by Pete Lyons

What if you put on a car show and lots of interesting ones come—such as a racy Ariel Atom, a pretty MG TC, a gleaming old Pierce-Arrow—but you refused to let them in?

There is such a perversely exclusive event. It's held every November at Woodley Park in Van Nuys, California, and this year, it kept out exactly those apparent crowd pleasers. Officials also shunned a Cobra, a Corvair Corsa convertible, several classic Minis, an Opel Ascona, a Porsche 356, a Triumph TR6, even a Rolls-Royce.

So what was left to make up a car show? Everything under the heading "Best of France and Italy," the show's name, and we mean everything. Not only were Bugatti, Citroën, Peugeot and Renault cars present, but there also were Alpine, Facel Vega, Matra and Talbot clasics. With the Alfas, Ferraris, Fiats, Lamborghinis and Maseratis stood a Dual Ghia, a Chrysler Ghia, a Qvale, some Isos and De Tomasos and an OSI 20M.

An OSI? This one turned out to be a 1967 German Ford Capri rebodied by Turin's Officine Stampaggi Industriali. "No one knows how many were built because of the bookkeeping of the Italians," said owner Vinton Rob Henry, laughing. "We don't even know who styled it."

Henry is exactly the kind of eccentricity enthusiast at whom this unique show is aimed. It's the creation of husband and wife Chuck Forward and Tina Van Curen, owners of Autobooks-aerobooks in nearby Burbank.

"We started out 12 years ago as an under-three-liter show, but Ferrari and Lambo guys wanted in," said Van Curen. From 65 cars the first year, entries now routinely top 400. Though the gaudy V12 GTs draw the same attention as they do anywhere, she emphasizes that this show is really more about obscure marques.

Not a concours, the unpretentious gathering has no judging and practically no schedule. There's no charge for the public, either, while entrants pay $15 for one car, $10 for a second and nothing for more. (For more details, visit www.franceanditaly.com.) Many owners bring everything mobile by enlisting family and friend—in one case this year, even an ex-wife.

That's the arrangement that let Bill Dickenson display both a Renault R5 Turbo and a Hailwood-model Ducati. For him, this event's allure is its "eclectic and relaxed atmosphere." Photographer Dave Gooley, an avowed Alfa nut, has brought as many as five of his 10. "Everybody loves this show, it's so low-key," he said. "It's showing the car that you drive. There's no program, no trophies... just come and hang out with other fun people."

Fun people such as Jay Leno, who chose a supercharged Bugatti 37A from his Big Dog Garage. "Everyone wants to see something they've never seen before, and every year I've seen two new ones," he declared. What were this year's? "A Renault Sport roadster and a Taunus roadster."

This writer's favorite: a wooden Michaux bicycle dating from the 1870s. Now that's something new.

Reproduced from AutoWeek, January 14, 2008,