Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Dealership I've Been To: O'Gara Coach Company

Since I live in Minnesota, exotic cars are few and far between; good exotics anyway. Sure, we have the cliched yellow Lamborghini Gallardo, and the occasional (but still sexy) Audi R8. Heck, even Bentley Continentals are pretty common here. But I don't see the good stuff much. At least back home. When I go on trips, I try to pick destinations with spectacular car dealers. For me though, the cars alone a good dealership does not make. The people and atmosphere make it up, as well.
Situated in the midst of all the glitz and glam of Beverly Hills, O'Gara Coach is one of the few businesses in the area that does not exude pompousness. I mean, yeah, Bentleys, Aston Martins and Roll Royces aren't cheap by any means-- far from it. But the atmosphere within the premises is excellent. I've been there for 4 or 5 years, and never once have I felt intimidated, nor have I been harassed. Sure, I feel bad going on to the lot knowing I won't buy anything, but the salespeople do not mind. Constantly, I'm reminded to have a good time, and "be happy." And what more could make me happy than standing amidst a dealer lot easily worth upwards of ten million Benjamins.
While a Bentley Continental Flying Spur certainly is not pedestrian by any means, it was too "plain jane" for this dealer. Instead, the guys and gals at O'Gara tend to focus their inventory or decidely higher end motorcars-- vehicles like Bugatti Veyrons (which I don't have any pictures of, sadly), and only the newest in the Aston Martin stable. If you want to break away from the cookie-cutter red Ferrari 360 Modena and F430, this is certainly the place for you.
Based upon my experiences, I would definitely recommend this dealership to any car enthusiast in the area. If you are in the market, great. Even if you simply want to stop and look, O'Gara would be glad to serve you.




Normally, I am not a fan of the Bentley Continental series of cars; not that it looks bad per se, it looks too.. dated perhaps? Regardless, the new Supersports line up of cars looks pretty good. I've seen the cars in a wide variety of colors, ranging from various hues of white, silver, and gray, but never as vibrant as these two. I would probably take them both; Thumbs up on the out-of-character-for-a-Bentley color choices. If I had a Continental, I'd probably have it just like either of these.



Forget the Bentley Mulsanne, forget the Aston Martin Rapide, this is where its at! I usually despise convertibles, mainly because the idea of a sports car convertible seems.. wrong? I know some cars are meant to be convertibles, but to me, a convertible give off a grand touring vibe versus serious sports car. But the Aston Martin DBS Volante is different. It reeks of sexiness in its original state, and unlike most cars, it has that same appeal in canvas top form. There's just something about it. Maybe it's the hunkered down, wide stance; maybe it's those graceful, bodacious curves; no-- it's the lustworthy V-12 and sonorous exhaust snarl. I don't know what it is. But this latest Aston variant is supreme sex. Oh, they also had a hardtop there, too, which I kind of like more. Here it is below.









So, you say you're tired of seeing the same old Aston V8 Vantage run around, are you. Apparently, you're not alone. Aston felt the same way; so for 2010 (2009 in the rest of the world) they introduced a V12 version of the car. Packing the V12 from its bigger siblings, the V12 Vantage "baby Aston" can accelerate with the best of 'em. It hits 60 MPH in 4.1 seconds, and will not stop until it reaches 190 MPH in a straight line. How do you who's got a V12 versus the "tame" V8 version? While, to the trained eye, extra louvers are in the hood for better cooling for the larger engine, a new front splitter adorns the grille area and lower front fascia, and to the trained.. well, there's definitely that superb exhaust note. Oh, and the badging gives it away, too. All in all, though, this is a wonderful car. I'm simply glad I got to see it in person. Most of all, though, I'm glad the dealership experience went as amazing as it did. If they were an ebay seller, I'd rate them as high as I could, feedback-wise. And yes, I would (and do want to) go back to O'Gara again. A great time was had by all.

San Francisco Street Sighting: Citroen 2CV4












Now, this is a pretty akward posting; I've seen a multitude of the little Citroens out my way, but this example was the first, and last 2CV I saw out west. Honestly, given the West coasts' love for cars, I am quite surprised I didn't see more. Oh well.
This example was pretty nice, but faded. It's all original (I would venture, at least) from the barn-red paintjob, to the white 3 nut wheels. This little guy looks like a car one would expect to find in rural France, not stateside; but that's what makes it so damn cool! I love the "patina" if you will. Not show quality, and far from a beater, this car is a perfect driver, though with all of "Duex Cheavaux" I have a hard time imagining how it copes with all the hills-- I'd bet slowly for sure. On the plus, the suspension is designed to help farmers haul eggs across rutty fields so I'd think the ride up the hills wouldn't be all that bad-- and that's quite a feat given the amount of luxury cars that even ride rough in the Bay Area.