As promised, this weekend was an octane-fueled celebration of East Coast car culture. The mornings started out chilly (it was 36 degrees when I pulled out of my garage on Saturday), but the days warmed up to the 70s—sunny, dry, and beautiful—with fall foliage setting the stage for some great driving on back roads.

On Saturday, Bring a Trailer and 1600 Veloce hosted a BaT Alumni event that was as close to perfect as I can remember for a large-scale car gathering. Attendance was strong, on par with the biggest alumni events BaT has hosted, and the mix of cars was eclectic—everything that makes BaT so special. Alumni cars we all remembered were on display, reunions between buyers and sellers took place, and the field was packed with spectacular specimens and unusual oddities parked side by side.

Did you see the green Alpina and the orange Bavaria? The Griffin and the Deuce roadster hot rod? I even reconnected with the current owner of the very 911 I grew up riding around in, which sparked my air-cooled obsession as a kid.

As amazing as the cars were, the real magic of the event was the community. Bringing the Bring a Trailer online experience to life and drawing users out from behind their screens to interact in person was incredible. It wasn’t a live peanut gallery, but rather a gathering of the most passionate, knowledgeable, and curious crowd I’ve ever seen. A panel of experts shared stories and insights from their experiences listing and selling cars on BaT, followed by a lunch far nicer than I can recall for a free event. Conversations revolved around sourcing, buying, and selling great cars. No one wanted to leave, and when they finally did, a few of us remarked on how we had never seen a show field left so clean at the end of an event.

Special thanks go out to Phillip Richter of Coker Farms and the Turtle Garage, Anthony, Diane, and Greg of 1600 Veloce, Dean Laumbach, Howard Silvers (HowS), Michael Graubart, and from Bring a Trailer, Randy, Zac, Chris, Mason, and many others I’m sure I’m leaving out.

On Sunday, my morning started at 5:15 am. It was still dark and in the 30s, but with extra layers and gloves, I kept the cold at bay—even with the convertible top down for the drive to New Canaan for Caffeine & Carburetors. A spirited blast down the Merritt Parkway, complete with wastegate flames in 4th gear, was the perfect way to start the day. I arrived at Waveny Park, surrounded by lush trees, and was ushered into a world of all things automotive. I parked next to an emerald green metallic 1976 911S Targa. The owner and I quickly became friends as we wandered around the park, both attending Waveny Park C&C for the first time.

This event leaned more heavily toward hypercars, vintage royalty, and rarities in the main curated garden but was balanced with a wonderfully diverse showing of marques and models. About 2,000 cars were registered, and the park entrance was eventually closed at around 3,000 cars. Once again, it was the community that came together in support of all things automotive that made the event so special, with stories steeped in the histories of the significant cars on display.

I hope the BaT team got a good sense of how East Coast car culture differs from other regions that are often more represented at live events, partially because BaT started in the Bay Area and many employees are still located there. I try to be everywhere I can, but I certainly have my favorites. While this wasn’t quite on the level of Car Week, the pure passion on display was undeniable.

As we scour the web to learn about online auctions and sales of our favorite cars, we often can’t tell where these cars end up. It seems many of these sales originate from the East Coast, and the communities here are vibrant.

I’ll continue digging deeper to highlight the best of online automotive activity, but I also love meeting all of you in person, not just online. Remember, we are all in this together.

If you get a chance to join a BaT Alumni event or a New Canaan C&C, I’ll be ready to meet you there, walk the show, and hear the stories behind our shared passion—fueled by octane or otherwise.

Huge credit to Tom Nisco for the wonderful photo’s.

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