ACCD Car Classic 2014 Photo Dump

"Andrew T. Maness" (theroadlessdriven)
10/28/2014 at 13:30 • Filed to: Car Show, Happenings, Events, Classic Car Show, Art Center College of Design, Jay Leno, Chip Foose, The Road Less Driven, Andrew Maness

When my friend Nate & I arrived at the Art Center College of Design just in time to catch the last 10 minutes of Jay Leno interviewing Chip Foose from the bed of GM's insane "Futureliner". This was the perfect way to start our afternoon, listening to two guys who are about as passionate about car culture as one can be, while walking around a beautiful field full of legendary vehicles. From the moment I laid eyes on the Steve McQueen collection, I knew this was going to be worth baking in the Pasadena sun for an hour or two, despite having a ripping hangover courtesy of John Jameson.

The crowd for this event was as varied as the vehicles on display, a real reminder of what makes the automotive enthusiast community so great to be a part of, diversity. Industry veterans, deep pocketed collectors, wide eyed kids, broke design students and mouth breathing forum moderators were all in attendance. I didn't eavesdrop nearly as much as I would have liked to because I was concentrating on taking photos while keeping the nausea at bay by sucking down Pellegrino. I was however within earshot when an elderly man snapped at his wife, "NO! You don't need another goddamn Jaguar" while they were standing next to one of 50 final edition XK convertibles. Pretty harsh words but without missing a beat she replied "Fine, then I get to drive the Stingray more often". Judging by his facial expression I thought the guy was going to whip out his checkbook and buy the Jag on the spot. You can see it in the background of this photo but since this is Jalopnik I know what you really care about. You care about this JDM RHD Miata. Yeah it was there and it was pretty cool looking, I guess.

Honestly I think it's over styled, not something one often says of a Mazda. Looks like a snake, Jack O Lantern, BRZ/F-Type mashup but hey, it'll be all about how it drives right? That's probably what all those guys are thinking, except for the one on the left, he's thinking Arbys.

As I said, when we first walked in the Steve McQueen collection immediately caught my eye. Of all the vehicles one display his '69 917k from Le Mans is a car that just makes you feel some type of way. I honestly can't explain it but somehow this car feels alive. It has such presence, commands attention in a way that few things do. Mop haired kids, middle aged white guys and Benjamin Button agree, this thing is a work of art.

As we were leaving I was able to snap this pic since the majority of the crowd had gone over to get a history lesson on Ghia bodied Chryslers and Cadillacs. While I do find those cars beautiful and fascinating, I couldn't resist a chance to take an uninterrupted look at the 917's powerplant. I told Nate that it was like getting a look up a supermodel's skirt. He grinned and replied "Nah, it's better" and you know what, he's probably right.

Andrew Maness writes about cars because he has one and also has a computer. He's been known to drunkenly Tweet as !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and upload photos to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . He also has a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and thinks talking about himself in the 3rd person is really weird but knows it's necessary if he wants to be taken seriously as an Oppo contributor.

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Some of the following pictures are good, some of them are not. I plead the 5th, of Jameson. Seriously though, I wish I'd brought an Olloclip for my IPhone but I forgot it. In an effort to apologize I'd like to hold a photo caption contest. Just copy the photo and post your caption in the comments. Winner gets a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! T-Shirt and some stickers.

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