By MADDY VITALE
The red carpet is typically reserved for VIPs from actors to other notable people.
But on Saturday, the “red carpet” that led into the Ocean City Tabernacle grounds was reserved for high-end cars. Around 200 of them lined the grounds. Porsches, Lamborghinis, Ferraris, a Rolls Royce, Mercedes were just some of the autos on display for car lovers to ogle.
A crowd favorite was a black, gleaming Bugatti, which can cost up to $3 million-plus. Ropes kept attendees from touching the piece of automotive art.
Attendees to the free “Cars and Coffee” event, which ran from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., saw vintage cars from as early as the 1920s up to new models.
Graham Palusky, 36, of Ocean City, brought his 3-year-old daughter, Soleil, to the car show to look around.
He owns a Porsche 911 turbo and a 1996 Mitsubishi Eagle Talon.
“I think next year, I might bring one of my cars to the show,” he said. “I like the ’90s cars. So we got here a little bit late, but I really liked the black Mazda RX-7,” Palusky said. “I think it was from 1994. This is nostalgic to me. It brings back memories of the ’90s cars.”
The Gabriel family, Matthew, Colette, Juliette and Sam, have been hosting the event/fundraiser for nine years.
“We try to bring a variety of vehicles. We have two speed boats, fire trucks, all the Jeeps, old cars, new cars, all kinds of stuff,” Matthew Gabriel said in an interview at the end of the show. “We filled the lot. I think we had about 200 cars today from the 1920s up to brand new. We have a little bit of everything.”
Bernie Walker, of Ocean City, and his daughter, Jen Rando, of Philadelphia, stopped to see the 1980s DeLorean, which looked like the one in the 1984 movie, “Back to the Future.”
Rando said that they initially walked over to see the Tesla Cybertruck.
“Then we saw the DeLorean and it is more interesting to us than that truck,” Rando said with a laugh.
Then she remarked how pristine all of the cars were in the show.
“I just can’t believe how clean these cars are,” Rando said. “I have kids, and I have a kid car.”
Another car buff, Danielle Bloom, of Longport, said, “Car shows are amazing to get together with friends and see other people’s cars and a great opportunity to check things out and see other people’s cars.”
Bloom’s daughter, Alex Bloom, 18, of Miami, Fla., stood alongside her electric blue, 2023 Lamborghini Urus.
“I did my research. I love the backstory about the creator, Ferruccio Lamborghini,” she said of his hard work. “I think it is beautiful. I love the blue. It is very fresh and bright. It is a free spirit car.”
Matthew Gabriel noted that this year, some of the donations raised will go to the Ocean City Tabernacle.
The fundraiser also will benefit the HERO Campaign. Bill Elliott and his wife, Muriel, started the campaign two decades ago in memory of their son, Navy Ensign John Elliott, who was killed by a drunken driver in Salem County, N.J., in 2000. The goal of the nonprofit is to stress the importance of having a designated driver.
“The HERO Campaign is a big part of us,” Gabriel said, noting that each year the car show donates to the campaign. “And the Tabernacle is obviously. We try and help the community as much as we can.”
He noted that all of Saturday’s T-shirt sales at the car show and other money raised go “right back to the community.”
