Seen today's OC Register?

Front page and front of business. Don't think this is going to help things at CC much.

http://ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_969272.php

 

Sorry. Didn't think about it being a subscription thing.

Friday, January 27, 2006
Super cars star at weekly gathering
Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Bentleys converge on Newport Beach mall every Saturday morning, scrambling for parking spaces without a valet in sight. While many come to be seen, others just look at one of the world's most extravagant impromptu car shows.
By JOHN GITTELSOHN
The Orange County Register

The line resembled one of those nightclubs where a bouncer raises the velvet rope for only the most glamorous guests.

But instead of beautiful people, Saturday's pre-7 a.m. lineup at Crystal Cove Promenade looked like this: Ferrari, Ferrari, Ferrari, Maserati; Viper, Fisker Latigo, Fisker Tramonte; Porsche Carrera GT, Datsun 240Z, Mustang GT 350, Lamborghini Gallardo, Aston Martin DB9.

"There's nothing like Crystal Cove – nothing in the world that happens every Saturday," said Paul Edalat, who piloted a yellow 1991 Lamborghini Diablo. "It's probably the only place where you can see three Enzo Ferraris parked next to each other. You've got to come early to get behind the cones."

At 7 a.m. sharp, a security guard lifted red plastic cones to open the parking lot. Nearly 200 of the world's fastest and most luxurious cars scrambled for a space - not a valet in sight.

There's nothing new about weekend gatherings of auto enthusiasts, showing off their hemi engines and fat tires.

One local example is the gathering of hot rodders every Saturday in Huntington Beach, a group nicknamed the Donut Derelicts.

But Crystal Cove is more for the croissant crowd.

Richard Schnyder, a movie-studio executive from Laguna Beach, frowned at a fleet of high-powered but underwhelming Dodge Vipers.

"We're very cynical here," he said of Crystal Cove, "but not snobby."

The Crystal Cove mall attracts a fair number of American muscle cars and classics. But the heartbeat of the show is the so-called exotics – European-crafted jewels with hand-stitched calfskin seats, six-speed transmissions and $100,000-plus price tags.

It should come as little surprise that this gathering occurs in Orange County, home to the nation's largest Mercedes and BMW dealers, or Newport Beach, which vies with Beverly Hills as the world's No. 1 spot for Rolls-Royces, Bentleys and Ferraris.

"Orange County people love their cars," said Peter Miles, president of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars North America. "People here are car-proud like other people are house-proud."

Many car owners come to be seen. Others, including designers of the cars of tomorrow, come to look.

Freeman Thomas, design director for Ford North America's Irvine studios, arrived in his 1956 red Porsche Speedster, authentically restored down to the original tool kit under the hood. At Crystal Cove, Thomas said, he finds cars created by artists rather than focus groups.

He ran his fingers over the upholstery of a 1956 Mercedes 190 SL convertible. He ogled the gauges of a 1953 Siata, one of only 34 of the Italian racers made. He felt like an art lover visiting the Louvre.

"It's a great place for a designer to go. It helps us recalibrate ourselves," Thomas said. "It's a place to recharge our batteries."

Thomas traded notes with designers for Hyundai, Mitsubishi and Fisker, a custom coach builder in Newport Beach. He inspected a $220,000 Callaway – a Corvette chassis dressed in a custom-built, carbon-fiber body with a barely visible herringbone pattern embedded in the paint.

"This is No. 17 of only 34 made between 2002 and 2004," said E. Reeves Callaway III of Laguna Beach, founder of the custom automaker whose family is best known for its carbon-fiber golf clubs. "The new ones aren't out yet."

A handful of car owners stuffed for-sale fliers under the windshield wipers. A 2003 Maserati owner asked $65,000; a Ferrari 360 Modena owner wanted $123,000.

The Crystal Cove get-togethers began in 2004 when a few enthusiasts decided they didn't want to drive all the way to Huntington Beach for the Donut Derelicts, said Bob Cheatley, one of the founders.

"This isn't a club," said Cheatley, a glass-company executive from San Juan Capistrano. "It's not commercial."

The Irvine Co., which owns Crystal Cove Promenade, allows the show cars to stay only between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. Too early and they could wake the neighbors, company spokeswoman Jennifer Hieger said. Too late and they would interfere with shopping at the mall.

Early morning also puts the cars in a flattering light. With the blue Pacific as a backdrop, their sculpted curves look sexier, their tinted windows more alluring.

As 9 a.m. nears, fans cluster along East Coast Highway to cheer cars exiting the parking lot, hoping to see if they can really clock 0 to 60 in less than 5 seconds.

Newport Beach Police Department spokesman Sgt. Bill Hartford said he found no record of a Saturday morning spike in speeding tickets on that stretch of highway, although it might be something to consider.

When Paul Edalat fired up the Lamborghini Diablo, he struggled to obey the speed limit.

"I see all those cars and it's like I'm in a candy store," said Edalat, 36, vice president of a Newport Beach dietary-supplements company. "I get an adrenalin rush seeing them, and then I hop in my car and want to take off. That's how I relieve my stress."

CONTACT US: (714) 796-7969 or [email protected]

{F430 PHOTO}
ITALIAN STALLION: A Ferrari F430 gleams Saturday morning at Crystal Cove Promenade, where exotic-car owners display their rides.

SANG H. PARK, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
MORE PHOTOS
{A Lamborghini Diablo and a Ferrari Enzo, pictured, are common sights at Crystal Cove.}
{Garrett Brown of San Diego takes shots of a 2003Ferrari Enzo.}
{Gloria Keo of Crystal Cove checks out a newFerrari F430.}
{Paul Edalat is an executive at a dietary-supplementscompany, but he feels like ìIím in a candy storeî here.}

Exotic car get-together
Where: Crystal Cove Promenade, 7772-8112 East Coast Highway, Newport Beach
When: Every Saturday 7 to 9 a.m.
Admission: Free. Open to all, with or without expensive wheels.

The top-end car scene and O.C.
• The nation’s largest Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Lamborghini dealers are located in Orange County.
• 8 percent of luxury sports cars bought by Americans are sold in O.C., although less than 1 percent of the U.S. population lives here.
• Irvine is home to design studios for Aston Martin, Jaguar, Volvo and Lincoln-Mercury, among other luxury brands.