Cars and Coffee Springs Up in San Gabriel

The brainchild of Dr. Felix Nunez, a local resident, Cars and Coffee San Gabriel started at 7:00AM and drew a nice handful of cars. Dr. Nunez commented on the reason for the event: “We want to bring neighbors, community members, together.” Of course the event, which will be repeated the last Saturday of every month, welcomes one and all from anywhere you might be. The next event is the last Saturday of November, the 26th. The gathered crowd talked Felix into starting at 7:30 on that day. The parking lot is at the corner of Mission and Las Tunas in San Gabriel. Look up “Paris Baguette San Gabriel” for the exact spot.

Cars gathered included the beautiful 1976 BMW of Ben, a local retiree, a white 1964 Austin Healey 3000, and a Mustang convertible from 1966. Also present was Dr. Nunez’s 1964 ½ Wimbledon White Mustang coupe. His father bought the car new, and Felix drove it to college years ago. It has since been restored and was recently painted at a shop in Las Vegas. Everything, down to the switch on the air vent inlet with its little “A” logo, is perfect on this car.

Newer cars were also represented, including Luca Nunez’s (Felix’s nephew) 2018 Audi A3. But Luca’s secret is that he has Corvette dreams. In fact, a cousin has a mid-1970s Vette for sale right now, red on red. It’s sitting in Dr. Nunez’s driveway waiting for some love. Maybe Luca will be the one to commission its revival.

The oldest ride was a 1948 Chevy Fleetline, no power steering but fun to drive nonetheless, according to owner Jerry. The most driven was a 1968 VW Beetle, owned by Umberto and Jeanne, which had gone more than 200,000 miles before the odo broke - in 1980. The original owners, whose daughter superintends over the car now, drove it all over the place, including up and down California to visit when they lived up north.

If this sounds like a fun crowd, then make plans to join next time, wherever you come from. Heck, plan to bring a group. There are only a few simple rule requests. First, no talking about religion or politics. Second, no criticizing anyone else’s car. Third, please buy something at the sponsoring business, Paris Baguette, which recently opened.

For information or to let Dr. Felix know you’re coming next time, email [email protected], and watch the LA Car calendar of events.