Autocata

We spent this past Sunday running all over the Southland, joining other auto enthusiasts in collecting toys for needy kids. Our first stop was the 5th Annual Motor4Toys event up in the Valley, and then we stopped over at Gerhard and Rosemarie Schnuerer’s own Fifth Annual Charity Event and Antique Vehicle Show at their mini-museum in Huntington Beach. While the Motor4Toys event was the biggest toy drive we’ve ever been to, Gerhard’s party was equally special, just on a smaller scale.

Co-sponsored by Mercedes-Benz USA, it’s a great event that allows the public inside the Schnuerer’s impressive collection of classic European automobiles and motorcycles. Their concours-level inventory of vehicles include a 1918 Opel Dual Cowl Phaeton, an 1895 Benz Horseless Carriage Landaulet/Coupe, and a 1886 Benz Patent Motor-Wagen replica. Gerhard also happens to be a fan of newer Mercedes-Benzes, which helps explain the open and closed versions of the McLaren SLR out front, right beside the CLK63 Black Series that MBUSA brought along as a special auction offering. Follow the jump to read the rest of the story and don’t forget to check out our high-res gallery. [More]

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Despite the recession, more than 3,000 cars again gathered from all over the Southwest to collect toys and money to help needy children have a shot at happiness this holiday season. This year’s Motor4Toys event moved a few miles down the 101 to the Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield Campus in Woodland Hills allowing a little more elbow room for the thousands of people who showed. Guests who brought a toy donation were treated to one of the biggest and best car shows in the nation.

Along with a special gallery of supercars and Hollywood rides, whole rows were devoted to different makes so visitors could wander past a full line of Porsches, Ferraris, Corvettes, American Iron, Volkswagens, Lotuses, Cobras or just about anything else they might fancy. We saw at least four Carrera GTs, a couple of F40s, an SLR, Lusso, 275 GTB, Scuderia, 599 GTB, Ultima Can-Am, Mangusta, Jaguar XK140, Aston Martin DB2, and a whole lot more. And it seems a lot of people really like the matte black look. We saw the Rolls-Royce Phantom we recently told you about, along with a Porsche, Lotus, Gallardo and Vette done up all rat-rod like. Besides coming out to donate toys, the Southern California car clubs made this a typically great event by not only sharing their rides with the assembled crowd, but also by opening their pocketbooks to bid on a number of donated gifts in a combined online and live auction.

Last year’s record of 15,000 toys seemed like a tough act to follow, especially considering the global economic crisis, but the mountains of toys we saw at the site seemed to say otherwise. This five-year-old event is still the number one contributor of toys to charity causes annually, and it’s all done by car people. That makes it very near and dear to our hearts. Several law enforcement groups are involved in the proceedings as well, giving rides and vehicle demos as a thank you for all of the donations. It’s a huge undertaking but everyone just does what they can to make it happen. Many of the supplies and all of the labor are donated, and it’s never too late to do your part, too. If you’d like to donate to the cause, you can still do so through the Motor4Toys website. They should have more photos and videos up soon, but until then, check out our huge gallery of high-res pics by clicking any image. [More]

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