Caffeine and Octane, March 2017

I parked in the shadows of the Dunwoody MARTA station on the opposite end of Perimeter Mall. Plates in the lot read Gilmer, Fannin, and even Tift--people who traveled hours to converge on the parking lot north of Atlanta.

As I got close to the show area, the crowds grew larger than I'd ever seen at Caffeine and Octane, now the south's largest monthly car show. It's gotten much more organized out of necessity, with Caffeine and Octane officials manning gates to the main show area, deciding who makes it in.

The first car I saw was this 1960s Volvo 122, better known as the Amazon. A legal dispute between motorcycle manufacturer Kriedler restricted the Amazon name to Sweden, but it still prevailed in the United States.

It caught my eye thanks to a recent episode of Wheeler Dealers, where Edd and Mike revamped an old Volvo PV544 they picked up in Oregon. The Amazon carried on the rally heritage of the 544, using the charismatic B18 engine from that car. It proved wildly popular, tallying nearly 700,000 sold worldwide when it finally went out of production in 1970.

It seems like this month's Porsche section had a theme: the 993. Four of the mid-90s 911s were on display here, including the highly-coveted 993 Turbo and a Carrera 4S which is for sale.

Although I just called it the Porsche section, reality is you'll find plenty of other sports cars peppered throughout this part of the parking lot. Most notable? An Alfa Romeo 4C, seemingly rare by design but also from sheer lack of sales numbers. Last year, Alfa only managed to sell around 500 of these.

But rarity is one of the biggest joys for car enthusiasts, and Caffeine and Octane is a great place to get your fix. Plenty of rides fit the bill, from a Lancia Scorpion, to a custom Chevrolet Apache delivery van, to diesel Toyota Hiluxes and even a Honda Beat for sale.

As time marches on, we're continually being reminded something that was once commonplace, maybe even downright undesirable, can become coveted, retro, and downright cool. The mid- to late 1970s saw the last of the true land yachts from Lincoln and Cadillac. Afterwards, the energy crisis and its litigation turned these titans into miserable cars like the Cadillac Cimarron. Several Continentals and Town Cars took parade laps, including one with custom suicide doors.

Perhaps the best example of 70s excess, though, was this bright orange 1976 Cadillac Eldorado convertible. According to the owner, the official color combination is persimmon on tangerine, because it's a Cadillac. And of course, this is how it left the factory floor.

Even though it's still a slab of old American iron in many ways, you won't mistake it for anything but a Cadillac. Air conditioning and cruise control were standard, along with automatic headlights and four wheel disc brakes, which you want, since it weighs 5100 pounds.

Keeping with the orange theme, I ran across this '68 Camaro whose owner did absolutely everything right. Under the hood, chrome covers nearly every surface and massive Edelbrock carbs reach towards the sky. But the paintwork is what really sets this Camaro apart, taking the road-less-traveled with a 1970s air-brushed, late-model hot rod theme.

Other standouts? A 1964 Impala lowrider that turned every head as it rolled past playing Motown. Another? How about a remarkable 4.5-litre 1928 Bentley, valued in the millions.

Scroll further to see some more of my favorites from March. And if you want something a little different, check out my coverage from Jekyll Island and the first annual Caffeine and Octane at the Beach.