Car spotting on the streets of LA

Automobiles have always served as more than a means of transportation. Cars have, for many people, become an extension of their personality and a projection of who they are or (more often than not) who they want to be. In few places is this more apparent than in Los Angeles, CA, one of the greatest hotbeds for car culture and the 'you are what you drive' capitol of the world. This is especially true in the image conscious city of Beverly Hills, the home of many of LA's well to do.

As I have mentioned before, I was recently in LA and in paparazzi like style, I kept my camera out to capture the local motoring scenery. For those looking to catch a glimpse of the cars of motoring days gone by, you will be disappointed. New and expensive is the name of the game, and the more ostentatious the better. A few older cars were see humming about, including a mid-80's Porsche 930 Slantnose and a Shelby Cobra (although that could very well, and probably was, a newer version of the original, not a genuine 1960's Cobra), but for the most part, newer Italian, British, and German metal was what people flaunted.

While I was not surprised by any of this, I had seen it before on prior visits, it is always fun to revisit the area and see it all again. After a while, about 10 minutes, you get jaded to the point where a mere BMW or Mercedes-Benz won't pass for anything more thrilling than a Toyota Camry and only a Ferrari, Lamborghini, or Rolls-Royce will do. And when you think about it, it goes to show that people there are willing to pay a lot to project this image. A Rolls, Ferrari, or Lambo costs about $10 a mile to drive (maintenance and depreciation costs being the bulk of it) and even a run of the mill BMW runs about $0.65 a mile. Alas, in the words of Max Bialystock, "if you've got it, baby, flaunt it!"