The best thing about my Wheels and Waves car show here in Malibu is the unique people who come and share their stories.

And although I look forward to each show, every now and then something truly cool appears.

The April 15 event brought a rather large car in my wife, Kathie’s favorite Malibu color. As I was handing out free coffee tickets, my eye spotted a gorgeous 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado in turquoise metallic.

Now, I haven’t seen one of these in many years and this was a treat, but even more so was the introduction to driver Colette Brooks. As Chief Executive Bitch of Bitchfix Chocolate, Brooks has spent her life as a uniquely creative person.

Bitchfix is an artisan chocolate company which delivers the tasty treat monthly to quell a woman’s hormonal swings. A strategically placed business model with a guaranteed captive audience. And 10 percent of all sales goes to spay and neuter rescue dogs. This was cool.

As we know, coolness attracts coolness, so it was no surprise that Brooks’ ride was this classic turq Toronado. And I got to work.

“This was Oldsmobile’s first-generation landmark personal luxury car,” began Brooks. “ … The Toro combined a 425 rocket V8 with a modified TH400 transmission (TH425) and a planetary differential.”

Whoa, this sounds like a spaceship!

“It’s all packaged in the engine bay, driving the front wheels,” she added. “The combination put out 385 horsepower and 475 pound-feet of torque.”

It was Motor Trend’s 1966 Car of the Year.

But wait, there’s more.

“The Toro featured the iconic vacuum actuated pop-up headlights, plus deluxe model features that included a Strato-seat with armrest which was posh in a luxury car of that period,” she explained. “Plus air conditioning, six-way seats and a power antennae.”

I’m pretty sure she’s describing the Jupiter 2 from “Lost in Space.”

And then Brooks’ story began.

“I bought the Toro in Santa Paula, California, in 2001 and completed the restoration in 2002,” Brooks said. “I have all service records, magazine spreads from 1966 and even the original bill of sale from 1966! After 17 years, I’ve decided to sell my beauty because I have horses that need to get ridden, and simply don’t have the time to get her out as often as she deserves.”

Sounds like a serious opportunity for someone!

“When I was 8 years old in 1966, my girlfriend’s father brought her to school in a brand new Toronado,” she said. “My jaw dropped when I saw it.”

The best part of the car?

“The lines of the Toro are so beautiful that it turns heads and spurs conversation whenever I’m behind the wheel,” she said. “So, the best part of owning and driving this car is the people I meet along the way.”

But more often than not, it elicits broad smiles and happy flashbacks accompanied by the comment “My dad or my uncle had a Toronado.”

“I also get unsolicited quips out of car windows (usually Porsches) ‘first front wheel drive car,’ to which I respond ‘wow, you know your cars,’ and then I punch it and leave them drooling in the dust (for about 2 seconds until they shift into second gear),” she said.

Yeah, that’s the deal, folks.

Brooks cruises on weekends and errands now and again here in the ’Bu.

“I’m actually getting more use out of her in the last six months while I’ve been waiting for my Tesla Model 3 to arrive,” she said. “In fact, the parallels between the Toro and the Tesla are staggering. Both feature breakthrough technology that turned the auto industry on its ear. I’m anxious to see them side by side in my garage.”

Cars have certainly come a long way, but the Toronado literally was a 1966 Tesla with all its innovation.

“Since my other cars have been biodiesel and electric for the past 14 years, I toyed with the notion of turning the Toro electric … for a minute,” Brooks said. “Then I decided that would be a travesty and, instead, remain faithful to the original design and technological innovation that was so ahead of its time. You’re welcome, world!”

And what does Brooks love about driving here in Malibu?

“Malibu, like the Toro is perfect for cruising,” she said. “On PCH, I get a lot of head turning, thumbs up and conversations with other car enthusiasts. On the winding roads of Malibu Canyon, Latigo and Kanan, I sit back and let her do her thing. Next to the Tesla, it’s probably as close to a self-driving car as it gets!”

I’m so grateful to have met Colette and have heard her stories. And now that you have, it’s clear why Malibu is the No. 1 town for cool cars on the planet. And it looks like Colette’s the queen.

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