Text, photos and video by Derek Meluzio –
I love living in an area that experiences all four seasons. Summer sun, winter snow, spring rain showers, and fall foliage are all part of my memories as a child and as an adult. That being said, I really am jealous of people who live in areas that allow for car events all year round. I am used to living in the northeast USA where many people put their cars away for the winter season once the cinders and salt start getting laid out in preparation for snowfall.
Bizzarrini GT 5300
I do drive my Alfa Romeo Giulia as my daily driver all year. It is a Q4 and gets around pretty well in the rain and snow but some cars, especially rear wheel drive or more valuable, simply can not be driven in harsh elements in Central Pennsylvania.
Fiat Stanguellini Berlinetta
With all of that in mind a few car club members were texting and talking about trying to get together again before the bad weather arrived. Myself, along with our Central Pennsylvania chapter AROC president Andy Kaufmann, reached out to our club members and spread the word. Perpetual Italian car lover Don Meluzio (my father) was offering up parking space and a backdrop at his farm and was also willing to talk about and show his car collection. What better way to entice people early in the morning than to offer them a chance to get together with fellow Italian car guys/gals and also offer up free coffee and donuts. We are not talking about just any donuts…these were donuts decorated like little Italian flags!
Iso Rivolta, Lancia and Fiat Stanguellini Berlinetta
We reached out to our buddies Brian, Karen, and Vince. Between the three of them they are all active in the Central Pennsylvania chapters of the Fiat Club of America, the America Lancia club and Alfa Romeo Owners Club. Chris Carvell, the general manager of Faulkner Alfa Romeo Maserati (our club’s partner dealer) not only attended with his beautiful Maserati Grecale Trofeo but he also helped spread the word as well.
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo
What was the result of all this effort? Well, it was multiple hours of true Italian car guy and car gal camaraderie and fellowship. Not only did local enthusiasts attend but we had people drive their car and make the trek from New Jersey, Maryland, and even Virginia!
Fiat Abarth 1300/124
They say variety is the spice of life and this Cars and Coffee sure proved that to be right. Don’s collection that was on display included a Bizzarrini, a Montiverdi, a Lancia Appia, a Fiat, an Abarth, an Iso Rivolta, and a Ferrari. As for owners who attended we had vintage Alfa Romeos (GTV6, Spiders, GTVs), modern Alfa Romeos (a 4C, multiple Giulias, a Stelvio, and a rare Japanese market 155), multiple Lancia models, a Fiat 500 Abarth, a Fiat 124 Spider, a Bertone X19, and the Maserati Grecale.
Great people and great cars – what a day!
Alfa Romeo Spider
Let us know what you think in the Comments.
THE AUTHOR: Derek Meluzio grew up in a car loving family in Central, PA. He still lives there with his wife, daughter, and car loving sons. Derek is an amateur autocrosser who attends track events, Concours/shows, and Cars and Coffee events all over. He has an appreciation for all cars but especially anything Porsche.
Donuts
More in the video below.
Very Nice. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you. It was a fun time. The weather was perfect also.
Picture perfect weather!
I think the best part about this event was the combination of vintage and modern cars and owners. We had some young guys and gals newer to the Italian car world and we had some…. shall we say, more seasoned veterans. LoL
They all got along and the owners of the modern cars looked at the vintage cars and really appreciated the history while the vintage owners looked at the modern cars and were impressed by the technology. One thing I give Alfa and Abarth, their modern cars still feel and look Italian today.
A special “Thank you!” to Don and Derek for hosting this event. It was a lot of fun, and I hope it will be repeated next year.
We had a blast and certainly plan on doing it again.
Derek,
Thank you so much for the excellent video. Really nice, smooth, comfortable film work. And thanks to your Dad for opening up his place to the group. Seeing that particular collection of cars around the property certainly brings back a lot of memories for me! I have been fortunate enough to have enjoyed so many of those Alfa models as I bought and restored those cars to put my way through high school and college. I was even lucky enough to have a white Lancia Scorpion and a blue Lancia Beta Cp like the ones in your video, haha!
Great stuff! Please give my best to your Pop, who was always beating my cars at the various shows on the West coast years back.
Cheers! Bill Rice
Bill,
Thank you for the compliment on the video. We tried our best to get some nice footage and pictures. It was a really fun day.
-Derek