Car Spotting in LA, Part II

I'm back in North Carolina now, where you can swing a dead cat without hitting a Bentley.  On one hand, it sucks.  I like seeing exotics constantly.  On the other, it's nice that exotics remain exotic. I walked around LA the whole time with my camera around my neck for you guys - so I'll continue now with day two and three of car spotting in LA.  Hope you enjoy it!

Classic cars, especially older Japanese cars, seem to have a much longer shelf life in California's relatively mild, dry climate.  This 240Z would have a lot more rust bubbles over here in North Carolina.  I could do without the period window louvers, but YMMV.

You could do worse for your commute than driving an early Acura NSX up the 405 in LA.  These cars are still so pretty after all these years.

Here's something that never actually existed: a Ford Edsel Ranchero.  The '58-'60 Edsel was mechanically similar to the same era Fords, so grafting an Edsel front onto a Ranchero isn't especially complicated - still unusual!

Heading up into the Hollywood hills (hey, gotta see the sign - tourist and all that), the cars parked alongside the mountain houses are far more eclectic.  Beverly Hills is all about the latest flashy so-and-so, big Bentleys and Maserati's littering the asphalt.  Up here, you see more interesting stuff: like this original, and very brown 911 Targa.

I hear all the time how Porsche's Panamera is one of their best-selling and most profitable cars.  Around Raleigh, I don't see how - they're thin on the ground, far outnumbered by Boxsters and Caymans.  In the Hills (of Beverly!) the Panabananarama is Taurus-like in it's ubiquity.  They're everywhere.  Here's a mean black Panamera Turbo parked curbside.

Welcome to West Hollywood.  Here's a Veyron and a Mercedes SLR McLaren in matching matte-white.  Cameo by an Audi R8 in the background.  They were both sporting Luxury4Play stickers, of course.

A Bentley Turbo R parked curbside in front of Charles Agapiou Bentley/Rolls Royce sales and service.  There will be a feature on this dealer (as well as another one nearby) coming up after this.

An Aston Martin DB7 Vantage in a valet lot in West Hollywood.  So gorgeous.

Merc's SLS AMG Gullwing looks a million times lower, wider, and meaner in traffic than it does in press photos.  Oh my goodness, this car has the presence of a torch-wielding mob.

The popularity of AMG Benz's in LA is pretty wild.  Far moreso than S-Audi's and M BMW's, they're everywhere.  Here's a W211 E55 AMG Supercharged rumbling through traffic.

A Jaguar XJ looks right at home in West Hollywood traffic.  check out that Austin Healey too!

Judging by how many Maseratis you see around LA, it's safe to assume Maser/Ferrari salesmen have no trouble making their boat payments.  Jeez.

It's not just about horsepower, though.  EV's and Hybrids are huge.  The infrastructure in LA is a lot friendlier to the all-electric Nissan Leaf, with plenty of charging stations as well as dedicated EV lanes on highways.  I saw more Leafs in three days in LA than I have since they came out in NC.

I took some time to sit outside a coffee shop in Santa Monica and snap traffic that went by.  Not surprisingly, it's pretty nice.  I heard this clean LT1 Camaro SS at least a block before I saw it.

Aston Martins may not be the fastest, or the most-high tech, or the most reliable, or the most anything technical in the supercar realm.  But they are the sexiest, and the best-sounding. I believe this was a Virage, but at speed I have trouble telling them apart.  Bad journalist.

The Evo X goes down the crowded street with the characteristic bark, crackle, whistle and pop of a highly-tuned turbo car - wonderfully out of the mould in Santa Monica.

A bright red GT-R waiting to turn, before unleashing first-second-third in rapid, growling succession.  I think he saw the camera and was either showing off or not wanting his picture taken.

A big Mercedes-Benz CL Coupe.

Not an X5M, but he had me fooled for a second.  BMW SUV's are just as popular here as you'd imagine.

A Defender 90?  Where is he going off-road?  Still cool to spot in the states.

An ever-so-slightly blurry 997 GT3.  It's so fast you can't catch it on camera.

It wouldn't be a Califonia spotting post without at least one old Microbus, right?

I feel like a rugged, extremely off-road-capable vehicle in Santa Monica is out of place in the same way a Nissan Leaf in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness would be.  Still, Gelandewägens are cool.

Ohh, Cinquencento.  How I love thee.  Looks totally in place here - Fiat 500's are everywhere in LA.

Another blurry shot, but this is an M6 Cabriolet.

A Jaguar XK follows an E46 M3 Cabriolet.

The next day, I made the trip up to the Cars & Coffee in Irvine.  I've seen coverage from this event before, and normally it's huge and amazing beyond words.  This particular saturday, there were 5 cars present.  This is apparently what happens when it threatens to rains in California - people leave their cool cars tucked away in the garage.

Still, an Alfa Romeo GTV6 2.5 is a cool sighting.

Alfa guys don't care about rain.  Garages are for girls.

This Scirrocco 16v sees regular track time, and is in great condition to boot.

One final one, this time in Malibu.  A beautifully restored Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 diesel.

In the last part of this series, I'll be showing pictures from inside two private dealer/service centers for classics; stay tuned!