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The Bridge VII and the Art of Staging Cars
Photos by Kevin Arechiga, words by Vijay Sankar The seventh edition of The Bridge underlined its elegance and exclusiveness amongst the nation’s premier automotive events. Photographer Kevin and I almost missed the last-minute Friday event expansion due to delayed flights, but fortunately managed to capture the best of it. Staged at the golf club that…
Postcards from Rennsport Reunion 7
Four days of the greatest hits from Porsche, and so much more. Take Luftgekühlt, Rolex Motorsports Reunion, The Quail, and combine them into one grand weekend – that’s a nutshell of what Rennsport Reunion 7 was like. Every car on display was positioned with artistic obsession, like we witnessed at Luft9 in Mare Island a…
Monterey Motorsports Reunion Celebrates the History of Racing
One of the best experiences during Monterey Car Week is to witness historic racecars do what they were built for – race hard on track, all week long at Laguna Seca. You can see historic cars firing up, being worked on, and driven as they were originally intended.
‘How to Build a Car’ by Adrian Newey
Adrian Newey’s autobiography elegantly chronicles the design philosophies behind a select 11 Grand Prix cars that he championed over an illustrious career. Anyone with a casual interest in automobiles, motor racing or aerodynamics will find this book to be a sure-fire stimulant.
Holy Grail Hunting: Ferrari 458 Italia
The 458 Italia was born at the tale end of the goldilocks 2000s era, serving as a culmination of the most desirable characteristics in a mid-engine Ferrari. It was a timely return to form for Maranello after a hiatus.
Why Citroën was the Pioneering Misfit of the Car World
Words and photography Vijay Sankar (pink_helmet) … Arriving at the sprawling farm draped over the hilly landscape of Castro Valley, I was greeted by a sanctuary carefully preserving the cream of French automotive avant-garde. It was fitting that the entire locality felt detached from the modern world, seemingly living in its own dreamy bubble of…
Six Questions with Sreten of M539 Restorations
Words and photography by Vijay Sankar (@pink_helmet) When Jason Cammisa decided to host an impromptu meetup with the beloved creator of M539 Restorations—Sreten—we didn’t have to think twice about showing up. Nor did 100 or so others who flocked to that tiny corner of San Rafael on a day’s notice to exchange pleasantries with the…
BMW Z3 M Coupe: The Weird And The Wonderful
All images are from a recent BMW Z3 M Coupe reunion photoshoot held in the Bay Area. Thanks to Rich (@dasblaushu) and the rest of the M Shoe owners for making this gathering happen. Words and photos by Vijay Sankar (@pink_helmet). … Some of the most interesting cars ever made have taken form without express…
The Lamborghini Miura Experience
Words and photography by Vijay Sankar (@pink_helmet) … A solid wall of thunderous wails echoed through the woods lining the Fairfax-Bolinas Road. Flocks of birds were dislodged from mountain sides at the arrival of the exhaust note rocking their world. As much as the visual presence is iconic, the noise of the Miura precedes it.…
BMW E60 M5–The Power of Ten
There is electric throttle response throughout the rev range, and it makes peak power at its manic top end near 8000 RPM. It punches well low in the rev range, but boy does it pay to rev it out to the climax. The motor hits so hard at the top after a linear climb through…
Tales from The California Automobile Museum
VALT Stories is a series that brings together car culture tales worth sharing from the Bay Area. This series embodies everything from photo essays on notable cars to selected narratives of the stewards of automotive enthusiasm in the community. … Gabriel Ionica serves as the Communications Coordinator at California Automobile Museum in Sacramento. He is…
The Sights from Sundays on Solano
Photography by @tinydarkroom. Select photos from Cars and Coffee at our ‘4th Sundays on Solano’ on May 22. Explore and/or purchase many more images from the gallery here. Photography by @tinydarkroom. Explore and/or purchase many more images from the gallery here.
BMW ///M is Still Alive and Well
In search of the soul of BMW, we found that there are still palpable signs of life at the M Division that excite us. You just need to be open new experiences. khj Words and photography by Vijay Sankar (@pink_helmet on Instagram) Caveat: The photos are those of a base M2, but my driving impressions…
The Sights from Golden Gate Cars & Culture
Photography by Tiny Darkroom on Instagram; words by Vijay Sankar Explore and/or purchase many more images from the event at this link. The Bay Area car community is richly diverse in ways that are hard to encapsulate under the roof of one event. The cars, the drivers, the restorers, the artists, the curators and the…
How the Original Acura NSX Changed the World
The NSX is a culmination of the visionary methods of Honda that have led the way in automotive innovations over the decades, democratizing safety, reliability and fun for the masses. It feels, sounds, smells and drives very much like a Honda, and in the best way possible.
5TH SUNDAYS #002 IS HERE
There are 5 Sundays this month, which means we’ll be heading back to Sisi’s Cafe out in Moraga. In case you forgot, this event is a ton of fun. It’s an intimate event tucked away amongst some wooded California hills with a lovely collection of diverse cars in attendance. We ticket these events to keep…
HIGHLIGHT REEL: VALT CARWEEK 2021
To everyone who made it out to our partnered event with Peninsula Cars & Coffee – thank you! We had a blast. Check out some of our coverage below, and head on over to our youtube so you can subscribe for more content like this in the future. See you all this weekend on Solano…
HIGHLIGHT REEL: BLACKHAWK
By Gabriel Ionica I go to a lot of car shows in my free time and I’ve seen a lot of incredible cars ranging from your cousin’s Lexus to that CEO’s Ferrari/Lamborghini. Even having experienced such automotive excellence, nothing could prepare me for what I saw at the VALT Auto Club x Blackhawk Museum show…
VALT FINDS FOR SALE SATURDAY JULY 24
Head out to Saint Mary’s College between 830-1130am on July 24th to check out some sweet VALT Finds that we will be displaying for sale. Check out tickets below to secure a spot at the show! VALT Finds Tent tickets will earn you a staged spot to show your car for sale while Enthusiast tickets…
TALKING CARS VIDEO 002: MONTY TAYLOR’S 300ZX 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
Here we go folks! Video no. 002 in the Talking Cars series is finally up. Expect to see a whole lot more coming at you in the next few weeks. Thank you Monty for joining us on episode two with your pristine Z31. Like what you see? Let us know by email: robert@valtautoclub.com. We’d love…
DIGITAL SHOWDOWN: HAMILTON PSR VS BULOVA COMPUTRON
See who prevails in this collision of two pioneering digital watches. By Alexander Clark Shelton and Morgan Clyde Welcome to a contest of ones and zeroes, a showdown of two digital timepieces that kickstarted the quartz revolution. In one corner we have the Hamilton PSR, a modern-day homage to the Pulsar, the first digital watch…
LAST CHANCE Signups For May 30th: 5th Sundays Cars & Coffee
cars and coffee valt auto club valt autoclub valtautoclub car show california
VALT Club Pass: Blackhawk June 6
We’re excited to be bringing a large-format show over to the Blackhawk Museum on June 6th. This show is shaping up to be yet another massive one, so if you want to secure parking and food, this is the one for you. Here’s what the club pass gets you: One reserved parking spot in a…
HIGHLIGHT REEL: 4TH SUNDAYS ON SOLANO
Thanks to everyone who came out to last weekend’s 4th sundays. In case you missed it, we spotlighted trucks, vans, and overlanders this time. Check out the photos below, and see you soon! If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the signup for this Sunday’s cars and coffee. We’ve partnered with a small,…
Talking Cars 003 Video: Mercedes-Benz 500E and BMW e34 M5
Our first Youtube video is live! Be sure to subscribe to the channel to see future videos. Check out the first video in our “Talking Cars” Series where we sit down with Mike Ottati to talk more about the Mercedes-Benz 500e and BMW e34 M5. See below or follow the link to youtube.
VALT ALUMNI AFTERPARTY
We’re hosting an afterparty for VALT Alums this Sunday from 12:30pm – 3:30pm following the USS Hornet Show. We’re limiting this to 50. We’re hosting at an undisclosed warehouse. There will be cars, food, drinks, music, games, movies and more. Need we say more? Sign up below.
Speedmasters and Canyon Carvers
One VALT Autoclub member shares how he ended up with the watch bug. By Alexander Clark Shelton When I first met Joe, the Co-founder of what would come to be known as VALT Autoclub, I immediately noticed we were nearly watch twins. On his wrist was an Omega Speedmaster Automatic like the one I was…
Highlight Reel: Sundays on Solano Ave April 25
This is a quick one! We had a blast featuring our Bavarian friends last weekend, and were pleased to see so many of you show up despite the rain. Everyone get some rest and prepare for a very busy May and June over here at VALT. It’ll be a load of fun. – The VALT…
Why We Sometimes Post about Watches
For some of you the answer may seem obvious. For many, this may seem odd or out of place. For us at VALT, it’s just another facet of automotive passion. Here’s a short answers why: Let’s consider some examples for a moment. The reason why many of us are amazed by cars might be any…
Highlight Reel: Underground Rally #002
Our second Underground Rally is a wrap, and we’ve got some of the coverage for you. Thanks to everyone that managed to make it out at the break of dawn to enjoy some of Norcal’s finest roads. We had a blast. Roller Time We managed to pull some rollers of you all flying through the…
Talking Cars #004: Nissan 300zx Turbo 50th Anniversary Edition
Having never sat in a Z of any kind, I went into this drive totally unaware of what to expect. This particular example stuck out in the looks department at our first Cars and Craft event at Canyon Club Brewery a few weeks back, so we asked the owner, Monty, if he’d be down to…
Highlight Reel: Member’s Sunday on Solano Avenue #001
To start off, the Alfa section: And next up, everything else! We had a blast last weekend guys. All the love for everybody that came out and every car you brought out. And not a single alfa broken down. Now that’s a good Sunday.
What’s For Sale?
1968 Jeep CJ5 This 1968 Jeep is simply cool. That’s why we’re featuring it. Fitted with an “oddfire” v6, this Jeep propels itself forward with 140 hp. Given the size of this Jeep, we expect it to be quite peppy. A little rust here and there, but nothing that isn’t manageable. This Jeep was used…
Highlight Reel: Cars & Crafts #001
Here’s our regular recap, this time for our very first Cars and Crafts last Sunday at Canyon Club Brewery. If you didn’t make it, be sure to monitor those emails closely for the next number restricted event. We’ll be doing a minimum of one a month, with typically between 20-50 attendants. Enjoy the photos. If…
Talking Cars #003: Super Saloons with Soul
For our third installment of Talking Cars, we met up with Mike Ottati to chat about his adoration for Super Saloons. We shot some video (which will come to you later this week) and chatted about two iconic Sports Saloons: The BMW E35 M5 and the Mercedes-Benz 500E. Below you’ll find Mike’s history lesson and…
Talking Cars #002: The 90’s Super Wagon that Never Was
Wagons are a dying car breed in today’s CUV-dominated world. Recently, older wagons have gained somewhat of a cult following. Some of these wagon icons include the Mercedes “S123” chassis turbo diesel wagons, the Volvo 240 wagons, and many BMW and Audi wagons ranging from never imported e30 wagons all the way to traditional A6…
Talking Cars #001: Don’t Underestimate the CTR.
It’s a Monday afternoon. The air is crisp. My windows are down. And my girlfriend is yelling at me for doing too many car things. She’s confused because I told her I was reviewing a Honda Civic today. She just didn’t get it. Neither did I. But now I do. I showed up to The…
Highlight Reel: Underground Rally #001
On February 28, we decided to host our first organized drive. We blasted a message out to our email list 24 hours before to see who was interested in waking up early on a Sunday morning to do a quick drive. The sign ups were capped at 20 to keep the experience intimate and to…
Highlight Reel: Feb 21 Car Season Kickoff
In case you somehow missed it, we hosted a massive car season kickoff on February 21. First of all, thank you to everyone who showed up for helping the event go off without a hitch. Here’s what went down, plus a whole lot of media coverage from our friends at Fuel Supply Co. We were…
What’s for Sale?
1980 Ferrari 512 BBI Berlinetta Barn Find The Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer was created during a time when Ferrari was redesigning their consumer and race fleet. As early as the late 50s, they began to lose racing dominance to mid-engined cars. Since then, Ferrari’s race and consumer grade vehicles were all front engined. This changed in…
Welcome to VALT Stories
Until now, many of you have known us for our two monthly shows in the East Bay – Second Sundays at the Shipyard and Fourth Sundays on Solano. If you’re a regular, you’ve probably become accustomed to our custom show posters (designed by our resident lunatic Eric Rothenhaus), our love of Peet’s Coffee (the Bay’s…
2021 CAR SEASON KICKOFF AT THE SHIPYARD
February 21, 2021 WE’RE BACK PEOPLE! And it feels so good… To kick off 2021, we’ll be back at the USS Hornet. This time, find us there on the Third Sunday of February (21st) from 9-11am. Though it may be the new year, we still aren’t in the clear. Wear a mask, and give people…
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