The Valet Stand: Ferrari 456M GT

Welcome to The Valet Stand, where we look at some of the best cars I've found parked in front of the lobby at the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco. Today's feature is a Ferrari 456M GT, photographed in late winter 2011.

The 456 was a family car among Ferraris, a 4-seat grand tourer with a V12 in the front. The 456 enjoyed a long production run from 1992 to 2003. I've always seen it as a more relaxed Ferrari, available with either a six-speed manual or a four-speed automatic. Yes, a Ferrari available with a full automatic transmission. And that same Ferrari could do 188 mph so quit whining. Think about the fact that this was the last Ferrari ever to use pop-up headlights, a feature no longer available on anything. This is a 456M, the post-1998 refresh of the 456 line. Despite being made for another five years, only 1,338 456Ms were built, of which 688 were manual GTs and another 650 were automatic GTAs.

College Cars: 1933 Lincoln KB Custom Dietrich Convertible Sedan

This is College Cars, a recurring feature about the vehicles of the Academy of Art University car collection. Today we look at this 1933 Lincoln KB, a factory special-order convertible sedan bodied by Dietrich. Fifteen of these cars were built in 1933; only six survive today.

In the 1930s, Lincoln had a catalog that allowed its wealthy clientele to select custom bodies from a variety of coachbuilders. Among these was Dietrich. The KB featured a complex L-head V12 engine displacing 448 cubic inches, good for 150 horsepower.

The Valet Stand: Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG

Welcome to The Valet Stand, where we look at some of the best cars I've found parked in front of the lobby at the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco. This week's feature is a Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG (C216), a large luxury coupe with a 6.0 liter AMG twin-turbo V12 engine. This car stickered for roughly $200,000 new.

College Cars: 1948 Lincoln Continental

This is College Cars, a recurring feature about the Academy of Art University car collection. Today we look at this Regal Blue 1948 Lincoln Continental coupe.

The Continental began as a pet project of Edsel Ford in 1938 as an exercise mimicking European - or "Continental" styling cues, namely the long hood and short rear deck, with limited body decoration and a low profile. Bob Gregorie produced a prototype based on the Lincoln Zephyr that featured a spare tire on the rear (now known as a 'Continental kit') and deleted the running boards. Between the fenders the engineering team dropped in a V12 engine with a 3-speed manual overdrive transmission. The result went into production for the 1940 model year. It was a hit with the rich and famous and the '48 Continental is one of the last cars recognized as a "True Classic" by the Classic Car Club of America.

Photographed at the 2011 San Francisco International Auto Show.