The final day of official events for the AROC (Alfa Romeo Owners Club) arrived. The Concorso was held in the Petite Italie (Little Italy) neighborhood in Montreal, populated with Italian restaurants, shops, and bakeries.
The AROC show was held in conjunction with the Fiat club of Montreal. Hence, many Fiats, Ferraris, and other Italian exotics joined.
The weather was perfect, and the crowds were large and enthusiastic.
A full event report covering all three days will follow.
This post really starts with Friday night. After dinner, five Montreals gathered for a tech session. It was a great photo op.
On Saturday, some cars went to the track. We hung out and detailed the cars in prep for the big Sunday concours. Perhaps the best part of the day is chatting it up with fellow Alfa owners.
Four hundred and thirty miles, from Neshanic Station NJ to Montreal Quebec, in a fifty-year-old Italian automobile, and the car did not miss a beat.
We are here for day one of Alfa Expo 17, the annual Alfa Romeo Owners Club meet. The weather could be better but we will take it one day at a time.
Events are planned for Saturday and Sunday. These photos are the cars in the Holiday Inn lot on Friday afternoon.
The New Jersey Chapter of the Alfa Romeo Owner’s Club held an informal Sunday cruise during the afternoon of November 6, 2016. Five club members, led by our chapter head Enrico Ciabattoni, gathered at our starting point at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel NJ. We pushed off around 2pm and cruised to various spots in Monmouth County, including Atlantic Highlands, Sandy Hook, and Colts Neck.
The oldest car in today’s contingent was the 1966 Duetto driven by Alex and Carly. Richard’s 1967 GT 1300 Junior was just a year newer. The eighties were well-represented by two GTV6s, Enrico’s and Bill’s. The newest Alfa for today was John’s beautifully-kept 164. Alas, no new Giulia sedans showed up to surprise us. However, Enrico’s wife and daughter did a commendable job driving the sweep car in their Honda Odyssey. Thanks, ladies!
Plenty of time was allotted for photo ops (what with such gorgeous cars!), and a personal highlight was stopping for pictures at the Sandy Hook Lighthouse, the oldest operating lighthouse in the country. The cameras were not always aimed at cars; the vista from atop the Mount Mitchill Scenic Overlook in Atlantic Highlands provided glorious views of the New York skyline and lower bay.
Our day ended at Delicious Orchards in Colts Neck, which also gave us a chance to pick up some produce (Enrico was spotted heading for the Italian chestnuts). Since it was the first day back on Eastern Standard Time, the rapidly-diminishing daylight had this scribe heading for home before sunset.
For those who doubt the reliability of Italian machinery: combined with this morning’s breakfast run, Richard’s Alfa was driven a total of 260 miles today, much of it buzzing along the highways of New Jersey at 70 mph, fending off soccer moms in the SUVs. Not bad for a 49-year-old car.
It was wonderful to be out with fellow Alfisti and to delight in the sounds of 4- and 6-cylinder engines in full song. We hope to get the group back on the road in early 2017.
All photographs copyright © 2016 Richard A. Reina. Photos may not be copied or reproduced without express written permission.
The Friday tradition known as the Somerville NJ cruise night took place as expected on August 26, 2016. However, the usual swarm of domestic muscle cars and old-school hot rods was invaded by members from the NJ Region of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club (AROC). In total, there were 9 Alfa Romeos present, which was an excellent showing for this sweltering late summer evening.
The club had reached out to the cruise night organizers to request a group parking spot. As has been done in the past for other clubs, the spaces in front of the Somerset County Courthouse were reserved for us. The first Alfa was in place before 5pm, with the majority of cars claiming their spots by 6pm. Based on the steady flow of foot traffic parading past our cars, we can presume that the audience enjoyed the rather unexpected gathering of Italian machinery.
There was great model diversity, with Alfetta GTs, Spiders, a 164, two 4Cs, and your scribe’s GT 1300 Junior. The Junior was the sole vehicle from the 1960s, but we had great representation from the ‘70s and ‘80s.
The 4Cs were the surprise of the evening, with one privately-owned car in attendance, as well as a brand new one from the local dealer, Fullerton Fiat-Alfa (thanks, Dave!).
Old friends got reacquainted, new friends were made, and with darkness arriving by 8pm, most of us were back on the road by then. It was an enjoyable way to spend an evening with like-minded people, and we hold out hope that our local Alfa club can find its way to organize one more gathering before the cars are stored for the winter.
All photographs copyright © 2016 Richard A. Reina. Photos may not be copied or reproduced without express written permission.
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