Icy, Dirty Roads Can't Keep the Good Vibes Breakfast Club Down

Bringing a Phantom up Angeles Crest is an act of almost heroic stupidity, and so we must applaud this particular automotive journalist (not me) for heaving this 6,500-lb behemoth around some fairly hairy corners.

Steph Papadakis is an absolute legend in import racing and drifting and his Southern California shop turns out some epic vehicles. This Celica isn’t so epic, but it’s really rad. I love the honest patina combined with great wheels and as a driver’s car, this one is probably awesome.

This guy was a highlight of the meet for me. I love an E34 and this one, with this patina and in this color with a seriously sueded-out interior was something extra special. This thing clearly gets the piss driven out of it and I bet it was a laugh winding it out on ACH.

When you have a ‘roided-out Cayenne with this kind of ground clearance and articulation, you bet your ass you park it off-piste, specifically on a gnarly hill next to the parking lot. This thing is awesome and it already has me cruising AutoTempest for cheap Cayenne Turbos.

It wouldn’t be an LA car meet without someone bringing out their Delta Integrale and this one is particularly awesome. It’s on the good wheels and in a great color. It sounded mean as hell driving away, too. 10/10, no notes.

The hot rod 911 thing has been done to death, and publicized like crazy thanks to the likes of Magnus Walker and the R Gruppe people, but that doesn’t mean that the cars, when done well, aren’t uncontrollably cool. This car is not one of Magnus’ but the louvered decklid, drilled door handles and louvered rear quarter windows all borrow from his style. The light ivory and gold two-tone paint job is also incredible.

I am 100% not a fan of the 924/944/968 front-engine Porsches, but even I, the die-hard 911 fanboy, must admit that this ultra-tidy 944 Turbo is pretty awesome. This example comes from the folks over at Auto Kennel and its awesome to see one this nice.

A fire engine red classic Camaro on Centerlines with big-ass meats is just a classic recipe that you don’t even have to be a boomer to love. This thing was super clean, tastefully modified and had a license place that said HOT JAMZ, so what I’m saying is that it’s an essentially perfect piece of American iron.

My first trip up Angeles Crest to Newcomb’s Ranch was in my much-loved 2014 Ford Fiesta ST, and while this car has better wheels and a cooler paint color than my old FiST, seeing it brings back all kinds of memories of what’s arguably the greatest modern hot hatch sold in the US. These things are so cheap and so silly that not buying another one is a constant struggle for me.

Is this beat Corolla wagon a total shitbox? Yes. Is it also perfect on its tiny four-spoke wheels? You bet your ass it is. This is the kind of sun-faded but rust-free Japanese penalty box that you only see in California anymore and it’s exquisite. This just needs a Formula Atlantic-spec 4AGE to make it complete.

This thing makes the kind of turbo noises that put Group B rally cars to shame. The amount of whooshing and whistling and whirring even as it puttered around the parking lot was pretty heroic. The intercooler that’s so big it required the decklid to be cut up, the NACA duct windows and the killer wheels are just icing on the cake, frankly.

The best thing about the rise of Good Vibes is the general aura of stoke surrounding the event. Everyone there is excited about everything that pulls in, and the kind of tribalism that can make car events unfun doesn’t really make itself known here. If you have a car you love and can make the drive up to Newcomb’s Ranch on a Friday morning, Good Vibes Breakfast Club is worth checking out.