Westlake Garage Tour
A Sunday morning tour of some of the finest garages in Los Angeles with new surprises behind each door.
One of the many benefits of being a member of the Checkered Flag 200 is access to some of the world’s most passionate collectors and, occasionally, to their garages. In early December, a handful of generous members opened their doors and welcomed in the CF200. They enjoyed the company of friends, gourmet food and drinks, and a feast for the eyes in the form of dozens of the world’s finest automobiles.
Before visiting the first garage, many members decided to make a stop at the Motors 4 Toys car show in Woodland Hills. The show drew hundreds of cars and thousands of spectators, many of whom donated toys which went to children in need over the holiday season. It was perhaps the most diverse in Southern California, with everything from classics to muscle cars, trucks, supercars, modified German and Japanese cars, lowriders, and even a GM Futurliner bus. The event was a massive success with tens of thousands of toys donated and a morning of fun for everyone involved.
After Motors 4 Toys, members drove up the 101 to visit Charles Bronson’s Boulevard Motorcars. The unassuming shop is a treasure trove of rare and beautiful automobiles in various states of repair. Some new additions were clearly in the “strip down” phase of their restoration, while others could win on any concours lawn at a moments notice. An Alfa Romeo 6C drew a crowd, mostly because of its elegant lines and concours-quality restoration, but being next to a table full of hors d’oeuvres certainly helped as well. A Maserati 450S with an exposed engine bay also drew a crowd of curious tinkerers, taking advantage of the rare opportunity to inspect its straight-6 up close. Friends reunited in the parking lot which turned into an attraction all its own. Mercedes 300 SLs, a Ferrari 330 GTS, a DeLorean, a few Porsche 911 GT3 RSs, and a Ferrari F12 were among the tastefully chosen cars outside.
From Boulevard Motorcars a parade of classic and sports cars made their way down the road to yet another unassuming building, this time with not one, but over a dozen individual garages. Finish Line is a car storage facility with a twist. Each garage is customized by its owner to reflect their personal taste and collection. The all-white floors of Michael Leventhal’s garage make his Rosso Corsa Ferraris pop while the aviation theme in Bruce Milner’s garage matches his sleek 1964 ATS 2500 GTS. Bouncing from one garage to the next, they were excited to find out what was behind each new door. A Ferrari F40, a ’67 Mustang GT500, a Lamborghini Diablo, even a Renault Turbo 5… you don’t see those on this side of the Atlantic very often. Outside, food trucks served lunch while Michael Malamut and company played music live on stage. Inside of the Malamut garage a row of vintage 911s faced off against some classic Japanese cars, including a 2000GT and a 240Z. We owe our thanks to Rick and Tony Principe for helping to organize the event, and the many collectors who opened their garages to welcome CF200 members in.
The Westlake Village Garage tour was yet another remarkable morning, owing to the generosity of all of the CF200 members and collectors involved. When the CF200 gets together, its about the people as much as the cars— the Westlake Village Garage Tour was a wonderful reunion of both. With many more similar events planned in the coming months, it’s never too late to get involved and join in at the next garage down the road.
