Edouard Lagache posed in front of his dad’s 1965 Buick Deluxe Special Station Wagon when he was 7 years old at his family’s home on Ivy Drive. He has kept the car (and the home, now a rental) all these years, restoring the Buick and adding a more high-powered engine. He recently posed again at his former home with his much-loved automobile.
Craig Lazzareschi and Edouard Lagache inherited their fathers’ passion for classics. Both men plan to participate in the 15th Orinda Classic Car Show weekend. Lazzareschi is showing his 2019 Porsche GT3 while Legache shares his 1965 Buick Deluxe Special Station Wagon.
Lazzareschi and Lagache say they are excited to share their classic cars. Like many car owners at the show, Lazzareschi enjoys “letting those passionate about cars enjoy the gifts that I’ve been given — sharing them with others helps me put cars in their proper perspective.”
Lazzareschi says his “love affair with cars” began in his early teens. He acquired his first Porsche in 1967 but sold it to attend law school while raising his family. Once his children were out of college, he says his passion was reignited. He has owned (and restored) some 25 Porsches since 1996.
Lagache’s family purchased the station wagon in 1968. “It was very much the center of family life and was treated as such,” he says.
His French father dubbed the car Biquette (roughly translated to billy goat). “This wagon has come back from a lot of adversity and is once more a cherished family heirloom,” Lagache says.
Biquette’s life story, beginning with birth on a Fremont assembly line, can be found on a blog (www.canebas.org/Biquette) Lagache maintains. It details the car’s every major life event, including going on family vacations, getting stolen, being in accidents and, of course, being repaired.
When Biquette had engine trouble, the family chose to rebuild the engine. “In the end Biquette ended up with a Buick heart just as Dad wanted all along. Biquette definitely shows that some station wagons are genuine survivors.”
“There is a lot of nostalgia with these old cars but perhaps people should reflect more on what they are nostalgic about,” says Lagache. “Today people treat their cars much more like disposable items and fail to realize how such shallowness permeates their lives. If you take good care of your car you are likely to take good care of the people in your life as well.”
Lagache and Lazzareschi say they became involved with the show when they experienced the expertise and passion of the owners and mechanics at Orinda Motors. All upgrades to Biquette at Orinda Motors are performed “true to Biquette’s lineage. She was a Buick and needed to be respected as such,” Lagache says.
In 2005 Orinda resident Chip Herman and John Vanek, backed by Orinda Motors, partnered to start the Orinda Classic Car Show as a way to bring together the local classic car community and to raise money for local charities. Over the past 14 years, more than $600,000 has been raised.
This year, The Orinda Association has taken over organizing the show, with board members Diane Lautz and Bill Waterman as co-chairs. The rest of the committe includes Vanek and Allen Pennebaker of Orinda Motors, Mike Robinson, Bill Criswell, Kate Wiley (of the Orinda Association board) and David
Alvarado.
The 2-day event, Orinda’s largest community-wide fundraiser, begins with a dinner at the Art and Garden Center at Wilder at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 6. It will feature a display of iconic autos from decades past, dinner, drinks, music, and silent and live auctions. Tickets are $130 per person or $1,000 for a table of
eight.
The car show is 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 7 at Orinda Village at Orinda Motors (63 Orinda Way).The event features a special exhibit of classic Porsches and a second special exhibit of classic station wagons. The show is free but those who make a $10 donation have an opportunity to ride in one of the cars.
For more information or to enter your classic vehicle in the event, go to www.orindacarshow.com.
