Photography by David S. Wallens
A silver Nissan Skyline parked by a decked-out Impala convertible on chrome wire wheels. A green Alfa GTV sat across from my 911. Ahead of me, a chopper straight out of “Easy Rider.”
The occasion: a cars and coffee hosted by Orlando’s Not Another Film Lab–and, as the name suggests, they do process film. For photography.
I’d be the oldest one there. Easily.
The night before, I did the 1-hour prep: quick detail, clay pad, ceramic wax. I also cleaned the glass, tires and wheels. The rubber got its usual treatment, and since I’d be driving an hour each way, I checked tire pressures, too. Hey, it’d be a big day.
Last chore for the evening: Pack a camera bag. I carried gear that, like the car, came from the first half of the ’80s. I’ve owned one of the cameras since I was 12 or so. You can do the math.
The lot’s small, and I didn’t want to miss out. No sign-up page, no VIP area, no sponsored section. You showed up and joined it. Old school.
I, of course, arrived early. Too early.
Fortunately, a friend did the same, shouting my name as she drove up. We hadn’t seen each other in nearly three weeks. We still found plenty to chat about.
I strapped a vintage BMX to the roof for full effect, and right on schedule, the crowds rolled in. A DJ provided the soundtrack–just enough of a beat to keep things bumping–while a local burrito maker fired up the grill. The line for coffee snaked between the cars. So many smiles.
Thank you to whoever ordered the sunny, chamber-of-commerce weather, and I spent all 4 hours answering questions:
It’s an ’84.
It’s mostly stock.
Yeah, it is fun to drive.
I bought it in 2009 or so.
The color is called Ruby Red Metallic.
Yes, of course you can sit in it. Want a photo?
One person came my way with a big smile and lots of questions. She knew what I had. She used to own a 944.
Finally, I had to ask: I know we’ve met before, but can you remind me where? It was a photo event, she replied, with my brain immediately restoring those missing files.
If you had to separate the public into two groups–car people versus non-car people–I chatted with much more of the latter that day. Some knew it was a Porsche but not the type or era. They didn’t care about gear ratios, alignment settings or tire sizes. Probably weren’t familiar with the likes of Porsche legends Patrick Long, Hurley Haywood or Vic Elford. Daytona was just a nearby beach town.
They saw my Porsche as art and emotion: sparkling paint, aggressive stance, an ’80s vibe to the whole package–even though, in most of the cases, they didn’t personally experience the decade.
It wasn’t a total accident that I parked beside a mural of green and yellow, orange and blue. I’d watch as they made photos: find the angle, work with the light, press the shutter. iPhone or Hasselblad, it didn’t matter. I enjoyed watching them find pleasure in creating. Afterward, we’d trade Instagrams.
Later that day, I asked the owner of the lab why she does this. She likes cars and noticed a lot of photos of them passing through her hands. This was her third such get-together, and the other two were just as rewarding.
I’ve been to a lot of car events. If you count the ones my dad took me to, we’re talking close to 50 years.
This one reminded me of the low-key pop-ups from the later ’90s. We’d meet in some parking lot and just hang out, the word spread through the primordial days of the internet. No flex, no competition, no fancy watches. Now add in some dogs and strollers.
And unlike too many such gatherings today, no burnouts, no two-steps, no stupidity. Nothing to make the local news.
[Don’t be that guy! A word of caution to the village idiot.]
And no littering, either. I was the last one to leave, of course, and the lot was just as clean as when I arrived. Call it a total sign of respect.
I went to another Orlando cars and coffee the day before this one. I wasn’t planning on that one, but the night before, my friend asked.
If you don’t mind me riding with you, I replied. I just didn’t feel like driving to Orlando twice in one weekend.
It was the more traditional cars and coffee.
An hour after getting there, my friend walks up to me: Let’s go.
Similar events, totally different vibes.
Small update: A friend read this piece and wants to join me at the next one. It’s a healthy vibe, I told them.
Fingers crossed that we'll get more shows like this in Sanford now that Ace Cafe Sanford is open.
In reply to David S. Wallens :
That’s great writing!
Colin Wood said:Fingers crossed that we'll get more shows like this in Sanford now that Ace Cafe Sanford is open.
I know! I have the November 1 Legends Orlando event on my calendar.
SV reX said:In reply to David S. Wallens :
That’s great writing!
Thank you.
So, some behind-the-scenes: I wrote that at like 1:00 in the morning–more specifically, from midnight to about 2:00 a.m. I was in bed when the hook came to me. At that point, gotta go downstairs to write it.
Then I had to wait for the photos to come back from the lab to share it here.
Thanks.
These are the types of events I love. I mostly only go to car shows when I'm a vendor, and unfortunately the events I vend at sometimes get out of hand. I can't stand the two-step competitions, multiple people ignoring the DJ and blaring their own music, and lack of respect for the venue.
I think I need to follow David to more events.
I went to one at a Ford's Garage restaurant here the other night with my kids. Didn't plan on it but while we were on a walk we stumbled upon it. Look fairly organized and large. Wasn't my cup of tea the few people I tried talking to about their cars were like Brian O'Conner in The Fast and Furious, just blanks stares. Got the tough guy bit from a dude because "Your kids are walking to close to my car bro."
Not my cup of tea and reminded me why I don't bother with those kinds of things anymore. Plus most of the vehicles were just underglow, wraps, wheels, and wings (U-Dub-Cubed/UW3). Maybe I'm just getting old but I used to love casual meet ups in a parking lot to shoot the E36 M3 with friends and random people that would join in.
DirtyBird222 said:I went to one at a Ford's Garage restaurant here the other night with my kids. Didn't plan on it but while we were on a walk we stumbled upon it. Look fairly organized and large. Wasn't my cup of tea the few people I tried talking to about their cars were like Brian O'Conner in The Fast and Furious, just blanks stares. Got the tough guy bit from a dude because "Your kids are walking to close to my car bro."
Not my cup of tea and reminded me why I don't bother with those kinds of things anymore. Plus most of the vehicles were just underglow, wraps, wheels, and wings (U-Dub-Cubed/UW3). Maybe I'm just getting old but I used to love casual meet ups in a parking lot to shoot the E36 M3 with friends and random people that would join in.
Unfortunately it seems like those are most of the meets / events now. Lights / wraps / wheels / wings are a "build" now I guess. I get tons of compliments on my Versa when I use it as a booth car, and it's just a regular car with cheap wheels and coilovers. It's nothing special.
I mourn our old Cars and Coffee. We just showed up one day. Maybe 10 of us. A turbo in my friend's Noble blew a seal and filled my 360 with smoke as he parked. :)
For a while, it was pretty awesome. We were never official. It was a decent sized lot, Starbucks was the only open business on a Sunday morning and we kept that area clear. We might get 30 or 40 cars and people would bring all kinds of things. Yeah, John has (had) a Carrera GT but he brought that last time. Today's the Caterham. Or the E-Type. Connor has a Viper but he got a cheap Fiat for the summer, so that's what he brought so we could check it out. I brought a Volt when they just came out. Later an e-golf. Basically, anything interesting vs every color modern Lambo, which is what it became just before we got kicked out.
Now I go hang out with some motorcycle friends on Sunday morning at a shared shop.
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