Valet confessions: What they really think of your shiny car

Ferrari:
"Ferrari guys are the only ones who say, 'Why did you put my car in the back?'" says top valet Bruno at West Hollywood's Ink restaurant. "Always Ferrari owners are cautious and overprotective—they ask me for their car to be in front. Ferraris are a dime a dozen here." However, Bruno adds that special models, such as the Enzos and F40s he has parked, do qualify as crowd-drawing exotics and usually get the front spot, regardless of the owner's demeanor that day.

Lamborghini:
If you ask valet managers Alfredo and Martin at top steak-and-seafood vendor Prime One Twelve in Miami, Lamborghinis are just part of the culture of Miami's top eateries. South Beach models, as well as resident sports superstars and movie stars, use Lamborghinis as their daily drivers here, turning every mundane trip into a scene.

Maserati:
"Sometimes it's just any regular car, depending on space. There's been a Maserati up there; the guest wants them to be there," says a BellyQ bartender on W. Randolph Street just west of Chicago's Loop, a trendy, restaurant-packed strip that's often the place to be seen at on weekends, as well as after hours on workdays. Although Chicago's climate and Midwest culture has kept exotics away in the past, the booming economy and plethora of exotic-car dealers and exotic-car rental services make the city uniquely showy.

Rolls-Royce:
In Dallas they know their Rolls-Royces, according to Oak's valet: "We get one every weekend. Last week there was a 2009, nothing special, but it had suicide doors, and people got excited about it." To be fair, the Oak valet also said that the top parking spot doesn't depend on the brand of car, but more on the needs of regular customers, no matter what they drive. "If it's an elderly couple, I'll keep their car up front. One gentleman asked to park his '64 Rolls-Royce himself. I didn't drive it. Definitely people came by to look and said how nice it was."

Tesla Model S:
"What always gets looks is the new Tesla. It's different, and nobody really knows what it is. We're starting to get quite a few of those," says B.J., a valet at Fearing's Restaurant in Dallas who has parked a lot of exotics, especially on weekends, he adds.

Shelby Mustang GT350:
A 29-year-old woman brought a clean Shelby Mustang 350 to West Hollywood's Ink and paid $100 to replace the Ferrari 360 that was parked in the top spot in front of the restaurant on busy Melrose Avenue, valet Bruno says.

Range Rover:
In the eatery-crowded design district of Dallas, modern cuisine also seems to attract modern trucks and SUVs, notably Land Rover's Range Rover, according to one valet at FT33: "There are always high-end cars out there, Ferraris, Porsches, and Range Rovers, too." Remember, one-third of all Suburbans built are sold in Texas, where folks actually use their trucks, so the move to Range Rovers for status is a trend unlike that in the Northeast.

Honda Pilot:
"Usually regulars come every day," says Rosewood Mansion valet Robert. "Some people really want to be parked up front, and we can't put a million-dollar car where it will be scratched, but we don't really need to show off. I just parked a Honda Pilot and a Bentley there a few minutes ago. If the Honda came in every day, we'd treat it the same as the Bentley."

Bentley:
Most of the top restaurant valets assure us that any Bentley will be parked in the prized front spot, and it's likely because of the rapport the valets develop with the cars' owners. Robert at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek tells PopMech that one of their valets has a Ph.D., and two have master's degrees, so they know how to carry on a conversation with a Bentley driver. "We also change a lot of flat tires and do other stuff, too, like wash cars. You name it, we've done it." Polling all of the valets, we found that these days they're just as likely to park a Bentley in the front spot as a Ferrari.

1969 Chevrolet Chevelle:
The newest and most ostentatious cars typically gets top billing at West Hollywood's Ink, but Bruno once parked a customer's '69 Chevelle there for most of a night. "This is a part of history," says Bruno, who spent much of the night explaining the car to Ferrari and Lamborghini owners.

Cadillac:
Parking is not usually a problem along the partially residential Oak Lawn Avenue in Dallas's trendy design district, where Oak restaurant features innovative meat dishes, outdoor dining, and 10 highly visible parking spots to show off customers' cars. "I had a lady come in with a Cadillac DeVille, nothing special, but she was sure happy with it, so I put it up front," recalls Oak's valet.

Porsche:
The valets only occasionally counted Porsches as exotics, and then only the GT3 and higher models of the 911. That's not surprising, considering that the prices of early Boxsters are down to near $10,000, and new Boxsters can be rented on both coasts for about $350 a day--which puts the Porsche status club in reach of the unwashed masses. FT33 in Dallas, known for new American cuisine, still considers Porsches to be as "high-end as Range Rovers and Ferraris."

Nissan Altima:
"The Ferrari guys are always the most particular about where their car is parked and if it's going to be taken care of," says Bruno, top parker at Ink in West Hollywood. "And they don't tip that well. Guys in Nissan Altimas tip better to get their car up front."

BMW:
"Yeah, I do see a lot of high-end BMWs," says the valet at the Spoon Bar & Kitchen in Dallas. Top chef John Tesar draws seafoodies to this university neighborhood, which rarely gets the exotic-car crowd. Instead, his customers tend to prefer sensible BMWs over Lamborghinis. But not too sensible, he adds. "We don't get a lot of Camrys."

Mercedes-Benz, Including the 1967 SL Roadster:
One of Ink valet Bruno's favorite cars is a 1967 Mercedes-Benz SL, which he has driven and parked often in the top space for a regular customer. "A Ferrari guy was going to give me a 10 and then gave me a 20 to put his car where the 1967 SL convertible was parked," relates Bruno. "Only Ferrari guys do this." More modern Mercedes models regularly turn up in the top parking spots, many of the valets we interviewed say.

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