Regular events for car enthusiasts occur throughout the greater Los Angeles area. One of the best happens every Sunday morning in Calabasas. The event goes by various names depending upon whom you ask, but “Cruise In” and “Cars ‘n Coffee” are the two most common names.
The weekly event was started by the owner of The Village Roaster, a coffee house in the shopping center just off of the 101 Freeway at the Valley Circle Boulevard exit, just past the intersection of Mulholland Drive and Calabasas Road. That’s where the event occurs — in the parking lot of that shopping center. And depending on how many cars show up, most of the parking lot can be filled with cars. Although “Cruise In” occurs every Sunday morning from about 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., the largest gathering of cars is the last Sunday of every month.
The Village Roaster also sponsors the annual Motor4Toys event in December, where thousands of cars come together, each car bringing at least one toy for the less fortunate children of Southern California for the holidays. Go to www.motor4toys.com to find out more information and register for this year’s event, which takes place on December 2 in Agoura.
The concept of “Cruise In” is simple – come with a cool car early Sunday morning. Park it amongst the other cars. Get a cup of coffee at The Village Roaster and walk around and look at all the cars, talk to like-minded car enthusiasts, take pictures, dream, drool, etc.
So, what will you see and hear if you come to “Cruise In?” You will see a variety of sports cars – muscle cars, old and new; exotic cars; classic cars. There will be old and new Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Maseratis, Porsches, BMWs, Aston Martins, Corvettes, Mustangs and kit cars to name a few. You will also see different concentrations of a particular type of car from one Sunday to the next. On one Sunday I saw several Lamborghini Diablos in different bright or wild colors (yellow, orange, lime and purple to name a few) all in a row – wow, that was a sight! Another Sunday I saw eight or so BMW Z8 Roadsters parked in a row – that’s a very rare car and to see eight of them in different colors all parked in a row with their tops down was just amazing.
And what will you hear at “Cruise In?” You will experience nothing short of a symphony of incredible engines. You will hear cars “rumbling” into the parking lot as the drivers look for a parking space, the engines telling you that they have plenty of horsepower just waiting to explode. You will hear cars “screaming” or “roaring” as they leave the event up Mulholland Drive to the hills, or down Mulholland Drive to the 101 freeway. Ever wonder how the deep “roar” of an American V8 in a muscle car sounds compared to the high-pitched “scream” of a Ferrari V8 when the pedal is mashed to the floor? You will experience that at this event and a whole lot more in ways that just gets your adrenaline pumping!
After a couple of hours looking at all the great cars, hearing them come and go, there’s only one thing you want to do — go for a long drive. Our next article will report on some of the great drives in and around the SCV and SFV that you can take when you leave a “Cruise In” event. Until then, I hope to see some of you on a Sunday morning in Calabasas; look for me and we can go for a drive.
For more information, please contact Michael Rossi at 310-717-8806.