Somehow the summer heat took a break for us as we enjoyed the cool breeze and shade at our annual Summer Picnic and Rally at Ridley Creek State Park. We had an exceptional turnout with 30+ members and more than 15 Alfas, ranging from Dan Iannelli’s and the Millinghousen’s 70’s Spiders to a bunch of modern Giulias, including several Quadrafoglios.
Pete Wanko and Susan McIntire brought their beautiful black Alfa Spider and were awarded the unofficial Alfa Spirit Award for their matching Alfa Romeo shirts – nicely done!
The rally started, as usual, with a LeMans style start. Drivers and their navigators raced, or walked (?) to their cars, directions in hand. There was no GPS or car following cheating going on, as there were five different routes to keep everyone confused.
About a half hour later, the teams started to roll back in. Once again, they ran (or walked) to get their elapsed times recorded. After everyone made it back, the differences in elapsed times were masterfully calculated against the target times. When the dust settled, we had a new DVAROC Driver of the Year!
Congratulations to John Palumbo who came an amazing 27 seconds away from his target time!
Steve and Debbie Harter along with Jon Kligerman led us on a wonderful spring tour through Bucks County in Pennsylvania and Hunterdon County in New Jersey. We gathered early Sunday morning in Peddler’s Village and enjoyed some cookies made by Debbie as well as coffee and conversation. The turnout continued to grow as our destination time approached. Among the Alfas we had several round tail spiders, a couple GTVs, Quinn deMenna’a lovely blue GT Junior, a Sports Sedan, a Giulia, a 4C and of course, a clutter of Spiders. With the driver’s meeting complete, tops down and directions handed out, we left remarkably on time and headed east, across the Delaware to Stockton.
From Stockton we headed north and then deep into Hunterdon county, enjoying the twisty roads and green canopy of shade. Those who might have though of New Jersey as flat were surprised to see the rises and falls we traversed on our way to our first stop for fuel and rest. This gave our tourists another chance to admire the Italian alloy in the parking lot and forget to turn off their lights (no worry, one unnamed driver made the rounds turning them off).
Back on the road, we continued north through some cute towns and were greeted by some vintage Land Rovers. Then, we headed west, along the Delaware and crossed back over into Pennsylvania into Riegelsville.
Our final leg had us heading south along the river and eventually diving back into the rocky hills of Upper Bucks County until we arrived at Van Sant airport.
If you’ve never visited (I hadn’t), Van Sant airport is a jewel. It’s runways are grass. It’s hangers and fields are full of biplanes and gliders. And, it has a quaint snack bar. This day, it was hosting a “Wings and Wheels” event and even though we arrived towards the end, it was still full of interesting cars and even more interesting airplanes. Strolling around the machinery on display, you could watch the planes take off and land in very close proximity. Rides were even available though I’m not sure anyone partook – my wife gave me a terse “no” when I suggested she go up in a Stearman.
It was a great destination and a perfect ending to a lovely Sunday drive with the Alfas. In a break with tradition, there were no mistakes in the directions and we didn’t lose a single Alfa, though one of those “reliable” German cars had to drop out due to a mechanical problem – go figure?
Many thanks to Steve, Debbie and Jon who made it all happen. Also thanks to Jack Stoll who helped develop the route.
First, I want to express my great appreciation to Vince and Ruth for hosting our annual Tech Session at their shop. It was a fantastic turnout with everything from an Alfa 155, Ferrari Testarossa, Fiat Multipla, Spiders galore, and everything in between. Thanks to Bill and Ellen, we all had some yummy treats to keep us going as we reconnected with folks we haven’t seen in a while and swapped all stories Alfa. Inside the shop, we got to see Pat Boova’s RHD GTV race car up on the lift awaiting its new powerplant. Outside, Vince and Ruth’s Twinspark GTV racecar was on view, displaying its many nifty bits. Time flew and before we knew it, it was afternoon and time to return home to awaiting chores. The smiles on everyone’s faces showed what a great success it was. Thanks again, to our hosts, organizers and everyone who made it a wonderful event. Some photos can be accessed here: Tech Session Photos Tom Potts also posted some additional photos here: Rocking Chair Motors
After some confusion (on my part) Steve Harter made sure everyone knew the inaugural 2024 Cars & Cigars event was taking place on Sunday, April 21st. Although I didn’t make it, the photos Steve sent along show what a great success it was. If you haven’t been to a Cars & Cigars before, you should consider it. It’s a great way to finish off the weekend, hanging out among beautiful cars, enthusiastic participants and in a town full of great food and drink options.
And now, for some event updates (* denotes DVAROC sponsored event):
Sunday, May 5th – Mainline Cars and Coffee – Not a DVAROC event, but a great way to show off your Alfa among an enthusiastic crowd. For more information, see: Mainline Cars and Coffee
Friday/Saturday, May 10th/11th – Carlisle Import & Performance Nationals – The Central PA chapter is sponsoring this event. Bring your Alfa out and enjoy the scene. They have almost 40 Alfas pre-registered! Even if you haven’t pre-registered, you may arrive, pay at the gate, and join them. The more,the merrier! Bring chairs, food, and libations if you wish. Faulkner Alfa Romeo is sponsoring a 4pm Friday barbecue. For more information, see: www.carlisleevents.com/events
Saturday, May 11th – Ragtops and Roadsters Open House – It’s that time of the year again, when one of our premium classic and vintage car shops opens their facility up to everyone. For more information, go to: Ragtops and Roadsters Open House
Sunday, May 19th – Skippack Cars & Cigars – Looking for some chill time on a Sunday afternoon? Cars & Cigars is the perfect event. Plant to roll in around 3pm. See: www.skippackvillage.com
* Sunday, May 26th – DVAROC Spring Tour – Mark your calendars now for this annual drive in Bucks county and vicinity. The tour route is being prepared now, so get ready!
Spring has certainly sprung! Hopefully our April showers are behind us and Spider owners can get some sun. We have a number of upcoming events that should give you a reason to come out and play. Events marked with * are DVAROC sponsored events. Here they are:
* Saturday, April 20th – DVAROC Tech Session at Nick Falcone Enterprises – Once again, Vince and Ruth are opening their doors to invite us in to their shop to talk everything Alfa. We’ll meet there around 10am and enjoy some coffee, donuts and other snacks. There’s no agenda, but if you have something specific you’d like to cover, let me know. Otherwise, just come with your questions. No need to RSVP, just show up. They are located at 161 Rock Hill Road, in Bala Cynwyd. Their phone number is: 610.664.0944.
Sunday, April 21st – Skippack Cars & Cigars – Looking for some chill time on a Sunday afternoon? Cars & Cigars is the perfect event. Plant to roll in around 3pm. See: www.skippackvillage.com
Sunday, April 28th– Wheels of Wayne Car Show – Come show off your Alfa in downtown Wayne. For more information, go to: Wheels of Wayne
Friday/Saturday, May 10th/11th – Carlisle Import & Performance Nationals – The Central PA chapter is sponsoring this event. Bring your Alfa out and enjoy the scene. They have almost 40 Alfas pre-registered! Even if you haven’t pre-registered, you may arrive, pay at the gate, and join them. The more,the merrier! Bring chairs, food, and libations if you wish. Faulkner Alfa Romeo is sponsoring a 4pm Friday barbecue. For more information, see: www.carlisleevents.com/events
* Sunday, May 26th – DVAROC Spring Tour – Mark your calendars now for this annual drive in Bucks county and vicinity. The tour route is being prepared now, so get ready!
AROC Convention Here? There is some grass-roots interest in having the DVAROC and CPAROC jointly host the 2026 AROC Convention. It’s in the early planning stages, but in order to pull this off, we need a bunch of Alfisti to chip in and help with it. If you have any interest and time you can give, please reach out to Jose Joga at atcjoga@gmail.com He’s done a lot of early stage planning and his enthusiasm is contagious. If you have any interest or just want to learn more, we can talk about it at the tech session.
Alfa Romeo Museum Video Tour – Bob Feltoon passed on this fascinating 48 minute video tour of the Alfa museum including sections not open to the general public. It’s worth the view, trust me: Alfa Museum Tour
I can’t say enough great things about the tour of the David Markel collection in Skippack, yesterday. Seeing the beaming smiles of our merry band of Alfisti was just what was needed to thaw the winter doldrums. Although I chickened out when I saw the rain in the morning and brought a P*$!s%*e, many more intrepid folks brought out their Giulias, Stelvios, 4Cs, Spiders and Sports Sedans. Thank you!!
Our docent, Jerry Rader did a wonderful job explaining the history and unique features of the 50+ rolling sculptures that we ogled at inside the five buildings we visited. With thirteen buildings housing the collection, we left plenty of distinctive autos to see next time (each time we tour, we see a different set of buildings). One particular treat was a newly curated collection called “Rossa” which, as the name suggests, was filled with Italian beauties – Ferraris, Alfas, Ducatis, Guzzis and others. Spectacular! Another highlight, was visiting the facility where the collection curator, Ryan Zeller, maintains the spectacular machines. Yesterday, he was working on a replica Cobra (I know, I know, but it was really well done), a fresh from California Dino (aka Ferrari), and a Giulietta SZ getting some love. We broke for lunch after that and enjoyed some catching up and swapping stories over meals at restaurants in lovely Skippack.
The last building we visited was actually two buildings. The first was filled with classic Packards, Cords, Cadillacs and other amazing examples of perhaps the pinnacle of American automobile design, the 30s. I had seen these cars before but somehow, the colors on some of them simply memorized me. I wasn’t alone. A number of us couldn’t stop staring at the deep, deep aubergine (or cabernet?) colored Cord. Likewise, the green on the V16 Cadillac attracted us like mosquitos to a lantern. While the colors were captivating, the mechanical detail on the vehicles was equally enchanting. From the built-in level bubbles on the headlights of one Packard to the Art-deco instruments on another, from the exposed hairpin valve springs on the Crocker (never heard of that one?) motorcycle to the jewel-like landau hinge on another Packard, every detail was lovingly designed and fabricated by craftsmen. Remarkable. But wait, there was more. As I mentioned, the last building was actually two. In the second were some treasures worthy of the Simeone museum, including Fangio’s Alfa-engined race car he campaigned in Argentina, a real (yes real) Ferrari P4, a Porsche 906, an Abarth Fiat, and a real (yes real) 427 AC Cobra. What a great way to end a day where we simply ran out of superlatives.
I want to thank everyone who made the event – both familiar faces and some new ones. I also want to extend thanks to Steve Harter who did such a professional job organizing the event. And finally, on behalf of the entire Delaware Valley Alfa Romeo Owners Club, I want to thank Jerry Rader for sharing his knowledge, Ryan Zeller for letting us see under the hood of the machine that keeps these machines on the road, and finally David Markel for his generosity in sharing his world-class collection with us.
On another note, we have a New Event that might be of interest to you.
Saturday, March 9th – Car Detailing Seminar – Berwyn, PA – The local Ferrari club has extended an invitation for us to join them at the Mainline Car Vault in Berwyn to learn about car detailing and how to prepare your car for a concours presentation. If you’re interested, refer to the attached flyer – you need to register.
Saturday, April 20th – Tech Session – Nick Falcone Enterprises – Bala Cynwyd, PA – Join us for our annual spring tech session, hosted by Vince and Ruth of Nick Falcone Enterprises. Mark your calendars now and look for more information in the future.
Cars and Cigars – Skippack, PA – I’ll be updating our events section of the website www.dvaroc.org and the events calendar shortly with several Cars and Cigars events at Skippack. These are low-key events, like Cars and Coffee, where you can show your car, hang out with other auto enthusiasts and enjoy some good food and drinks.
And one more thing….
There is some grass-roots interest in having the DVAROC and CPAROC jointly host the 2026 AROC Convention. It’s in the early planning stages, but in order to pull this off, we need a bunch of Alfisti to chip in and help with it. If you have any interest and time you can give, please reach out to Jose Joga at atcjoga@gmail.com He’s done a lot of early stage planning and his enthusiasm is contagious. If you have any interest or just want to learn more, we can talk about it at the tech session.
We’re about half full for the David Markel Car Collection Tour on Saturday, February 24th in Skippack, PA – Thanks to the efforts of Steve Harter, we’re being invited back to the David Markel collection in Skippack, PA. This is always a fabulous event, with multiple buildings full of treasures. Even if you’ve been on this tour before, you can be assured to see something new. The tour is limited to 25 guests. Cost is $25 per person.
The tour will start at 10am in Skippack where we’ll meet up with our tour guide, Jerry Rader and collection curator, Ryan Zeller. The first collection we’ll visit is nicknamed “Rosa” as it’s filled with Italian red heads. From there, we’ll visit the Creekside collection of magnificent antique and classic cars – think Packards, Auburns, and the like. After that, we’ll visit two more collections, including a restoration shop. We’ll then break for lunch (Skippack has a bunch of great restaurants). After lunch, we’ll wrap up with the Historics collection which includes some significant Alfa and Ferrari race cars.
I hope everyone had a relaxing holiday and kept your Alfas away from the salt!
In the background, your officers have been busily planning a year of activities that should provide something interesting to each of you. Here’s the rundown for the next few months – DVAROC sponsored events are shown in bold:
Sunday, January 28th – Meet the Alfas at the PA Auto Show – Join the Central Pennsylvania AROC at the Faulkner Alfa Romeo display at noon. Ticket prices are $10 at the door, $8 if purchased online. Parking is $10. Faulkner Alfa Romeo – Maserati will have a display of vehicles in the NORTH HALL. For more information, contact Andy Kaufmann at: Andylarry@aol.com
Saturday, February 24th – David Markel Car Collection Tour – Thanks to the efforts of Steve Harter, we’re being invited back to the David Markel collection in Skippack, PA. This is always a fabulous event, with multiple buildings full of treasures. The tour is limited to 25 guests. Cost is $25 per person. For more information and to register, contact Steve Harter at: sharter828@gmail.com
Saturday, April 20th – Tech Session at Nick Falcone Enterprises – Once again, Vince and Ruth are opening their doors to invite us in to their shop to talk everything Alfa. Stay tuned for more details in the upcoming months.
Our Fall Winery Tour will be held this Sunday, 22 October. It looks like it’s going to be a lovely, fall day.
We’ll meet at 10:00am at Tifosi Motors, in Downingtown. They have graciously offered to provide coffee and a light breakfast for us. After we gather and fuel up, we’ll leave at 10:30am and drive through some lovely Chester County countryside, including some scary tunnels and covered (and non-covered) bridges, on our way to Acadian Wine CompanyThere, we’ll enjoy some wine tasting among their vineyards. After that, we’ll head back north and stop at Northbrook Marketplace to pick up some lunch goodies before we make our way to our final stop at Stargazers Vineyardwhere we’ll enjoy a picnic and of course, some wine tasting.
There is no cost for the event, but each winery does charge for tastings.
Please RSVP to Bob Brady by Friday, 20 October so I have a headcount. You can either send me an email: robertanthonybrady@gmail.com or call/text me at: 302.420.6529.
A couple other notes:
Tifosi Motors is located at: 1003 S Chestnut St, Downingtown, PA 19335
I strongly encourage you to call Northbrook Marketplace ahead of time with your order
I hope to see you Sunday. This will be our last official event for the year.
And speaking of events, we had a wonderful picnic a couple weeks ago. I want to thank everyone who made it out to our place. It was great to see you all.
The Faulkner Alfa Romeo Cars & Coffee was moved, due to rain and now will be held on Saturday, September 30th beginning at 9am. They are located at 6714 Carlisle Pike, Mechanicsburg, PA. Chris Carvell will have his staff at the ready to help you test drive the all new Alfa Romeo TONALE Plug-in Hybrid SUV, as well as the new Maserati GRECALE SUV. After the C&C event, AROC members can then drive the short distance along Carlisle Pike to the Appalachian Brewing Company, where we will find a large selection of Craft Beer, and good tavern-style food. If you have any questions about these events, or wish to RSVP, contact: Andy Kaufmann from the CPAROC at: andylarry@aol.com
The DVAROC Fall Picnic is coming up fast on Sunday, October 8th. Mark your calendar now to attend – early RSVPs are welcome! The “Petit Mont” has already started preparations and a very nice selection of door prizes is accumulating in our dining room. That said, we can always use more. So, if you have any Alfa related trinkets you’d like to donate as door prizes, bring them to the picnic.
Lastly, our DVAROC Fall tour is scheduled for Sunday, October 22nd. We have a special treat for our starting point and we’re scoping out wineries to visit in Chester county now. If you have any interest in helping to plan the route, please reach out to me.
And, if you didn’t get a chance to go, here are some highlights from the Coatesville Vintage Grand Prix: Video 1, Video 2
In case you missed it, the Lime Rock Historic Festival was a weekend of automobile overload! The 22 mile tour on Thursday night included over 100 classic and vintage race cars. Racing on Friday, Saturday and Monday was exciting, with perhaps the best sounds coming from Larry Auriana’s Ferrari 1512 with its 1.5 liter flat 12 wailing up to its 12,000 rpm redline. Although racing is not allowed on Sundays due to noise restrictions, the Historic Festival puts that day to a lovely intermission and fills the track with a concours on the front straight and lines the rest of the circuit with a car show of over 1000 entries. If you want to see what you might have missed, go here: Bill Stohler Photography
And now for our events update.
Today is the Radnor Concours. While the weather certainly doesn’t look promising, it will go ahead, rain or shine. The field of cars is always spectacular.
Another vintage “racing” event is coming up next weekend. The Coatesville Vintage Grand Prix will be held Saturday, September 16th. And, while the “racing” isn’t quite Lime Rock quality, the access to the cars and the hometown feel to the event make it worth stopping by. I received word from the Central Pennsylvania chapter that Faulkner Alfa Romeo Cars & Coffee will be held on Saturday, September 23rd beginning at 9am. They are located at 6714 Carlisle Pike, Mechanicsburg, PA. Chris Carvell will have his staff at the ready to help you test drive the all new Alfa Romeo TONALE Plug-in Hybrid SUV, as well as the new Maserati GRECALE SUV. After the C&C event, AROC members can then drive the short distance along Carlisle Pike to the Appalachian Brewing Company, where we will find a large selection of Craft Beer, and good tavern-style food.
The DVAROC Fall Picnic is our next event on Sunday, October 8th. Mark your calendar now to attend. The “Petit Mont” has already started preparations and a very nice selection of door prizes is accumulating in our dining room. That said, we can always use more. So, if you have any Alfa related trinkets you’d like to donate as door prizes, bring them to the picnic.
Lastly, our DVAROC Fall tour is scheduled for Sunday, October 22nd. We’ve received some great ideas for routes. As is tradition, we’ll probably tour Chester county and stop at a winery, or two. If you have any interest in helping to plan the route, please reach out to me.
So there you have it, a fun fall, full of fabulous festivities!
