SoCal Adventures - Part 1 (The General Stuff & Cool Cars Spotted)

"Where have all the lightweights gone?" (sniderjadam09) 07/23/2014 at 22:30 • Filed to: THE OC FILES, VACAYLOPNIK

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I got home last night at 1:30AM Chicago time, so my vacationing posts have been on delay for a little bit. Overall, it was an absolute blast. I had an opportunity to go to Irvine's C&C, lounge around Newport Beach, and spend a day in San Diego.

Because I was traveling with family, we were forced to rent a small SUV. All that was available on the lot was a Chevy Captiva, the leftover Saturn orphan destined to live in fleet service the rest of its lot. All I can say is GOOD! As appalling it was to drive overall (poor handling, poor fuel economy, and treacherous to park), it was surprisingly comfortable for long distances.

The first night I was there, I was greeted by something I was NOT expecting—A Gulf-liveried McLaren 12C. I saw it barrel down on me from my rearview mirror, and I knew I had to get a snap of it at a light. This was the best I could do.

While I was there, I was surprised to see this:

In addition to the Bentleys and Teslas, I saw quite a few Rolls Royce Ghosts, a single Wraith, a couple of Fisker Karmas, a BMW Z8 (!!!!), Aston Martin Rapide among many DB9's and Vantages, a few handfuls of Ferraris, and a few Aventadors. Our rental house was near both the local Lambo and Ferrari dealerships.

When I wasn't at a wedding, rehearsal dinner, or lounging along the ocean, I ended up doing a couple of other fun things.

One of them was seeing Bad Religion at the OC Fair. I haven't been to a punk show in quite a long time, and I could hardly call this being engaged. Either way, it was a fun show, and they played for a solid hour and a half.

On our way to San Diego, my girlfriend and I set aside some time to look around a couple of the dealerships before we left town.

One of those dealerships was Ferrari/Maserati of Newport Beach. In addition to the numerous 458's, F12's, Californias, and FF's, there was just one car that I was there to see. To me, this is most likely a once in a lifetime chance to see one of these cars, an !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . I saw it was there, and I was delighted to see it in person!

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This is #7/9 of the Stradales, brown on brown interior, and it looked absolutely gorgeous in person. The potato pics do not do the depth of the metallic brown paint in the low lighting where it was displayed. I know this will end up in someone's collection, hidden away decades before it crosses an auction block at some time.

Down the street from there was a small classic car dealership. There were a few cool things in there that had my girlfriend impressed, a tough feat to do.

Jaguar XK120, brown with a mint green interior. I have not seen an XK120 with the bodywork over the rear wheels before, and the color combo was stunning. I drove by it every day while we were out there, and I couldn't help but look at it when we passed.

They also had a Fiat Jolly, a car i think I had only seen on Wheeler Dealers at one point in time.

They also had a few classic 911's and an Alfa Spider outside.

Their trailer was also one of the coolest automotive transports I have seen in quite some time.

That's all for now. I will post more about my C&C experience later tonight or tomorrow. I'm still trying to recover from the jet lag.

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Where have all the lightweights gone? 07/23/2014 at 22:37

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This is why I'd bore the hell out of my family if we ever went into an exotic car dealership.

Where have all the lightweights gone? > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback 07/23/2014 at 22:44

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We walked around, but this is what I was gunning for. I got really excited when I saw this.

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Where have all the lightweights gone? 07/23/2014 at 22:55

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Well no one in my family besides me, my dad, and my grandfather really care about cars so dropping numbers on an Alfa based off a Viper wouldn't even faze them. They wouldn't understand the significance.

Where have all the lightweights gone? > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback 07/23/2014 at 23:27

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I saved this for last. My sister and her friend went up to LA, my mom went to my aunt's house, and we had the car to ourselves for an extra day to San Diego. That's how I got away with it.

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Where have all the lightweights gone? 07/23/2014 at 23:32

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Ah, I'd probably get just my dad and grandfather to go with me but then they'd try and sell it to them.

Squid > Where have all the lightweights gone? 07/24/2014 at 02:34

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Yup, the amount of exotics in that area is astounding to the point of making them less exotic the more you see them. I grew up in that area and it still baffles me with all the high dollar cars rolling around. The Irvine C&C is pretty fucking sweet though. The last time I went, a few weeks ago, I got to see a Lucra on display.

After my short month stay at my parents house, I have come to realize that the cars are the only good thing about SoCal.

Where have all the lightweights gone? > Squid 07/24/2014 at 03:04

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I think the thing that really surprised me about when I went was the lower amount of exotics but infinitely more interesting set of cars I saw. I'll be posting more about my experience tomorrow.