Every other weekend, our local coffee shop clears out the parking lot for one morning and invites a very different clientele: supercar owners.

Informal gatherings like this for owners of rare or interesting cars happen across the country every week.

Frequently called Cars and Coffee, it is a chance for car guys (and gals) to lose the formality of shows that are full of pristine machinery that arrived on a flatbed or in a trailer. Instead, they can enjoy a cup of coffee, some good conversation, and a great morning drive in their exotics.

Every car that is at our local gathering in Chatham, NJ, Cars and Croissants, was driven there under its own power; no garage queens here. Over the last six months we have attended a few shows and seen everything from turbocharged Mazda Miatas to Spyker C8s.

While it was chilly, we got out for one last show this past weekend and were incredibly impressed. Around 70 cars attended since it might be the last time to stretch their legs this year.