Motor Capital of the World: California Car Spotting

In today's update I will try to give everyone a taste of California car culture. No, not the stressed out drivers on clogged freeway, not the crowded Wal-Mart parking lots with people circling to get the spot closest to the entrance, but the passion, the love that Californians have towards motorized vehicles.  They have them all: classics, exotics, new trends can be seen all around streets and highways in California.
The first thing I saw in San Diego as I got off the plane was this stunning new Dodge Viper looking at me at Hertz lot at the airport.  For extra 600 per day I had I had to just walk by and get the Camaro I got in previous review, but I refused to this without getting a few photos.

Cruising around San Diego I stumbled across this motor icon: the 1957 Ford Thunderbird

Further down I spotted this drag-race tuned Mustang

Then this 1955 DeSoto Fireflite drove by in Balboa Park
Up in the hills in La Mesa I was greeted by owner of this Dodge Dart who gave me a honk of appreciation for my photographic efforts.
As I was appreciating the Dodge, I was surprised and amazed as a perfectly clean and shiny Ford Model T cruised by.

Going further I saw this 1950's Chevy which had clearly a lot of hours put into it.

 
As I was returning towards the city I saw this matte painted VW looked pretty mean near Old Town

While this Chevy truck felt right at home. Very interesting day, but I had to head north towards Orange County.

When I got there I saw this Detomazo Pantera parked in my hotel. It was jut beautiful: clean and very well maintained.

A rare exotic that I never seen with my own eyes before.  Out of 7500 that were produced in its 10 years, I am not sure how many made it to Japan. 

It was very good to see one in California in such a great shape.
Parked nearby was this Chevrolet Impala from 1950's, back then Impala was actually cool.

Apparently it was for sale. Just look at these fins!

Going out towards Irvine I saw this stunning rare classic Bugatti from the 1930's! Definitely not something you see every day.

 A trip to Beverly Hills is always a fun day for anyone, regardless whether you are a car nut or not, but this was turning out to be quite a good day for all petrol heads.
Every time I see this classic SL in Rodeo Drive, I think of Beverly Hills Cop. This one was different color (I did see a red one before), but I was impressed how cleaned and well maintained it was.

I was then interrupted by a familiar roar. The 458 seems to be as popular in LA as it is in Tokyo. Great car.

Pimping the S class is done differently in LA. Whereas in Japan S63 AMG would sport a Lorinser body kit and custom exhaust, In California satisfaction comes from a set of outrageous rims. (Yes, it is an SLS right behind it)

And they truly love their rims in that part of the world.

Back to the topic of Mercedes; Californians have a special love affair with the SLS.  I saw quite a few of them on the streets.

Saw and heard; as these lucky owners weren't afraid to open them up.  There are only a few cars that sound that great.
Like this Lamborghini MurciƩlago roadster parked right outside a boutique on Rodeo Drive.

Or this sexy Audi R8 Spyder parked nearby

This gold colored Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead CoupĆ© with plates from Middle East may not sound that great, but it doesn't make it any less exclusive.  On the contrary, its exclusivity cannot be matched by anything.

Perhaps, except for this regular resident of Rodeo Drive street parking: black and yellow Bugatti Veyron belonging to now deceased legendary designer Bijan Pakzad.

His son, who is now the registered owner and store manager take turns in parking this car up front as a tribute to the founder.

Going towards the ocean, I witnessed this beautiful Maserati Gran Turismo roar past Santa Monica 3rd Street Promenade. 

As I was taking pictures along PCH coastline this tuned Red Gallardo drove by in beautiful red and black color combo.

Down in Malibu I saw this beautiful classic Mercedes Benz 190

And a very cleanly restored Volkswagen Karmann Ghia.

Right next to them another 458 driven by a very young gentleman.  Those speed bumps looked pretty painful.

On the same parkng lot: The future. Unfortunately I cannot see how it can appeal to petrol heads as it doesn't use any! Tesla model S is still an amazing vehicle and an awesome daily driver. I am glad that lots of Californians are buying them and I hope this trend will catch on.

Cruising around the PCH I saw this classic Chevy on massive rims parked next what seems to be a body shop/garage.

Saw this Gallardo near an awesome Infiniti QX56 in nearby mall.  I guess this is very typical for Malibu.

Nearby, 2 Subaru WRX Sti owners enjoying a Sunday day out.

And I will conclude this update with the shot of this awesome low-rider I saw in Santa Barbara. As you all see a very diverse and interesting car culture where people take pride of their ownership and joy as they take their awesome rides to the street for daily use.  California is indeed has its own car culture, a culture worthy of a title "Motor Capital of the World"


Thank you for reading everyone, next update will be another car review for California, so stay tuned.

 

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