Artist
Photo © 2024 Rex McAfee

Best car show of 2024: Macchinissima II

SoCal’s innovative celebration of Italian machinery

In the vast universe of Southern California car culture, the quest for a unique “car gathering” has become near impossible. When Bugatti Veyron and McLaren Senna sightings are commonplace at Saturday morning Cars & Coffee, how do you invent something worthy of attention? After attending the second iteration of Macchinissima, I was duly impressed, which is why it gets my #1 vote for 2024. A celebration of Italian machinery, read on as I share what was truly a refreshing experience.

 Artist
Photo © 2024 Rex McAfee

The vision

For years, Italian car enthusiasts Bronson Page and Mike Baum had been attending A-list car shows. Bronson explains, “We found Pebble and Quail too stodgy and commercial. So many events we attended were in boring locations, dusty parks, or hot parking lots. We knew we could do better.” Mike agreed: “Bronson and I had the idea for years about a different Italian car event that is more engaging. I have been going to car shows for over 20 years, and we felt that the usual formats are stale. We were missing a more curated experience, a younger audience, and just having a good party around the cars we love.”

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