British Invasion Part One

I attended a British Car Show in Boca Raton, Florida this past year. These are not huge sanctioned events, rather, it's a group of local enthusiasts with their favorite rides. The gathering is really for themselves as much as the spectators. But they did bring out a great variety of cars, so this will take up the next two or three blogs. Feel free to identify the ones you can in comments. Get out your driving gloves and enjoy.

Freedom of Expression

It's that time again. Customized plates are the automotive equivalent of haiku; short, direct, one glimpse to get your message across. Here are my latest captures of direct, personal advertising.Some are for sports teams, some are nicknames, some are checking date stamps and one makes me wonder if Neil Diamond is from Missouri.

Viva Italia!

I think my first lasting impression of an Italian car was the red Ferrari 250 GT Spyder California SWB driven by Faye Dunaway in the original 1968 Thomas Crown Affair. (She called it "one of those red Italian things".) Her & Steve McQueen were the epitome of cinema cool and Ferrari's were very rare in America. Italian cars are a combination of leading edge design combined with old world craftsmanship. Today, Ferrari is enjoying a Renaissance along with Maserati and Lamborghini. Fiat, Italy's industrial giant just bought the lion's share of Chrysler and you'll soon be seeing the cars they sell in Europe at a stoplight near you. Over the past year I've photographed more of these rare, high performance beauties than most people see in a lifetime. This is a love note, my Valentine if you will, to the high pitched sound one of these beauties makes when approaching and the bounty of beautiful curves you experience as it passes.