Bernie's Car Show Coverage: Caffeine and Exotics: October 2014...

On October 19th, Atlanta held it's fourth Caffeine and Exotics in the Buckhead section of the city. This month's show had a pair of special guests. Not one, but two Lamborghini green Huracans arrived at the show. I felt cheated because the Huracans didn't debut at the New York Auto Show, so I had to wait until they debuted everywhere else and then it found its way to Atlanta... I'm slightly spoiled.



Aside from the Huracans stealing the show (let's be honest, they totally did) the usual suspects showed up- Porsches, Maseratis, Corvette C7 Stingrays, Teslas, Rolls Royces, the other Lamborghini models, Ferraris, Ford GT, Aston Martins, BMWs, Mercedes Benz, Nissan GTRs, Bentleys, basically everything that you would expect an Exotic car show to have. Without further ado, here's my coverage...







































And finally for the first time ever at Caffeine and Exotics...

A Ford Shelby actually showed up.

To see the rest of my pics, check out Bernie's Caffeine and Exotics: October 2014 Gallery. And next month is the final one of the year...

Bernie's Car Show Coverage: Caffeine and Octane: October 2014

October 5th was the 10th Caffeine and Octane of the year. Held outside of Atlanta, in Alpharetta, this is   the type of car show you want to come to if you want to see a new Ferrari 458 or if you wanted to see an old Chevy Bel-Air and all points in between. Enough talking, since I did plenty of that at the show, and I'll show off my few shots...



























I'm practicing the whole less is more approach and not being so blunt. Why there's only a few photos, I'll save for a later date. I know my Caffeine and Exotics gallery will have more, and we all know that my SEMA coverage will have hundreds upon hundreds of photos.

Bernie's Car Show Coverage: Bernie's Top 10 Picks from the AJC Auto Show

After going to the 2013 New York International Auto Show, my perception of auto shows has changed. I went from the enormous New York Auto Show to the cozy Atlanta Journal Constitution Auto Show. Yes, you noticed the adjectives I used- enormous and cozy. 

Last week I went to the 2014 AJC Auto Show. It took me awhile, but I was able to come up with my top 10 picks based off the selection at this particular auto show. This is in no particular order, except for the last vehicle, which will always be my number one vehicle.

10. An Audi A7. What I like most about this particular Audi is the body. Aside from the R8 and the uber tiny TT, it doesn't have the traditional Audi body. Specs: 3.0 L V-6 engine, 8 speed automatic transmission, 310 hp with 325 lb-ft of torque, MPG: 18/28, 0-60 mph: 6.19 seconds, and MSRP: $65,500

9. MINI Cooper Countryman John Cooper Works. What I like most about this Mini Cooper Countryman is (I know I'm about to sound girly, but...) that it's a cute, small car. It's a fun car that you would use for perfect weather locations, it's roomy, and it has a lot of options in it. Specs: 1.6 L I-4 engine, 6 speed automatic transmission, 208 hp with 192-ft lbs of torque, MPG: 25/31, 0-60 mph: 7.83 sec and MSRP: $35,000

8. Maserati Ghibli Q4. For a entry level Maserati, the Q4 packs a punch... Specs: 3.0 L V-6 engine, 8 speed automatic transmission, 404 hp with 369 ft-lbs of torque, MPG: 15/25, 0-60 MPH: 5.45 seconds and MSRP: $76,900

7. Cadillac CTS-V Coupe. I've been in love with the body and the performance. I like the boomerang rear, and the amount of horsepower/torque isn't too shabby. Specs: 6.2L V-8 engine, 6 speed automatic transmission, 556 hp with 551 ft-lbs of torque, MPG: 14/19, 0-60 MPH: 4.35 seconds, and MSRP: $63,600

6. Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 Coupe. I like the performance, plain and simple. Specs: 7.0 L V-8 engine, 6 speed manual transmission, 505 hp and 481ft-lbs of torque, MPG: If you're worrying about this, this isn't the car for you, 0-60 mph: 4.50 seconds, and MSRP: $72,700

5. BMW M4 Coupe. Again, it's another performance pick, although I'm not a fan of the loud color. Specs:  3.0 L I-6 engine, 6 speed manual transmission, 425 hp and torque is not yet released, MPG: is not yet released, 0-60 mph: 4.1 seconds, and MSRP: $65,125.

4. Nissan GTR Nismo. Somehow, Nismo found a way to improve the Nissan GTR, and raised the MSRP an extra $50,000. Specs: 3.8 L V-6 engine, 6 speed auto shift manual transmission, 600 hp and 481lbs-ft of torque, 0-60: 3.52 seconds, and MSRP $150,000. Notice how I didn't include the gas milage...

3. Dodge Challenger: This was definitely going to be my next car, but my insurance would have been through the roof. My insurance is expensive and I drive an Envoy. Specs: 6.4 L V-8 engine, 5 speed automatic transmission, 470 hp and 470 lbs-ft of torque, MPG: 14/23, 0-60: 4.75 seconds and the MSRP: $44,700

2. Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. Now this is a strong contender as my next vehicle. Drove it from Boston to Providence, RI and although I need a running board to help me get in and out the vehicle, I enjoyed driving it. Specs: 3.6L V-6 engine, 5 speed automatic transmission, 285 hp with 260 lbs-ft of torque, MPG: 16/21, 0-60: 7.06 seconds, and MSRP: $35,000

And the number one pick... the 2015 Ford Mustang. Basically, see this post highlighting the specs. But he looked great in person.

Trust me, I'll have an easier time picking my top picks from the 2014 New York International Auto Show. P.S. Notice how Mercedes Benz, Jaguar, and Land Rover wasn't in the lineup, that's because they didn't come. 

Top 10 Cars Celebrities Will Be Driving in 2013...

... according to Celebrity Cars Blog.

One of my favorite blogs to keep up with, Celebrity Cars Blog, released a list of what they think will be the top 10 cars driven by celebrities this year. Although two days ago marked the beginning of the second half of 2013, it's still a very interesting list...

Range Rover/Range Rover Sport. This vehicle is too much of a celebrity staple to ever go away. You can fit 5 people, still have plenty of trunk space, and it gives off over 400 horsepower. MSRP: $83,500

Tesla Model S. Very luxurious enviromentally friendly sedan. Unless a celebrity likes electric cars, that's the only way this would be super popular, but it won't trump the Fisker Karma. The FK had non-enviromentally friendly people still wanting to drive that car. MSRP: $62,400

McLaren MP4-12C. Honestly speaking, other than Dwyane Wade and Jay Leno, I've yet to see another celebrity drive one. It probably needs more time to catch on. MSRP: $268,250.

McLaren P1.  At first I was only familiar with the MP4-12C model, but after reading it, I became intrigued. I love the curvature of the body (hate boxy vehicles). Has the power to release 903 horsepower, which allows the P1 to go 62 mph in less than 3 seconds AND 124 mph in less than 7 seconds. Top Speed: 218 mph. MSRP: $1.15 million with only 375 P1s to be produced, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Jay Leno was one of the 375 owners. He might as well get a third McLaren.

Bentley Continental GT. Too much of a staple. And even various levels of the Continental body is still popular: Flying Spur, the GTC, and let us not forget: GT (C) Supersport. MSRP: $174,000



Maserati Quattroporte. Maserati finally redesigned the Quattroporte, making it more sleek than the previous model. I always like the changes in vehicles that make it look sleek. MSRP: $130,000 to battle against the Porsche Panamera Turbo.

Maserati Ghibli. Maserati introduces the new Ghibli. At first glance, it looks just like the Quattroporte, however, it's designed to compete with the BMW 5-series, Jaguar XF, Audi A6, the Mercedes Benz E-Class. Basically the Ghibli would be mid-level luxury. I'm liking it more and more. I just have to see it in person though. MSRP: $70,000. Useless fact: In Italian, ghibli means hot air blowing through the Sahara desert.

Rolls Royce Wraith. I'm actually shocked that a celebrity hasn't been photographed with one yet. I first saw this at the 2013 New York Auto Show, and it reminded me of the Bentley Mulsanne: boxy in the front, sleek in the back. MSRP: roughly $318,000.

Lamborghini Aventador Roadster. Too much of a staple in the celebrity world, until Lamborghini finds a way to top this particular model. MSRP $387,000

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta. It has extreme potential to be a staple. All of the previous Ferraris have been staples, so the odds of this becoming popular is definitely on Ferraris side. Selling point: 731 horsepower, 0-62 mph in 3.1 seconds, AND uses 30% less fuel than the Ferrari 599. You know you want it. MSRP: roughly 1/3 of a million ($333,000). I would rather get this car than a Rolls Royce ANYTHING, and I'm really not into exotic cars.

It's a nice list, but realistically, I don't see the Tesla and the two McLarens making a huge splash. If it was my list, I would have taken off those three vehicles, and added Bentley Mulsanne, toss up between the Porsche Panamera and the Porsche 911, and the Jeep Wrangler. Alas, it's still a great list, because it forced me to learn more.