Caffeine and Gasoline

The first Saturday of every month Griot’s Garage, everyone’s favorite car guy catalog company, hosts a morning cruise-in at their flagship store. Check it out: Caffeine & Gasoline™ - Griot's Garage I figured I’d check it as well, and headed down there this morning.

This was my first visit and I was pleasantly surprised. After all, not much happens in Tacoma with Seattle constantly upstaging them. Finding it was easy enough, I just followed the stream of cool cars. Griot’s has set up this flagship store to be something like Mecca for cars. Apparently every aspect of the facility is slanted toward motorsports entertainment. Huge rooms for indoor showings, big TVs, lots of seating, even food. The entire parking lot is concrete (instead of asphalt) and the area is enormous. I arrived early for me, at 8:30 am, and the parking lot was already half full.

I headed straight in for the free coffee of course, I’d hoped it was free anyway, since I didn’t stop at an ATM machine on my way. The mother load! Free coffee AND doughnuts! Hell, I would have driven the 2 hours for free doughnuts alone.

The facility was fully staffed so you need not wait to talk to someone. More importantly, they were not pestering anyone. They just kept dutifully restocking the coffee and engaging those who requested assistance.

After getting my fill of 4 or 5 doughnuts and 3 cups of coffee, (hey, it’s free) I headed into the Griot’s showroom for a quick look around. I assumed they offered all the cool stuff you find in the catalog, and I was right. Somehow, seeing it all in person was a bit more gratifying than in the catalog, which is excellent. Perhaps it was the smell of racecars that enhanced the experience. Perhaps it was the sound of racing from the flat screens through out the building. Who knows, but it was perfect.

Griot’s has a large garage, which makes sense if your selling gear to garage dwellers. Currently this Porsche was parked inside, I suspect other cars reside here when not displayed outdoors but it was clear outside so the Griot’s machines were littered about the grounds.

A stroll of the grounds showed that I’m not the only guy interested in German cars.

White and Red cars belong to brothers Craig and Lance who road tripped up for the event from Alma and Shelton if memory serves me correctly. Apparently an hour-plus drive it not a big deal when you’ve been itching to drive anyway. It sure didn’t matter to me.

When I buy one of these for my wife it won’t be an “S” model. Sorry babe we’ll be settling for a “T” model. Do like the white and chrome though.

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American Iron was not in short supply either. Mustangs and Corvettes dominated this weekend, but Mopar wasn’t far behind and not everything was late model cars either. Frankly, every car was photo worthy so I got a little overwhelmed.

Transplant hemi. I think you’ll see a trend here. Just keep reading.

While several fancy Vettes were around this one looked pretty good to me. I really liked this fellow’s choice of wheels and interior color. Makes me want to go out and buy a Vette. I think those wheels are the ones they offer on the ZR1.

Can’t you just feel that wood wheel in your hands? I think the owner’s name was Sally.

It’s nice to see German and American cars getting along. After all the war’s been over for a long time now.

Just like Pizza, there is always room for some Italian. Look closely at this pisan in the picture below. Like every Alpha guy I know, they take track days very seriously. The roll cage and head rest are artfully added to this car that does double duty as a street car apparently. Windows also are tinted so you can't see the roll bar from outside.

Ferraris are hot, for sure. Kinda like Angelina Joie, they are too sexy for my taste. I’m still looking for a Ferrari that isn’t too loud. Perhaps a Dino GT4, but this one will have to due for today, since it was the only one in attendance. Perhaps all the Ferraris went to Redmond’ Saturday event. Remond town center is close to Microsoft, so you can imagine the exotics count is a tad better than Tacoma.

The flat spots on the tailpipes are from doing wheelies. Before you get too impressed, remember it has a rear engine. With nothing up front but maybe a radiator and what appears to be hipo Chevy mouse motor in back I should do wheelies. I’m going to refrain from any further comment here and take an ondansetron tablet now.

This is a 914-8. Propelled by a late model Corvette motor I suspect. I’m no longer a fan of the countless dollars and hours that a good transplant can consume since I’ve been there. That said, this was a masterful execution on an interesting idea. Cheers!

Griot’s flagship store sure is a substantial facility that could be quite useful to local organizations that have an interest in motorsports. I’m sure that was part of Griot’s master plan. It is quite clear Griot’s takes being part of the automotive enthusiast community very seriously. Well done!

Why the trackside photo? Well, on my way into Tacoma I passed an unusual amount of Porsches going the opposite direction toward Bremerton. Yes I notice cars going the opposite direction, who doesn’t? My supernatural powers of deduction determined that the cooler I spotted in the back of a 996 must mean they are attending a track event. Bremerton has a track! So with my belly now full of doughnuts I headed to Bremerton Motor Speedway (or whatever they call it). Rumor has it another autocross event is brewing for October.

Helmet shopping ? Oh yes.

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Some parting pics for you. Check out the Prelude.