What a way to spend a cool fall Saturday morning than sipping a hot beverage while looking over some amazing vehicles. Whether this was an official Cars & Coffee type event or just a gathering of enthusiasts, I don’t know. But when I caught word of this gathering a week or so ago, I knew it sounded like a good way to start the day.

And what a morning it was! You couldn’t have asked for much better weather, although as you can see from the photos, it was a pretty wicked, long-shadow casting, direct sun kind of morning.

“Car shows” come in lots of varieties. There are, of course, the big showy ones, where you buy your ticket and look at all the pristine vehicles under bright lights. And at the other end of the spectrum, there is this. A few owners gather together in a parking lot somewhere, hopefully on a nice day, and show their cars.

What makes this kind of gathering fun is that you never know what you’re going to get, and often it’s a little bit of everything. The new sitting next to the old, the tiny European convertible sitting next to the muscle car, some rare show-only specimen you’ve never seen before across from someone’s daily driver.

But what really makes these events stand out is how laid back and inviting they are. No pomp and circumstance. No velvet ropes. Just some owners and enthusiasts gathering to share an appreciation for engineering marvels.

Want to see inside? Just ask. Wondering what’s under the hood? Just ask. Want to hear some stories? Just ask or walk up and listen. Have a story of your own to share? Join in.

Unlike more formal gatherings that might span most of a day or the whole weekend, these tend to be very short at a couple of hours or so. And they might be well-publicized weeks out or pop up on the spur of the moment.

Porsche was definitely in full display here, with a little old and new. As a BMW driver myself, I was happy to see a couple in the mix, including a well-loved and aged 5-series.

I don’t like to pick favorites, but I will confess that my eyes strayed from German to Italian this time around. While I can appreciate them, I’m not particularly awed by Lamborghinis…to each his or her own. But then, today’s Lambos are, like many cars, a completely different breed from the past.

Feast your eyes on a 1968 Lamborghini Espada and you may never look at a Lambo the same way again.

Fortunately, arriving a little before we left was the one-of-a-kind, DeLorean. Hard to say whether this car would have had the same appreciation and fandom as it does if it wasn’t for the “Back to the Future” movies.

But, fun trivia, what makes this even more special…did you know that you can buy a DeLorean right here in Crystal Lake? That’s right. Crystal Lake is actually home to the DeLorean Motor Company’s midwest sales office. Hopefully a future Spotlight Story.

Just to round it out, there was also a special guest appearance of the two-wheeled variety. Another German showing from BMW.

More trivia…this in fact, was the one beemer, as the motorcycles are nicknamed beemers, whereas the cars are actually referred to as bimmers.

A huge thanks goes out to these owners for taking their time to share their joys with anyone and everyone who stopped by. And hopefully they’ll add future events to our calendar so more can join the fun.

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Looking for more car show goodness? Be sure to see our McHenry County Car Shows Guide!