For avid auto enthusiast Bill Ceno, every car has a story to tell

Ask Bill Ceno about his car collection, and he'd be happy to regale you with each car's technical specifications: when it was built, how fast it can go from zero to 60 mph, things like that.

A longtime engineer, Ceno has always had a knack for the technical side of things, so talking about cars comes easy. But as much as he would love to talk your ear off with a litany of car facts, there's something else he loves to do even more: tell the story behind each car.

He once had a group of car enthusiasts over for what was supposed to be an hourlong tour of his garage, but they stayed for four hours to hear Ceno tell his stories.

"I love all these cars," said the 65-year-old Ceno, who on a recent Tuesday morning had 13 cars in the garage of his Rancho Santa Fe home. "But the best part of owning them is actually the stories. … Sometimes you forget about the car, but you'll never forget the story, and I have great stories to tell about all these cars."

That's exactly what he'll be doing next weekend when he once again participates in the annual La Jolla Concours d'Elegance, a three-day celebration of all things automotive that this year is marking its 20th anniversary.

This year's theme is "Icons of Speed," and that is right up Ceno's alley since his car collection consists of what he calls "supercars" - machinery known for speed and endurance. He currently owns 18 - Ferraris, Porsches and his favorite, a silver 1961 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster that can reach speeds of up to 130 mph.

As a collector, Ceno says "it's not so much about the car, it's about the people and the story behind it."

The 300SL Roadster? There's a story behind that, of course. After buying it, "I wanted to find out the original owner of the car,” Ceno says. “So we did a lot of research, and it turned out the original owner lived in Long Island, where I was raised, in a town called Glen Cove, where my wife was born. I couldn't believe it. What were the chances?"

"So we went there, and we found the guy. He had a Mercedes shop in the '60s behind his house. The Mercedes shop was still there behind his house. The original owner, the dad, passed away, but the kid was still there, probably close to my age. I walk in, and he’s working on cars. He sees me and says, ‘Can I help you?' I said, ‘I just want to let you know I bought your old Mercedes.'"

Perhaps it's the back stories or perhaps even the thrill of the hunt, but Ceno's face lights up when he's talking about cars.

Take the white 1973 Porsche Carrera RS in the corner, for example. Two years ago, while Ceno's 92-year-old mother was checking out the garage, she asked him why he kept on "buying the same car."

The "same car" she was referring to was the row of cherry-red Ferraris parked along one side of Ceno's massive and meticulously clean garage. They were not the same car, Ceno admits, but they were all red, specifically the Ferrari "rosso corsa" or "racing red."

After surveying the red cars, she turns around and spots the white car in the corner, the 1973 Porsche Carrera RS.

"I bought that car, but I didn't really know why I liked it. There was just something in my brain that clicked," recalls Ceno, adding that it goes from zero to 60 in 5.5 seconds, "which is really fast in 1973."

His mother, walking over for a closer look, says: "Oh, you know, that’s funny, that’s the car you and your dad built when you were probably 12 years old on the kitchen table.' That’s why I like this car, and I totally forgot!"

Ceno walks around his garage, sharing story after story about each car.

The red 2003 Ferrari Enzo? It was originally owned by Nicolas Cage.

Two of the cars are not street-legal - they're meant to be raced at speeds of up to 200 mph. He and his wife take those cars up to the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Salinas.

Next weekend, Ceno will take two Ferraris to the La Jolla Concours d'Elegance: the 1995 F50 and the 1990 F40. The F40 has a story behind it, too.

Ceno was showing the F40 at one of the previous Concours d'Elegance events when "some guy comes up to me. He's riding his bike. He's kinda sweaty, and he's got a T-shirt on. He comes up, and he asks, ‘Is this your F40?' I thought to myself, ‘He knows what an F40 is. That's kind of cool.'"

The man said he has specially designed luggage that fits in the F40 storage space. He scribbled his phone number on a piece of paper and handed it to Ceno. At the time, what Ceno didn't realize was that the man was referring to a very rare bespoke leather luggage designed by the exclusive Italian design house Schedoni Modena, which specializes in handcrafted leather goods.

He shoved the piece of paper in his pocket and forgot about it. His wife later asked him if he ever called the man. He said he didn't. She nudged him to give the man a call. He did.

"Within 15 minutes, the man shows up at my front door with all this luggage, probably worth more than $100,000," Ceno recalls. He hands them over to Ceno, who asks, "How much?" The man says, "Nothing. You can just have it.”

Turns out, the man's brother used to own a lot of cars, and he ended up with all of this surplus luggage "just sitting around the house." He just wanted to give it to someone who'd appreciate it.

The man was Barry Moores. His brother who had the car collection? Former Padres owner John Moores.

Ceno finishes telling the story, his face still beaming. But wait, he has one more story to share, this one about his first car.

“My very first car, for those who may be interested, was a Ford Pinto. I actually had the fancy Mercury Bobcat version in 1976, which was a little bit more luxurious. I drove a Mercury Bobcat for a long time until the wheels basically fell off.”

2026 La Jolla Concours d'Elegance

• VIP Soiree, "Motorvault": 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, April 24, Ellen Browning Scripps Park, 1100 Coast Blvd. With food, cocktails, an exclusive preview of Concours collector automobiles, entertainment and a live auction. $449.

• Tour d‘Elegance: 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 25, beginning on Prospect Street. $595.

• Porsches & Power on Prospect: 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, April 25, on Prospect Street. With live music, retail and restaurant specials, gallery events and more. Free admission.

• Concours d'Elegance (main show): 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 26, Ellen Browning Scripps Park, 1100 Coast Blvd. $129 general admission.

Online:lajollaconcours.com

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This story was originally published April 19, 2026 at 5:33 AM.