nationals in Saratoga Springs, and wrote up a brief story on my blog, finding it to be of particular interest. Months later, “Dave” emailed me in excitement, telling me that he had no idea that I had featured him and his Baby Bird on my blog. Hey, I wasn’t trying to make Dave famous, I was just trying to share an interesting story. We continued to exchange emails, and saw each other again at Hershey in 2023 when he showed his pre-war Dodge, and again in June of this year at the soggy Nationals in Saratoga Springs. So here we are again, and thanks to my blog, I have a new friend in the hobby. Dave’s enthusiasm is infectious, and his ’55 looked better than ever. Be sure to read his summary below, which is what drew me to write him up in the first place.
I HAD DAVE’S PERMISSION TO PLACE MY HAND ON THAT PRISTINE WHITE TOP
ADDENDA
Here’s my photo of that ’78 Alfa Spider Niki Lauda Special Edition which I took last year.
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