Bernie's Car Show Coverage: Caffeine and Octane: June 2015

This past Sunday was Atlanta's most dependable car show, Caffeine and Octane. Held in the parking lot of Perimeter Mall, cars from all over came to be a part of this show. There were vintage cars, old schools, exotic cars, luxury cars, import cars, American muscle, and even a former New York City fire truck.

For more photos, check out Bernie's Caffeine and Octane: June 2015 gallery.

Bernie's Car Show Coverage: Caffeine and Exotics- April 2015

Remember the saying "April showers bring May flowers?" This past Sunday was the rain date for the second Caffeine and Exotics of the year. Held in the main parking lot of Lenox Square Mall, car lovers of all ages gathered to observe some gorgeous, luxurious cars. What I love most about this show is the fact that they're strict about what vehicles can be a part of the show.

Thanks to Motorcars of Atlanta, the star of the show was this McLaren 570S, however, it wasn't my first time seeing it. McLaren debuted the 570S a few weeks ago at the New York International Auto Show. They brought two to the Javits Convention Center- an orange one and a gray one. Of course, the orange one was purchased by an attendee of the Auto Show, but the gray one was shipped to the official McLaren dealership of Atlanta- Motorcars of Atlanta.

If the McLaren 570S is the star, then Butler Tire definitely provided the supporting actor. Butler Tire brought a Mercedes Benz S550 with a Lorinser Body Kit on it.

Not to be outdone by the 570S and the modified S550 was this Lamborghini Huracan. This Huracan was painted a rare matte color called Grigio Titans (Translation: Gray) and the brake calipers are Verde Ithaca (Translation: Lime Green).

To see the rest of the photos of the show, Check out Bernie's Caffeine and Exotic April 2015 Gallery.

Bernie's Top 10 Cars from the 2015 New York International Auto Show

Now that New York had another successful auto show, I can finally give my top 10 vehicles from the 2015 New York International Auto Show.  Although McLaren had a successful debut with the 570s, Aston Martin brought the Vulcan, Porsche brought the new Boxster Spyder, and the Ford GT finally made its way to New York, don't expect to see these cars on my list. This isn't a list solely based on performance, economically and enviromentally vehicles (although nothing on this list falls in the economically and environmentally categories). It's just based on what caught my attention, what made my eyes twinkle and what I would purchase. So in no specific order....

The Cadillac ATS-V Coupe. I fell in love with the Cadillac CTS-V coupe quite some time ago, because of the design and the power. But the ATS is the sportier, slightly smaller, will give better gas mileage (although if you get the -V option, I don't think you'll be worried about gas mileage) sibling of the CTS. MSRP: $61,500.

My favorite body type of all time from the Mercedes Benz family, the CL/CLS class. Nothing more to be said, except if I were to purchase one, I might as well go all the way and get one with the AMG trim level. MSRP: $106,500 for the CLS63 AMG.

The Ford Shelby 350R.... Better than the Ford Shelby 350GT. MSRP: Who knows, but rumor has it, it can not beat a Koenigsegg.

The Mercedes Benz S-600 Maybach. The back seats are uber luxurious. After sitting in one, you too would add it to your top 10 list. MSRP: $190,000

Aston Martin Vanquish Carbon Edition. I absolutely love black vehicles and manufacturers have been coming out with their own special edition vehicles. This particular Vanquish has carbon fiber trim (including the roof), top speed of 201 mph, 0-60 in 3.6 seconds, gives off 558 horsepower and 465 lb ft @ 5,500 rpm. But another feature I love about it...

The gear shift are the four buttons under the air vents. It's all in the details. MSRP: $319,000

 

Not sure if General Motors has given the green light for production, but I was honestly surprised with the Buick Avenir. Buick isn't exactly the most sleek, stylish, modern division of General Motors, and I'm definitely not in their audience's demographic. But there's something about the Avenir. As surprised as I was that Buick would create something like this, I would be as equally as surprised if this received the green light.

Audi RS7. The RS7 happens to be the most powerful RS model ever offered in the U.S, and it's even as fast as the Ferrari 458. MSRP: $106,500

Move over Dodge Challenger, there's a new Hellcat in town. Dodge rolled out the new Charger Hellcat. 707 horsepower with a top speed of 204 mph. Need any further convincing? MSRP: $64,000.

My favorite BMW- X6M. Plenty of space for shopping bags and plenty of horsepower- topping out at 567 horsepower. MSRP:  $103,000

And rounding out the list is this Rolls Royce Wraith. Not only is the Wraith the most sleek in the Rolls Royce family, it provides the most horsepower, topping off at 624. MSRP: $294,000

"Why isn't Bentley on this list?" Glad you asked. Bentley opted out of The New York International Auto Show to put their complete focus on the Bentayga. And also, I must pay homage to my dream Prius...

 

I had a great time at the New York International Auto Show, and I will definitely return next year. For more coverage from this show, check out Bernie's 2015 New York International Auto Show gallery.

Bernie's Car Show Coverage: Caffeine and Exotics- November 2014

Taking a break from the SEMA Coverage to post coverage from the final Caffeine and Exotics of 2014. Held at Lenox Square Mall in the Buckhead section of Atlanta, Caffeine and Exotics is the show where you want to see all exotics and luxury cars under one roof-- I mean-- in one parking lot.

The final show of the year didn't fall short by far. Normally there's one star of the show, but this month had two stars.

The first star(s) were the twin black BMW i8s that showed up at the show. For many of the attendees it was their first time seeing the i8s, but fortunately I was able to see it when BMW debuted it at the New York Auto Show earlier this year. New York saw it in April. Atlanta... November. Just being honest.

The other stars of the show was these two Lotus Espirits. The backstory to these Espirits is that they were in the 1977 James Bond film "The Spy Who Loved Me". The Espirit on the left was featured in the land scenes and the one on the right was for the underwater scenes. More photos are below...

I love stuff like this. Let's continue with the rest of the show.

This post wasn't as photo heavy as it usually is. I was still focusing on my SEMA coverage at the time. For more photos, check out Bernie's November 2014 Caffeine and Exotics Gallery.

Bernie's Car Show Coverage: 2014 SEMA Show Day 3

My SEMA Coverage continues with Day 3. On this day, my main focus went towards the models. Models are a huge part of every car show and SEMA is no exception. One thing about the models that I do enjoy is that they're all very nice- considering that they have to stand on their feet all day and have to smile though some of the craziest comments that I'm sure they get from some of the SEMA attendees. And if crazy comments were said towards yours truly, then I know that the models definitely heard some strange things.

Also, I still was able to cover some ground and still photographed some great cars...

I really loved this Jeep Wrangler. Instead of the traditional chrome, it has brushed aluminum accents.

I enjoyed photographing her. She knows how to move. It burns my heart when I photograph models at car shows and they're so stiff.

This is one busy pickup truck.

LOVE the color.

Per my caption on Instagram "Kissing Cousins in the Pirelli Tire booth"

I enjoyed photographing her as well. None of the models were mean at all, however she *points above* was the nicest of them all.

 

Liberty Walk was everywhere.

Love her tattoo sleeve.

I really just wanted to show this car off again.

This was one wiiiiiddddeeee Chevy Camaro ZL1.

To see more photos, check out Bernie's 2014 SEMA Coverage: Day 3 gallery. The final day is coming soon.