35TH ANNUAL SOLVANG DATSUN ROADSTER CLASSIC

Posted on May 24, 2023May 24, 2023 by MartynL

Vintage Japanese vehicles shine at the 35TH ANNUAL SOLVANG DATSUN ROADSTER CLASSIC, held in the Danish capital of America! You could say that the 35TH ANNUAL SOLVANG DATSUN ROADSTER CLASSIC organizers and participants have a cozy relationship with their host city, Solvang, CA. Allocated just one street in the heart of The Danish Capital of America, 75 vintage Datsun roadsters, sedans, coupes, trucks and Zs performed an early morning ballet of parking precision as they snugged-into their assi...

CARS & COWBOYS’ BENEFIT FOR MEALS ON WHEELS.

Posted on October 7, 2022October 7, 2022 by MartynL

Jim Palam moseys over to the Red River Ranch in Los Olivos, CA, and rustles up some tasty images from the CARS & COWBOYS’ BENEFIT FOR MEALS ON WHEELS. There are over 31,000 residents in the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley, which includes the communities of Solvang, Buellton, Ballard, Santa Ynez and Los Olivos. It is also home to the Santa Ynez Chumash Indians' reservation and casino. If you're out and about in the Valley you will inevitably encounter winemakers, farmers, equestrians, gambler...

12TH ANNUAL QUAIL MOTORCYCLE GATHERING

Posted on May 23, 2022May 23, 2022 by MartynL

We asked CGC West Coast contributor Jim Palam to scoot up to the Quail Lodge & Golf Club in Carmel, CA and bring back a special two-wheel report for the 12TH ANNUAL QUAIL MOTORCYCLE GATHERING, the return of two-wheel splendor to the grass of Carmel Valley. Mission accomplished! It was Friday-the-13th when I drove past Valhalla Drive in Solvang. I was on my way North to cover the 12TH ANNUAL QUAIL MOTORCYCLE GATHERING in Carmel, after the show was put on-hold for a two-year hiatus th...

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’: CENTRAL COAST WHEELING WEEKEND

Posted on October 27, 2021October 28, 2021 by MartynL

Who doesn't love a special deal? Perhaps it's CGC’s Jim Palam's years in advertising that was behind his idea to give our readers two-reports-in-one, combining two of the Central Coast's popular car shows – The Solvang Fall Classic & The Montecito Motor Classic – into one feature. It’s a great idea, so here's CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’: CENTRAL COAST WHEELING WEEKEND. Covid changed the 2020 Car Show scene significantly – pretty much eliminating many if not all of the popular gatherings not only in...

ELKS LODGE 613: GROOVIN’ IN THE GROVE

Posted on August 1, 2021August 3, 2021 by MartynL

This annual gathering of car enthusiasts - ELKS LODGE 613: GROOVIN' IN THE GROVE - reaps big rewards for Santa Barbara area veterans and their families. CGC's Jim Palam brought his support and camera to capture some of the good things that can happen when Car Guys with a Cause gather in The Grove! The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was founded in New York City in 1868. Part of their stated mission is "To inculcate the principles of Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love and Fidelity – and to...

MENDENHALL: CARS, GAS PUMPS & PETROLIANA MUSEUM

Posted on June 18, 2021June 18, 2021 by MartynL

CarGuyChronicles’ Jim Palam pulls in to the MENDENHALL: CARS, GAS PUMPS & PETROLIANA MUSEUM to fill-up with American petroleum industry history and an eyeful of colorful signage and cars from a bygone era. Sitting at a window table at Ellen's Pancake House I could see the large neon and red Pegasus rising up above the tall wooden perimeter fence surrounding the Mendenhall Museum – located just across Avenue of the Flags from the eatery in Buellton, CA. Over the years I had picked up a ...

HOT RODS & CUSTOMS: CRUISIN’ ANGELO’S

Posted on September 10, 2020September 10, 2020 by MartynL

Pat Ganahl digs into his archives and retrieves memories of living in Anaheim in the late-1970s, early-1980s and shooting HOT RODS & CUSTOMS: CRUISIN’ ANGELO’S for So-Cal mags. I think it was one of my Instagram readers who mentioned recently that a photo reminded him of cruising Angelo’s on State College in Anaheim. I hadn’t thought about that in quite a while. But we lived in Anaheim from 1977 to 1984 – in fact son Bill was born there – and Angelo’s was just a little more than a m...

SHOWTIME: BENT AXLES STREET RODS!

Posted on July 26, 2019July 26, 2019 by MartynL

Car Guy Chronicle’s Jim Palam fights an urge to swerve to the vineyards and instead, uncorks a tasty car show report from Old Town Orcutt, CA. SHOWTIME: BENT AXLES STREET RODS! I’m going to give it to you straight: As I headed North from Solvang to Orcutt, CA on the 101, my thoughts were less about street rods and more about the ribbons of grape vines carpeting the rolling hills East and West of the freeway. It was Saturday, sunny and seventy degrees. Man, I could exit the freeway right now and ...

SHOWTIME: RODS AND ROSES 2019!

Posted on July 5, 2019 by MartynL

Thousands of people attended the 22nd annual hot rod, custom and specialty car show in Carpinteria, CA, including our intrepid photojournalist, Jim Palam, who managed to smell the roses while capturing the essence of the car culture. Summer is the time that car shows are in full-bloom all over America. Experienced Car Guys have an uncanny ability to sniff-out the best local shows by following the residual scent of high-octane fuel – left behind when pedals hit the metal. Ahh, but in seaside Car...

2019 QUAIL MOTORCYCLE GATHERING: UNWRAPPED!

Posted on May 13, 2019May 21, 2019 by MartynL

They say four wheels move the body; two wheels move the soul. Now in its 11th year, The Quail Motorcycle Gathering proved once again to be a vital force that attracts passionate motorcycle enthusiasts from around the world, to the emerald lawns of Quail Lodge & Golf Club in Carmel, CA. They come to celebrate the history, the beauty, the power and the future of all things two-wheels. To unwrap the essence of this annual gathering I arrived a day early to explore & learn as the exhibitors ...