NJ-AROC Visits the Grounds for Sculpture

September 22, 2025September 22, 2025 RichardReina Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Jr., Drives, Events AROC NJ Chapter, Grounds for Sculptre

Sunday, September 21, 2025 was a busy day for participating members of AROC’s New Jersey Chapter as we found ourselves at three different locations throughout central NJ from early morning until mid-afternoon. Our optional start began at 8:30 a.m. at Colonial Park in Franklin Township in Somerset County. There, eight of us converged for a simple and quick breakfast of muffins, donuts, and coffee. Promptly at 9:15, the five Alfas (well, one was a Tonale which the Italian factory mislabeled as a Dodge Hornet), ably led by Bill DiPrima in his 164, caravanned to the Grounds for Sculpture.

There, we met up with many more of our fellow Alfisti (and one amico driving a Fiat 500 Abarth) who arrived at the museum separately. The Grounds for Sculpture staff had granted our request for secure private parking, and once we were all parked and locked, we had three hours to wander through the expansive grounds and buildings. (See the Sidebar for more about the Grounds for Sculpture.)

We reconvened at the cars at 1 p.m., and caravanned from there to Rossi’s Bar and Grill, where they were expecting us. Their extensive menu included pizza (“tomato pie”, actually), burgers, sandwiches, and more. The food and service were both wonderful, and our party split up around 3 p.m. for the rides home.

Besides Bill’s 164 and my Bertone coupe, other classic Alfas included two Spiders. Modern machinery in addition to the Italian Hornet and the Abarth included a Guilia sedan and a 4C. I will again comment how wonderful it is to be part of a club where both older and newer models of the same marque are equally welcome (and all kidding aside, we also open our arms to drivers of anything Italian).

A very big grazie goes to our Event Coordinator Bill DiPrima who oversaw today’s arrangements, and to Paul Mitchell who chose and scheduled our luncheon stop.

Enrico and Bill negotiate security details with guard

Bob shoots ducks (well, Bob shoots photos of ducks)

SIDEBAR: The Grounds for Sculpture

This was my third or fourth visit to this funky, offbeat, and diverse display of artwork. I won’t delve into the details which are better found here at this link anyway. But this most recent stop was the first time I spent most of my time outdoors, and with very cooperative weather overhead, there was lots to take in. The sampling of photos below give you some idea of what to expect. If you are ever in the area, or even if you are not, it’s worth the trip.

NJ AROC Breakfast Meet, March 8, 2025

March 9, 2025 RichardReina Events AROC NJ Chapter, Jimmy's American Grill

The New Jersey Chapter of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club held its March monthly breakfast at Jimmy’s American Grill on Saturday, March 8, 2025. Nine Alfisti joined together to enjoy the unique brunch menu at Jimmy’s. It was not quite spring-like enough for those with classic Alfas to show up with them, but we did have four modern Giulias, including two Quadrifoglios, in the parking lot. It’s always great to be able to chat about our favorite Italian marque, and with spring’s official arrival just two weeks away, we are looking forward to cruising in our marvelous Milanese machines very soon. A special thanks to Paul for getting several friends from the Giulia forum to join us at breakfast. We hope you guys consider joining AROC!

AROC-NJ Monthly Breakfast Meet, Jan. 18, 2025

January 19, 2025 RichardReina Events AROC NJ Chapter, Bernards Cafe

The New Jersey Chapter of the Alfa Romeo Owner’s Club (AROC) got the 2025 season off to a roaring start with our first monthly breakfast meet, held at the Bernard’s Café in lovely downtown Bernardsville, NJ, on Saturday, January 18, 2025. Ten hardy Chapter members made the trek, enjoying the fine food and comforting coffee as served up by the capable wait staff of the Café.

What did we talk about? Where do I start? Much of the discussion focused on our plans for the year. I’ve long maintained that living in the Northeast as we do, and enduring the winter seasons as we must, only makes us look forward to the coming spring with increased excitement. The group anxiously awaits that first drive of ’25. Meanwhile, all of us with older, classic Alfas have their cars in hibernation. Only Steve and J.P. with their modern Giulia, and John and Fran with their Tonale, drove Alfas to the breakfast.

For many of us, our Alfas are our toy cars, and we have “non Alfa” daily drivers. There was much talk around the table about our ups and downs with our Fords, Saabs, Volvos, Hondas, BMWs, Mazdas, and Kias, among others. This led to an interesting discussion about the prevalence in our daily drivers of modern safety aids such as rear-view and 360-degree cameras, and automatic braking for front collision avoidance. Our hobby-level Alfas have none of this electronic wizardry. Does that make them unsafe to drive? Not by a long shot would undoubtedly be our consensus. Our classic cars are fun to drive, and stick shift transmissions, manual steering, and non-ABS brakes require 100% driver focus at all times. We could make the argument that some so-called modern features, such as touch screens, add to driver distraction. At Volvo, I was taught that “active safety” is another term for accident avoidance, and our older classics have lots of active safety features. Precise steering, excellent handling, abundant outward visibility, and well-placed controls enable the driver to take appropriate evasive action when necessary.

Another hot topic: Stellantis, as in, the parent company of Alfa Romeo, which is having some major business issues at present. Alfa Romeo’s new vehicle sales in the U.S. last year were not great, and while these things don’t necessarily directly affect us right now, all of us want to see the brand thrive. The company is under new management and we’re hoping that there are big changes for the better coming soon.

Once we had finished solving the problems of the world, the group headed back into the winter air. The first day of spring is two months from Monday, and the days are getting longer, so there is plenty to look forward to and to be thankful for, including the continued camaraderie of this group.

From L to R: Bob, Richard, Jay, Steve, J.P., Tony (standing), John, Fran, Gene, and Cathy.

NJ Alfa Romeo Club Breakfast Meet, Dec. 14, 2024

December 14, 2024 RichardReina Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Jr., Drives, Events AROC NJ Chapter, Jimmy's American Grill

Thirteen degrees Fahrenheit! That was the temperature in my driveway at 8 a.m. this morning as my wife and I headed to our car, about to drive to Jimmy’s American Grill in Bordentown, NJ. The occasion? The monthly breakfast get-together for the New Jersey Alfa club. We arrived at the restaurant just before 9 a.m. to find most of the crowd mulling about in the parking lot (and why not? The temperature had risen to a tolerable 25 F). We shared our quick “good mornings” and briskly strolled to the entrance. They were ready for all twelve of us, as the waitress efficiently passed around their extensive breakfast menu.

Food, coffee, and service were all great, and the table talk bounced from our Alfas, to holiday plans, to travel stories, and back to (what else) our Italian macchine. A personal highlight for me was meeting Pedro, his wife, and daughter, who arrived in their Alfa Romeo 155, a model never sold in this country. Pedro informed me that he imported the car from Japan, and that all the instrumentation was labeled in Japanese. His sedan is FWD, with a transversely-mounted Twin Spark 2.0L four-cylinder engine. I thought it was sharp. Those of us with “classic” Alfas left our steeds at home, so the only other Alfas in the parking lot were the modern Giulias.

A little less distinctive from the rear, but note the spoiler, lower valence, and exhaust tips

A congratulations of sorts is due to the NJ-AROC. In late 2023, we decided to “try” to hold monthly breakfast gatherings, with the first one in cold mid-January. After that, we also decided to vary the eatery location, so that we might increase the likelihood of additional members joining us. We did just that, and month after month, throughout the year, NJ Chapter members showed up. With this December 14 event, we have successfully held a breakfast meet every month for the year. I hope that we continue this into 2025, and I feel certain that we will. Thanks to all who have made the effort!

NJ Alfa Club Breakfast Meet, Nov. 17, 2024

November 18, 2024 RichardReina Drives, Events Americana Diner, AROC NJ Chapter, Breakfast meet

For the 11^th month in a row, the New Jersey Chapter of the Alfa Romeo Owner’s Club (AROC-NJ) held its monthly breakfast meet, returning to a favorite eatery, the Americana Diner in Shrewsbury, NJ. Our autumnal weather continues to grace us with sunshine and warm temperatures, and this past Sunday the 17^th of November was no exception.

We made our way into the diner a little bit after 9 a.m., but we were far short of the expected headcount. That was soon remedied when the remainder of those who had registered for breakfast arrived to fill out our reserved table. The food and drink were greatly enjoyed, and although the diner was getting crowded, the wait staff didn’t act as though they were in any hurry to shoo us out the door. One waitress, obliging my request, was only too happy to take my camera and snap the obligatory group photo.

The fun continued after we exited the building. We hung around our Alfas, old and new, and continued our conversations. Vic delighted us by showing his new-to-him 1966 Giulia Super sedan, an amazingly original car. The cloth interior was nicely preserved, and the engine compartment looked like it had not been tampered with, down to the fuses which Vic claimed were original. At some time in its past, the car had been repainted, and top coat did not adhere well, perhaps due to poor prep work. We debated the pros and cons of a repaint, with the consensus agreeing that the car probably should be brought back down to bare metal and treated to a quality respray.

Parked next to Alex’s red Duetto was a very rare Alfa Romeo prototype. A club member who prefers to remain anonymous said that he was given the chance to drive Alfa’s new electric SUV. In order to disguise the beautiful Italian styling, the engineers hung sheets of flat steel roofing they bought at Home Depot over the entire car. Their intent was to use the camouflage to create “the ugliest car on the road” as a way to deceive the public. We unanimously agreed that they had succeeded.

The Americana parking lot is small, and cars kept pouring into the lot looking for spots, of which there were none. We finally decided that we needed to get out of the way, so our chit-chat was over for the day. The NJ Chapter meets next month in December, which will make it 12 consecutive monthly breakfast meets.

NJ Alfa Club Fall Foliage Tour, October 2024

October 21, 2024October 21, 2024 RichardReina Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Jr., Drives, Events AROC NJ Chapter, The Narrows Restaurant

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!

Alfa Romeo Club Monthly Breakfast Meet, Oct. 13, 2024

October 20, 2024 RichardReina Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Jr., Drives, Events AROC NJ Chapter, Bernards Cafe

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.

NJ AROC, Breakfast & Bocce, Sep. 22, 2024

September 22, 2024 RichardReina Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Jr., Drives, Events AROC NJ Chapter, bocce, Colonial Park

The NJ Chapter of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club is on a roll! September marks nine consecutive months of monthly breakfast meets. For this month’s meet-up, we skipped the Jersey diner experience and ate alfresco, combining our bagels and coffee with several games of bocce (for the uninitiated, it’s the Italian version of lawn bowls. You can read Wikipedia’s page on bocce here).

We had an excellent turnout, with 13 Alfas, one other Italian car of some other brand, and close to 20 participants. Colonial Park in Somerset County hosted us, and NJ AROC member Bill DiPrima, our Event Coordinator, did an outstanding job of organizing the entire festa. Beautiful first-day-of-autumn weather kept us outside until noon when we finally packed it in, but not before a group photo was taken (thanks to me finally remembering to bring a tripod). I was particularly pleased with the turnout, given that the changing weather will likely make next month the last chance for the classic Alfas to make an appearance at a Chapter event.

In addition to the photos below, you can watch our expert bocce players in action on these two videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNaetr2mVY4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNcbjCa33Do

THE CARS

THE PEOPLE

ADDENDA

A day trip on Friday to the town of Jim Thorpe, PA yielded this find: a 1949 Packard for sale, only $4,995! A cursory glance revealed a car that looked mostly original, save for a very bad black repaint likely done decades ago. The front seat was hidden by a seat cover, with original upholstery (matching the back) underneath. Sign claimed it ran well, but didn’t say if it would continue to do so for 5 blocks or 5 hours.

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:

NJ Alfa Club Breakfast Meet, May 19, 2024

May 19, 2024May 19, 2024 RichardReina Drives, Events AROC, AROC NJ Chapter, Bernards Cafe, The Stable

The NJ Chapter of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club (NJ-AROC) held its monthly breakfast meet on Sunday May 19, 2024, and we finally caught a break with the weather! As anyone who lives in the metro NY/NJ area knows, it’s been a damp and cool spring; many of the wettest days have occurred on weekends, which has been especially disappointing for those who work Mondays through Fridays. Although it was cool and partly cloudy when I departed my house at 8:15 a.m., by the time I reached Bernardsville, about a 30-minute ride, the sun appeared and had warmed things up nicely.

Our host restaurant was a new choice for this group: The Bernards Café, on Route 202 in lovely downtown Bernardsville. While the café is not as spacious as most diners, it comfortably accommodated the 12 of us, helped by a phone call placed the day before by our café contact Gene. I’m especially pleased to report that this was the first NJ-AROC breakfast where I was able to drive my ’67 GT Junior. We had a nice mix of classic and modern Alfas in attendance, as the photos show.

Four classics and a Stelvio; despite the age differences, the styling link is obvious

The size difference can be a shock when seen side by side

The food, in my opinion, was a step up from your typical diner fare. I have nothing against diners, as their extensive menus and consistent quality mean you will almost always find something to please the palate. However, the Bernards Café was a step above, with a great choice of specialty egg dishes, pancakes, and the like. We were arranged in two tables of 6, and were done with our meal by about 10:30. Rather than hang out near the cars to continue the chit-chat, club member Bill D. had arranged a special visit for us, so we caravanned from Bernardsville to Peapack-Gladstone and paid a visit to the classic car dealership known as The Stable.

Tom, the proprietor, was ready for us. He parked a very rare 1954 Alfa Romeo 1900 outside for us, and opened his showroom, workshop, and lower storage area to our wandering eyes. He even had some coffee and donuts on hand, and of course, a few of us had to dip into the second breakfast of the day. Tom explained a bit of the business’s history: The Stable opened inside an old stable (hence the name) in 1973. At that time, there was a Chevrolet dealership in town just down the street. A few years later, the Chevy dealer closed up (or moved), and The Stable moved into the building which the dealer had vacated, but kept its name.

It appeared that every car on the premises was for sale; most had asking prices posted to the glass. The stock is eclectic: the small showroom held a 2012 Bentley Continental GT and two Jaguar XKs; the workshop was a smattering of mostly British and Italian classics, with a few pre-war domestic cars mixed in; and downstairs held mostly Mercedes-Benzes of various models and model years, as well as a C2 Corvette, a ’54 Buick Roadmaster, a Datsun 1600 roadster, and a few BMWs. As one club member whispered to me, “Many of these cars are not really in saleable condition”, a remark made based on the observation that it looked like these downstairs cars may not have moved under their own power in years. Nevertheless, we appreciated the hospitality, and it’s good to remember that The Stable is probably the closest classic car store to my house. We bid our farewells to each other, I climbed back into my ’67, and 30 minutes later I was home. It was a great day, and I can’t wait to do it again!