Czech Fifth Columnists Invade France and Italy

6 November 2011, Los Angeles, California (Sent to TW by Dydia DeLyser)

On a rare, rainy Sunday in Los Angeles a group of three Tatras arrived at the “Best of France and Italy” car show, transforming what is locally known as the “Frog and Pizza Show” into the “Frog, Pizza, and Knedlick Show.”

Present when the sun came out were a 1941 T87 (owned by Dydia DeLyser and Paul Greenstein), a 1950 T600 (black, with immaculate original upholstery; owned by Justin Pinchot) and a 1951 Skoda-built white T600 (with Volkswagen engine swap; owned by David Russell).

Unfortunately, the inclement weather kept three other Tatras away: a 1970 603 broke down on the way to the show, while two others (a T87 and a T600) preferred to stay dry.

While not an overwhelming turnout by European standards, these cars, very rare in the USA, represented the largest ever meeting of Tatras from different owners in the western United States.

The “Best of France and Italy” show is notoriously exclusionary, with a sign posted at the entry reading, “French and Italian cars ONLY” but the Tatras were a welcome and popular exception.