Is Muscle & Exotics the new Giovanni's?

I attended the first monthly Muscle & Exotics car show this morning at The Forum on Peachtree Parkway, the new shopping complex on the east side of GA-141, just north of Peachtree Corners Circle.

I was startled to see who was directing traffic when I arrived just before 9 AM. Remember Vinny from Giovanni's, the Italian restaurant about 7 miles up the same road who used to host a big monthly afternoon show over 10 years ago? This is his idea, and he's hoping to recapture some of the Giovanni's magic!

He sold the place he had opened on Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth, and his new place is Fire & Stone Italian Pizza Kitchen, which uniquely has both wood-fired and stone ovens for both Neapolitan and American-style pizzas. I had a Neapolitan pizza for lunch and it was very good (and I got to take 1/2 of it home in the Ferrari!)

Although this show was on the last Saturday, future shows will be on the next-to-last Saturday morning of every month, from 9 AM to 12 Noon. And just like at Giovanni's, you can stay and eat! So the next show will be on August 22. (Ignore the "annual" on the poster - the show will be monthly.)

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Here are some of the 30 or so cars that showed up. The Dodge Boys were there in force; about 1/3 of the cars were late-model Challengers and Chargers, some with rather unique modifications and/or paint jobs. I had the only Italian car in sight.

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I like the idea of doing the show in the morning. Traffic is lighter, it is definitely cooler, and there's less threat of the thunderstorms that are making noise outside as I write this!

The restaurant's website is at https://www.fireandstonekitchen.com/. Confusingly, there is another place called Firebirds Wood-Fired Grill just a few doors away!

 

No, I get messages on Facebook from the page for Local Car Magazine, and a message for this show actually popped up over a month ago, but they were sending reminders during the week before the show. Local Car Magazine is a nice little magazine for $1 an issue.

And for steved033, find another driver and bring one of each!

 

Today's second installment didn't quite have the same attendance, in part because Vinny refrained from advertising it over weather worries. Curiously, none of the Dodges that dominated attendance last month showed up this time, so instead we had a show dominated by BMWs and Corvettes! And once again, I had the only Italian car on the premises. Here are some of the Beemers:
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At one point, we had C5, C6 and C7 Corvettes side by side, with a black C4 directly opposite. The last two cars here looked pretty spectacular.
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The fellow who owns this '65 Mustang fastback is the original owner, and the engine has over 200k miles without a rebuild! As you can see in his notebook, it's a world traveler!
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I was parked next to a two-tone Bentley Mulsanne, and there were a few other interesting cars there. In the side photo of the Cobra, the door to Vinny's pizza place is visible right behind the roll bars.
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I went instead to a similar gathering about 5 minutes from my house. I didn't feel like going all the way to Peachtree Corners. Maybe next month?

 

This month's show is this coming Saturday morning, and I expect to be there if the weather permits (and the forecast has gotten better). If you have a Ferrari or another exotic, or a muscle car, come on over; only $5 to enter. If you remember the old Giovanni's gatherings, let's try to rekindle the flame! Free admission for spectators.

https://www.facebook.com/events/262110771792335/

 

As of now the rain should hold off until the afternoon. Keep your fingers crossed!

 

Dang it, it's beginning to look like a washout. I'll look at the radar tomorrow morning before heading out, it I go at all. If not, maybe November? In the meantime, nothing to stop you from eating at Vinny's!

 

Now the rain is supposed to hold off until 1 PM or later, so I'm going! Though I may not arrive until after watching GP qualifying. Anyone else going to join me?

 

I suppose it was yesterday's grim weather forecast kept people away, but today's forecast was better, and the weather during the show was fine, with even some periods of sun and no obvious threat of rain. I made a few stops and got home to Marietta just after 1 PM, and the sun was shining!

Anyway, we had 9 cars that basically stayed for the duration, and nice variety of marques: Chevy, Dodge, Ferrari (mine), Ford, Honda, Lamborghini, Lotus and Porsche. I was particularly interested in the Civic Type R, having just bought a coupe of the same generation. Aside from the grippier seat and the stick shift, the main difference in the interior was a ton of red accents everywhere, but functionally it was pretty much the same. The Camaro ZL1 is a car that could honestly be listed in both the "muscle" and "exotic" columns, equipped with a Corvette Z06 engine. The Elise was the only other car there that was a veteran of the old Giovanni's meets; we need to see more of you at this show!

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I haven't been there since, and I haven't heard a thing about it. There's a USO car show in Tucker that I might attend.