For my family, it is tradition that we drive from our home in Connecticut to visit my in-laws in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Apart from the Amish, Lancaster offers beautiful countryside, good driving roads, and some eclectic independent garages that I like to visit. 

Royal Motorworks

I first learned of this place when I was in college years ago. Royal specializes in the Citroen SM, a French GT car powered by a Maserati V-6. I was lucky to have been able to test drive a restored SM. Driving this car is like learning how to drive all over again for the first ten minutes, but once you get used to it, the SM is impressive, if not more than a little weird. For those who are interested, Royal has an E-Bay store.

Mike Shaffer Auto

Three Mile Island is just a few minutes down the road from this Subaru specialist. Sure, he has Foresters, Legacy’s and Impreza’s for sale, but who cares about that? Before Subaru finally came to their senses and gave us the WRX, they had some interesting ideas as to what a “sporty car” was…

Who can forget the XT? For some inexplicable reason, Subaru drew inspiration from the wedge-shaped Triumph TR-7-the car that killed Triumph. Pictured here is the top-of-the-line XT6, in its six-cylinder, all-wheel drive glory. 

After the XT came the SVX-a larger, heavier, but far sleeker coupe. The SVX was a better car in every conceivable way, but never sold well. At the time, Subaru was so strapped for cash they did not have the money to develop a manual transmission for the car, so it was a tough sell for the enthusiasts who might have otherwise been interested.

I was more than a little upset that no Subaru Brats were on the lot.

European Imports

Inside this unassuming garage are a handful of restored British sports cars. Outside, you have the cars waiting to be saved. 

A foursome of Series III Jaguar XJ-6’s waiting to be rescued.

A Porsche 914 waiting for restoration. Long unloved by Porsche purists, some speculate that the Boxster/Cayman has helped boost 914 values. Whatever the case, a 914 is an incredible track car, and easily accepts 911 engines and suspension for truly wicked levels of performance.

A Jaguar 420 in need of some attention. The 420 preceded the XJ-6. 

On that note, I left these old hulks behind to enjoy carving up a few more miles of country roads in my faithful family hauler, my Civic Si 4-door before finally sitting down to some turkey with my family.