DAY AT THE RACES II & FIRST SUNDAY DRIVE by Eva Gordon, Activities Director

Transcription

1 VOL. 50 NO. 4 SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA SECTION April 2012 BLACKHAWK MUSEUM TOUR OF AUTOMOTIVE TREASURES By Don Penney, Director at Large What: Blackhawk Automotive Museum Tour When: Saturday, May 19, 2012, 1:30 p.m. Where: 3700 Blackhawk Plaza Circle, Danville Cost: $15 per person We invite you to join your fellow club members at the Blackhawk Museum. The museum s automotive exhibition of International Automotive Treasures presents and displays historically significant and artistically inspired automobiles from the very earliest to the contemporary for public enjoyment and educational enrichment. Many of the cars are one-of-a-kind conceived by the world s leading designers and crafted by the most respected coach building artisans. The exhibition presents over 90 of these great cars as individual works of art. Many cars are on loan from Museum friends in many different parts of the world. In September 1988 the spectacular 70,000-square-foot architectural masterpiece showcasing these rolling sculptures in a unique jewel box setting became a reality. Cars frequently come to Blackhawk after they have been exhibited at the Pebble Beach Concours d Elegance each August to enjoy all year long. This concept keeps Blackhawk s exhibition diverse and ever-changing. The Museum is located at Blackhawk Plaza in Danville with an assortment of boutiques, galleries, restaurants including the Blackhawk Grille, and many other shops. Photography and/or videotape for non-commercial purposes are permitted in the auto galleries. Photography (Continued on page 9) DAY AT THE RACES II & FIRST SUNDAY DRIVE by Eva Gordon, Activities Director What: Day of Live Horse Racing When: Sunday, June 3, 2012, 12:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Where: Turf Club, Golden Gate Fields, Berkeley Cost: $35 per person We re going to the exclusive Turf Club at Golden Gate Fields to enjoy an afternoon of live horse racing. Golden Gate Fields is the only remaining horse track in the Bay Area, and it s your opportunity to place your bets! Our day will begin with an East Bay First Sunday Drive. Gathering in the morning, we ll enjoy a leisurely drive in the East Bay hills and will end up at the horse track where we will gather and mingle with the group in the Bay View Lounge (located in the Turf Club). There is complimentary valet parking for those with confirmed reservations. We will move to our seating in the Turf Club to watch the races and enjoy a gourmet buffet lunch. Our seating is reserved all day, so we are free to roam around the grounds. Live racing begins at noon, and lunch is served from noon until 2:00 p.m. Our gourmet menu includes a carving station of roasted prime rib and turkey. That s paired with soup du jour, buttermilk mashed potatoes, wild rice pilaf, seasonal steamed vegetables, creamy polenta parcels, 4-cheese macaroni gratin, honey-herb roasted pork loin, baked Dover sole, and Golden Gate Fields signature fried chicken. And there s more a selection of farmer s market specialty salads: spring greens, cole slaw, potato, Mediterranean pasta, vine-ripened vegetables, and fruit. Desserts include petite French pastries, pies, cakes, puddings, and warm apple cobbler. (Continued on page 9) 2012 CALENDAR OF COMING ACTIVITIES APRIL 1 First Sunday Drive APRIL 22 SFBA Section Board Meeting APRIL 28 Filoli Estate Tour SOLD OUT MAY 6 First Sunday Drive MAY 19* Blackhawk Museum Tour, Don Penney (707) JUNE 3* Day at the Races & FSD, Eva Gordon (650) JULY 1 First Sunday Drive AUG 5 First Sunday Drive AUG 17 Legends of the Autobahn, Laura Simonds (650) *Reservation form on page 9

2 BOARD MEMBERS MESSAGE by Eva Gordon, Activities Director; Gloria Loventhal, Vice President; Janet Migliore, Advertising Director; Jerry Terstiege, Director at Large MERCEDES-BENZ CLUB OF AMERICA SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA SECTION Under our President Jack Weir s leadership, your board is a proactive team of people dedicated to making our local section the best in the club! A representative small sub-team (Leadership Team) recently took on the task of creating a vision and action plan to attract and retain quality leaders to serve on our board and support program activities. Our Vision: The Future We See We are leaders of change to ensure the success of our club. We think out of the box. We provide value for our members. We are Ambassadors reaching out to all of our members. We have a strong recognition system. We recruit new members on a regular basis. We have positions that are so attractive that people are lining up to volunteer. We have a leadership mentor program for board members. We have organized ourselves to work in teams. One of our initial steps was to have a board liaison and general member for each activity this year to give people an opportunity to learn more about how our club operates and to identify potential leaders. In successful organizations, mentoring plays a big role. We are in the process of planning a Board Recruitment Dinner where we will excite possible leaders to join us, to shadow our board members at meetings, and to be part of our team structure. Our goal is to continually grow leaders to replace board members when they vacate positions. Our Action Plan: Executive Board President, Jack Weir Cell Fax jweir39@aol.com Vice President, Gloria Loventhal Cell glorialov@gmail.com Board of Directors Activities, EVA GORDON Fax eva@well.com Advertising, Janet migliore janetmigliore@hotmail.com Editor, Laura Simonds Ofc Fax simondsl@pacbell.net Photographer & Historian Sandy Drobilisch Fax droby1931@yahoo.com Director at Large, Don Penney don.penney@kp.org Director at Large, James Lindstrom benzboi@firstsundaydrives.com Treasurer, Theo Burger Fax morbier4u@gmail.com Secretary, Mauna Wagner maunaw@aol.com Ex-Officio, Robert Schilling res.mbca@offserver.com Hospitality, Kara Pannu pannukara@yahoo.com Membership, ANN BORNSTEIN annstitcher@charter.net Technical, Richard Simonds Fax rsimonds@pacbell.net Webmaster, Lois Wong lois.h.wong@gmail.com Director at Large, Jerry Terstiege jerryt94404@aol.com Director at Large, VACANT Continue to invite and select members to volunteer to organize and host one of our events during the year. Receive a certificate up to $25 as a new member to use for his/her first event. Survey our board to review their strengths to better utilize their talents and interests. Showcase each board member in our monthly newsletter to share their personal stories related to the MBCA experience. Organize our board into sub-teams that support and bring the vision to life. Celebrate volunteers on a yearly basis with a special acknowledgement. Ensure the implementation of the plan by conducting progress checks and reviewing the results. We are passionate about our cars. We are passionate about our club and you the members. If you are interested in learning more about being a board member, please attend our Board Recruitment Dinner, or contact any of us on the Leadership Team. Our contact information is in the column immediately to the right. Western Regional Director, Allen Wren mbcawestrd@comcast.net The GOLDEN GATE STAR Publisher Editor Photographer National Treasurer, Laura Simonds Fax simondsl@pacbell.net Anza Group - San Jose Laura Simonds Sandy Drobilisch The Golden Gate Star is published monthly by the San Francisco Bay Area Section, Mercedes-Benz Club of America, Inc. Copy deadline: 10th of the month preceding the month of issue. Please type and double space copy. ABOUT OUR ADVERTISERS: We hope you will support our advertisers. No inference, however, should be made that advertising in THE GOLDEN GATE STAR implies approval of their products or services by the Club, its Officers or members, or by Mercedes-Benz - USA Inc. or Daimler AG. MEMBERSHIP information or renewal, call toll free You can send that wonderful article or ad via or FAX to me for inclusion in the Golden Gate Star simondsl@pacbell.net or FAX Laura 2

3 First Sunday Drives First Sunday Events are casual driving events that are held on the first Sunday of every month. To be notified of the next First Sunday event and for more information to links, event photos, please find us on Facebook or go to or send an to Sunday, March 4, was an exceptionally nice day clear, warm weather, and perfect to cruise from Clayton to Sacramento overthe-top of the levees in the Sacramento Delta. Twenty-one M-B cars and their SFBA Section members left from Starbucks in Clayton by 10:00 a.m. Two club members from the Pagoda Club in Germany were in the Bay Area on a work-assignment, looked us up on the internet, and joined us for the day in a rented E350. What a special treat for us, too. Our caravan stopped in Isleton to meet another 15 cars and members from the Sacramento Section. We left Isleton at 11:00 a.m. and enjoyed the fresh air (many convertible tops were down), sunshine, waterways, small towns, and some magnificent old structures whose heritage goes back to the early 1900s. We ended up at Old Town Sacramento at 12:30 p.m. where the scramble for parking spaces began. Everyone found a spot, had lunch, and then around 40 of us headed to the nearby California Automobile Museum for a display of German Wundercars featuring Mercedes-Benz. The museum had a full complement of docents available to personalize our tour of the museum, starting with the Wundercars, of course, but then going through the entire collection of vehicles, including a big representation of early to mid-century American cars. The museum is definitely worth a drive from the Bay Area. It s not fancy like the Blackhawk Museum, but it is well done and charming with lots of attention paid to the history of the vehicles on display. NEWS AND NOTES Filoli Estate Tour, April 28 SOLD OUT. To find out if there s a waiting list or a cancellation, please contact Janet Migliore, (650) or janetmigliore@hotmail.com. Holiday Gala, December 1 SAVE THE DATE. Do you know the way to San Jose? Our Holiday Gala Weekend will be on Saturday, December 1, at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose. It will be a Twilight Time Gala from 5:00-8:00 p.m., spend the night at the hotel, and join us the next morning for our First Sunday Drive departing from downtown San Jose at 10:00 a.m. Co-chairmen are Gloria Loventhal (glorialov@gmail.com) and Mauna Wagner (maunaw@ aol.com). SFBA Section Board Meeting, April 22. The quarterly board meeting will be held on Sunday, April 22, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., at Harry s Hofbrau, 1909 El Camino Real, Redwood City. All board meetings are open to SFBA Section members. An optional no-host dinner will follow. If you plan to attend, please contact Secretary Mauna Wagner by April 18 at maunaw@aol.com or (925) E-NEWSLETTER NOTICE All members with addresses in the national MBCA membership database automatically receive the e-newsletter. Be sure that the MBCA National Business Office has your current address to receive the e-newsletter by contacting Renee Herbert at (800) Or send your address correction to Ann Bornstein (SFBA membership director) at annstitcher@charter.net. Members with no addresses receive the printed and mailed newsletter. If you want to receive the printed and mailed newsletter, you need to opt-out of the electronic version by contacting editor Laura Simonds at (650) or simondsl@ pacbell.net. To avoid being undeliverable, be sure to put our editor s address (simondsl@pacbell.net) in your list of safe senders. 3

4 x 40th Forest Grove Concours d Elegance Celebrating Mercedes-Benz x July 15th, 2012 on the Pacific University Campus, Forest Grove, Oregon Over 300 collector cars 40 judged classes MBCA corral Vineyard and Lake Tour To enter your Mercedes, contact Allen Stephens allenstephens@frontier.com

5 STARS WILL SHINE AT LEGENDS 2012 MBCA invites you to be part of the excitement at Legends of the Autobahn 2012 on Friday, August 17, at Rancho Cañada Golf Club in Carmel Valley. Legends 2011 attracted an audience of thousands to view nearly 500 cars on display and gathered worldwide attention. In 2012, it will be a 4-German-marque concours, with Audi Club of North America joining the other co-hosts MBCA, BMW Car Club of America, and Porsche Club of America. The event will feature separate club concours judging sites and combined corral parking areas. In addition to mingling among these precision cars, there will be food, displays, club booths, and a Spaten Biergarten. Early word has it that a special display of Gullwings will be featured this year, along with other special classic Mercedes-Benz. To enter one of the six judged classes for 1992 and older vehicles, a $60 entry fee will apply. Or to display any vintage in the corral, a $30 entry fee will apply. A gourmet buffet lunch and event polo shirts are optional. The discounted early bird registration deadline is August 1, and all registration closes on August 10. To register, go to com. Scroll down to August 17 then to MBCA Legends of the Autobahn (not BMWCCA, PCA, or ACNA). You can also check www. legendsoftheautobahn.org for complete details and a link to the registration website. Last year s media reports called Legends one of the most charming events of the week, a reputation as the best deal of Monterey Car Week, and Legends of the Autobahn is gaining momentum. Register today, because you don t want to miss Legends Four German Marques. One Unforgettable Concours. LEGENDS OF THE AUTOBAHN Share the Excitement of this Legendary Event During the World-Famous Monterey Classic Car Week Friday, August 17, 2012 Rancho Cañada Golf Club, Carmel Valley, CA 2012 Open to the Public Judged Classes & Corral Awards Refreshments Media All-Day Fun! Register before August 1, 2012 at Scroll to August 17 then to MBCA Legends of the Autobahn For event details and a registration link, go to and click on the MBCA logo or Mercedes-Benz name. For information, contact Laura Simonds at or simondsl@pacbell.net 5

6 Eurotech Complete Auto Care Serving San Mateo County Since 1980! 171 Industrial Road (Off Hwy 101 & Ralston/Harbor Blvd.) San Carlos, CA (650) February Special Dare to Compare the Quality & Savings on Your Mercedes-Benz in the New Year! Tired of paying too much at your Mercedes-Benz dealer? Come & see us. 12 WAYS TO SAVE *Plus FOR THE NEW YEAR tax. Some models higher. Hazardous waste fee additional. Valid only at Eurotech Complete Auto Care. Mercedes-Benz makes only. Parts & accessories coupon only valid over-the-counter purchase. May not be combined with any other offer. Please present coupon when service order is written. Expires 02/29/12 Smog Check Special Complete Full Detail with certificate $ 35 00* $ * FREE Windshield Repair FREE Head Lamp Lens Restoration with major services FREE $ 85 00* with service FREE * For the New Year, if you have been paying an arm and a leg to service your car from your Mercedes-Benz Dealer, come see us, we can help. At Eurotech Co., we provide Honest/Reliable/Qualified Experienced/Fully Equipped up-to-date trained Master Technicians. We are a one stop full Service Center without huge mark ups on your Mercedes-Benz Service and with over 30 years of experience. Best Wishes and Happy New Year from all of us Eurotech Collision and Complete Auto Care Service. Mike Key n ejad Mike Keynejad Owner * FREE Check Engine Inspection Extract & define the trouble codes Our factory-trained technicians will advise you on proper course of action for any necessary repairs FREE 4-Wheel Alignment Inspect all caster, camber & set toe-in specifications (computerized) * George Lucas Operations Manager FREE Brake Fluid Flush with brake job FREE Collision Related Repairs up to Geo rge Lucas $ 1,000 00* off * Bumper Repair Paintless Dent Repair 5 6 Includes repairing small dent & scratches & paint 25 %* off $ * Insurance Estimate 10 %* off We Sell Tires at Cost for collision related repairs at the prices you ll want! Complimentary Services & Hours* Free Towing* Free Shuttle* Loaner Car Available* Free Pick Up & Delivery* Free Used Car Inspection* We Buy Or Trade Your Damaged Car Free Consultant How To Get Best Price In Bay Area *With our compliments of any Service of $250 or more. Hours of Operation: Mon-Fri: 8:00am-5:00pm Weekend and after hours appointments may be available 6

7 WELCOME, NEW MEMBERS February 2012 (Order name badges from the National Business Office, (800) , or online at the Club Store Joseph Atmore, San Jose Dennis Caselli, San Francisco Paul Cato & Emily Ghio-Cato, Ben Lomond Pete D errico, Rohnert Park Timothy Elliott, San Mateo Ricky & Lisa Ellison, Clayton Harriet & Philip Eskildsen, Berkeley John Forst, Lafayette Richard & Kim Goldie, San Mateo George Kornbluth & Anita Schmidt, Sunnyvale Phil Martin, Burlingame Desiree Nielsen & Michael Shores, Redwood City John Olsen, Monterey Grace Refuerzo, Campbell Ed Rose, San Francisco Robert Stevens, San Francisco Kevin Wasniewski, San Francisco Roger White, San Jose MEET YOUR BOARD MEMBERS Janet Migliore, Advertising Director Like most Mercedes-Benz owners, you probably thought long and hard about which model you wanted before you plunked down the cash to buy it. I don t know when I actually started dreaming about my fantasy M-B, but I do know exactly when I found her. It took five long years of serious searching. I inspected every M-B that passed me on the freeway, looked at each M-B that stopped next to me at the light, and scanned every M-B parked in my neighborhood. Relentless in my search, I just could not find her. Life is strange, though, because some of the best things are brought right to your doorstep. That s what happened to me on May 11, 2005! That morning a cop drove my dream car into MB Garage. Ocho Roja was a newly restored, beautiful fire red SL, hardtop convertible with shiny silver and red hub caps. As soon as I laid eyes on her, I knew I had to make her mine. Fortunately for all involved, the cop had come in to see if I might be able to find a buyer. I bought her on the spot! But like all love affairs, there is always a bump in the road, and to this day, I laugh aloud when I think of our first road trip. Making our way down the highway, and BOOM, the alternator went out. We limped to the shoulder, and she was towed back to the shop. Since then, she s been a smooth and reliable ride. I particularly like taking her out on Sundays or special occasions. My all-time favorite drive is north on Highway 1 to Mendocino. We cruise the curves with the top down and music up! Ocho Roja is built for speed and pleasure she delivers on both. After all, she is my little Red V-8, and I do love her so. MEMBER ANNIVERSARIES From time to time, we recognize our SFBA Section members who have recently celebrated a milestone MBCA membership anniversary. We appreciate that you re part of MBCA and hope that you continue to enjoy the benefits of your membership for a long time. Congratulations! John & Kathleen Wilkes, Santa Rosa, 25 years Douglas Stewart, San Francisco, 5 years Thomas Stearns & Joy Bertrand, Scotts Valley, 5 years Curt Rogers, San Francisco, 5 years Robert & Leslie Mulford, Monterey, 5 years Wladyslaw & Douglas Janiewicz, Portola Valley, 5 years James Crank, Redwood City, 5 years Janet Migliore s Ocho Roja 7

8 THE MALLYA COLLECTION ENTHRALLED SFBA MEMBERS by Richard Simonds, Technical Director Vijay Mallya is a dedicated enthusiast for automobiles, race cars, sports cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and memorabilia. Although he owns about 275 vehicles in ten countries, his collection of 34 vehicles in Sausalito specializes in sports cars and race cars. Event organizer Eva Gordon had to set a limit of 40 participants with another 12 on the wait list. This attendance was on a Thursday evening, too. The 40 who made their reservations early were treated to vehicles ranging in age from a 1913 Rolls- Royce Silver Ghost to a 2003 Hummer Bicycle. Apparently Hummer also made bicycles, but then, so did Mercedes-Benz. One of the few Mercedes-Benz High-Performance bicycles that MBUSA sold from 1996 to about 1998 was also on display: 24 speeds, dual disc brakes, light alloy frame, full front and rear suspension, for around $3,200 in After test-riding one at an MBCA national event in 1997, I wanted that bike. However, common sense overcame desire, and I kept my Schwinn 10-speed. Sigh! In addition to the M-B bicycle, we did see a 1947 Schwinn Black Phantom Cruiser with a Whizzer engine, as well as a 1917 Harley-Davidson bicycle! The Mallya Collection included a 300SL Coupe (Gullwing) and Roadster, several Porsches, some Ferraris, and a 1925 Sunbeam Tiger that set a land speed record. Recently it was driven on a dirt track, and some small pebbles were sucked into the carburetors, necessitating an engine rebuild. If you think that repairs are expensive on an M-B, try rebuilding the engine in a 1925 Sunbeam Tiger. The tab was $173,000. As participants arrived, Malcolm Page (Manager/Curator of the collection) and his team provided free beer to those who wanted to sample the brew from one of Mr. Mallya s several businesses. Interestingly, the Mallya Collection not only supplied free beer and a great tour of the facility, but they told us that they were donating the entire proceeds from our event registration to The Make-A-Wish Foundation. If you are as curious as I became and would like to learn more about the Mallya Collection and the Corporate Family, go to 8

9 Names of attendees: Address: City/Zip: Phone: First event: Y N DAY AT THE RACES II & FSD Sunday, June 3, 2012 RESERVATION FORM $35 ea. = $ Make checks payable to SFBA/MBCA and mail to: Eva Gordon 1301 Quarry Court, #110 Richmond, CA (650) , eva@well.com Reservation deadline May 1, or when limit is reached. For confirmation, include or phone number above. Confirmation will be sent upon receipt of registration. CLASSIFIEDS No ads this month. Please support our commercial advertisers! They support our club. Be sure to tell them that you re a member of the club and saw their ad in this newsletter. [Remember, classified ads are free to members, $25 for non-members. Your classified ad will appear both in the newsletter and on our web site for one month. Send your for sale or wanted ad to Laura Simonds, editor, simondsl@pacbell.net, or (650) fax.] DAY AT THE RACES II & FIRST SUNDAY DRIVE (Continued from page 1) We have invited members of the Sacramento Section to join us in this great event. We have limited space available for this spectacular sporting event, so please return the reservation form (on this page) before May 1, to insure that you are included in this great day! Names of attendees: Address: City/Zip: Phone: First Event: Y N BLACKHAWK MUSEUM TOUR Saturday, May 19, 2012 RESERVATION FORM $15 ea. = $ Make checks payable to SFBA/MBCA and mail to: Ann Bornstein 61 Devon Court Watsonville, CA (831) , annstitcher@charter.net Reservation deadline May 1, or when limit is reached. For confirmation, include or phone number above. Confirmation will be sent upon receipt of registration. Your $35-per-person ticket includes valet parking, entry ticket to Golden Gate Fields, entry to the Turf Club, reserved seating in groups of four, a racing program, and our gourmet buffet lunch (tax and tip included). The Turf Club dress code requests smart casual and does not allow shorts or ball caps. Questions, please contact Eva Gordon at eva@well.com or (650) BLACKHAWK MUSEUM TOUR (Continued from page 1) and/or videotape behind the rope barriers are not permitted. Tripods are not permitted. We will gather at 1:30 p.m. for our docent-led tour at 2:00 p.m. Questions, please contact Don Penny at (707) Reservation deadline is May 1 (form on this page). 9

10 VOL. 50 NO. 4 SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA SECTION APR 2012 MAILING ADDRESS: 2909 BRITTAN AVE. SAN CARLOS, CA Please send any address changes directly to MBCA at 1907 Lelaray Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80909, or call We cannot process address changes locally. FIRST SUNDAY DRIVE, MARCH 4, 2012