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What happens if I don’t like coffee, maybe I like tea…

Within a typical the car cruise there is a plethora of personalities, ages, backgrounds and one would hope, cars. However if you’ve been going to these events as long as I have you’ll notice the segregation of car types and find that muscle car guys tend to hang with muscle car guys, imports with imports, trucks with trucks and so on. If you’ve been listening to the podcast for any amount of time you’ll know that I love all cars and really enjoy a good mix. Within the past decade the phenomenon of cars and coffee started, presumably in California, where a group of car enthusiast started meeting in the mornings. No matter what the make or model, as long as you drove or rode it there you were admitted. Awesome, until like many things in our society it was ruined as it grew in size.

The cool homebuilt vehicles were swapped out for high dollar exotics given preferential parking and it soon turned into a “who has the most money” show that had no room for the typical import and domestic cars. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good Lambo or Ferrari but I also want to see one of these next to a hotrodded Ford Lightning or drift 240sx. Enter in Angelo and his vision to host a car cruise event that would get back to the roots of cruise culture and allow for $250K Ferraris to be parked next to $10K patina trucks. Angelo started Steel City Cars N’at, “N’at” being a great Pittsburgh term, a bi-monthly car cruise that doesn’t want to be called a cars and coffee but rather just a gathering of like minded people who enjoy anything with two or four wheels. Angelo said it best, “Everybody has their passion, everybody has a car that they really really like…you might be into 4 cylinders you might be into V8s, as long as you’re passionate about it and really love the car for what it is, that’s what matters.”

It all started with the predecessor show named South Hills Cars and Coffee in the parking lot of friend of the show James Bendel’s Crazy Horse Coffee. Fantastic cruise location until it got too big and had to move to another location. Because of insurance and the amount of money needed to rent the spot the cruise dissolved and alas the south Pittsburgh car enthusiast had no cruise to attend. Angelo talked with the gentleman that started the South Hills cruise and decided he wanted to take a shot at hosting the event.

There is a lot of work that goes into running a show and people don’t necessarily see the back end of it. In todays world you cannot just show up to a parking lot with a bunch of random cars and post up. The amount of money and time needed to host a successful event is not the best business model. However, Angelo being passionate about cars and having the means and business acumen to start up this type of event, felt it his duty to bring back a south Pittsburgh event. First Angelo had to find a location and through the Southpointe Chamber of Commerce he found Horizon Properties who allowed Angelo the opportunity to host behind the Main Street. Angelo then formed an LLC that would allow for some of the initial expense and protection to be covered. Before a car was ever parked or a social media post announcing the event was ever sent, Angelo was into the project for over $1,000. The cruise next needed a name and Angelo’s story of how he came up with it is awesome and you’ll have to listen to the podcast for that story and makes a great point for not calling it coffee and cars, “what happens if I want a beer at 9am? Or what happens if I don’t like coffee, maybe I like tea?”

With all of the insurance and legal items in place it was show time and like anyone who has ever thrown a big party, you hope to God people show up. With that in mind Angelo had his wife on standby just in case he needed to bring his 6 cars to the show to ensure the lot looked a little more full! Fortunately the first show had a great turn out and now with 4-5 shows under his belt, including an evening parking garage show, looks to be a staple in the car community in the southern Pittsburgh area. Angelo’s final goal is to host an awesome show where all cars can come together and appreciate this hobby we all love.

Angelo started his car addiction in a $400 1991 Honda Accord 2 door 5-speed manual, try finding a clean one of those these days! This particular gem was found in the penny saver, the only way to search for a car before the internet, and on first start up in the owners driveway filled the air with smoke. However, Angelo knew this was the car for him. “It had so many holes it in, it was unbelievable,” and knowing this wouldn’t pass inspection filled all the holes in with spray insulation then cover in sheet metal and spray painted black to match the original color. Needless to say Angelo wasn’t a body man at the time and describes the repairs as, “looked like someone had melted plastic down the side.” But that’s what this show is about, driving cool stuff that YOU the listener like even if its not a $100K Porsche. Through working on that Accord Angelo got an introductory education in the mechanics of a car. Angelo tells two fantastic stories on the podcast that includes the fire department being accidentally called and the other using the steering wheel as an ignition device! Angelo has since moved on from the Accord however those memories will be forever engrained in his head and rival any experiences he has in his current collection.

The next most memorable car , which happens to be the car he traded the Accord in for, is one that he still holds near and dear to his heart. A car that he will never sell and will most likely be buried with, a 2008 Mitsubishi Evo X GSR. He was inspired by an article he saw in a doctors office featuring a blue Evo X coming out of an apex and fell in love. He bought it brand new and has babied it only driving it in the summer and showing 29000 miles on the odometer, the car looks brand new. Simple power add ons like intake, intercooler, exhaust with a conservative tune make this thing a 14 year old time capsule. Being his favorite car this one will continue to live a babied life and a remembrance of Angelo’s youth.

Outside of the Evo, Angelo now has a great collection of cars many clustered between 2008 - 2010. The jewel of the group is a 2009 GTR with 12,000 miles with custom touches both under the hood and on the outside and no doubt a legendary car that will forever be cool. It is the car that got him thinking about starting Steel City Cars N’at and one that he enjoys talking about wherever he stops. Next to the GTR sits a mint 2009 E90 M3 that after a few swings and misses bought this one locally that popped up on the internet on Christmas Eve. With the flashbacks of other M3s being sold before he could make a decision he decided to go out and be the first on the lot the day after Christmas. As soon as he started the car in the showroom he knew it was his.

The Audi TT is his wife’s car and at one time had a matching black one that they would cruise around in. This one was found down in Florida and after the long trip to Pittsburgh was found to have various problems that were fixed under warranty. Great piece of advice that Angelo gives is, drive the car home from the dealership no matter how far. This will give it time for any weak parts to fail which will be covered on any extended or warranties bought from the dealership. The Fiat Abarth is the one that puts the biggest smile on Angelo’s face. While its not the fastest car in the group but it is the most practical and one of the most fun to drive. “You can row through all 6 gears at full throttle and only be going 80.” The 2004 Ford F250 is the sweetheart of the collection and with only 79000 miles he absolutely stole this truck at a $17000 sold price. The inside looks like it came off the showroom floor and with the extensive work on the suspension and breaks this Ford will last a lifetime.

By day Angelo is a risk manager for a bank that ensures peoples money is safe. He explains that its an audit type of function and like all of us cars are just a hobby. His wife does the same thing and has a son that are all also into cars. Similar to me, he loves his job but missed his calling working in the car industry.

Huge thank you to Angelo for taking the time to walk me through his collection of cars and talking his passion project Steel City Cars N’at. You can find Angelo on insta @steelcitycarsnat on Facebook Steel City Cars N’at. Better yet, go visit his car show in Southpointe, he more than likely will be there with something cool talking cars with everyone. Big thank you to his wife for allowing us a few hours to talk cars and be “tolerant,” of Angelos passion.