Monaco 2013!

The Monaco Grand Prix will take place on Sunday, May 26th. The Monaco Grand Prix is generally considered to be one of the most prestigious automobile races in the world. Monaco, the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans are often considered the Triple Crown of auto racing.  Formula One races are already a spectacle unto themselves. But when you bring the show to one of the most glamorous places on earth in conjunction with a massive dose of history and tradition the experience is just off the charts. That is why simply attending a Monaco Grand Prix  as a spectator is on my bucket list.

Below in the pre-race intro aired by the BBC last year.....from birth to Monaco:

 

This is just sick!!!

This is old, but awesome!!! If you've ever driven around San Fran you will doubly appreciate this....

Gearheads make the best friends

I last wrote about my business trip to Las Vegas and my experience renting  a convertible Camaro SS from   Fantasy Car Rentals. An amazing thing happened while tooling around Vegas in the SS....
I was driving around soaking in the scenery and weather. Periodically, whenever I stopped somewhere to look around, I would check my email via my smart phone.  And that's when I saw an email from my buddy Frank. Frank and I used to work together over six years ago.  When our company relocated he moved to Pittsburgh while I remained in Connecticut. It had been about a year since Frank and I have exchanged an e-mail, but historically, every now and then, Frank and I will shoot each other an email to check in on each other and see how things are going. The second question is typically 'what are you driving?'

So why did Frank e-mail me after all this time?....to show me his new car of course. Frank is a car nut, and even more dangerous, he's an extremely impulsive car nut.  So in the few years I worked with him he owned cars like a 98 Camaro SS, a Supra, a SVT Lightning, an Impala SS, etc. We used to go test drive cars every other day during our lunch breaks (I'll write about this later) which was a riot.  So whenever our stables change we fire off an email to share the news.  Here's Frank's new 2013 SS/RS with 1LE package...

So I immediately fired back that it was pretty ironic that I was literally in a Camaro SS when I received the email. I also sent him this photo...

And these two next emails were priceless. Within minutes I received this:

Shortly followed by this email (diagram and all)

I couldn't help but smile when I read these (especially the second one). Also, makes you appreciate the availability of information and how quickly it can be shared.  He obviously found the information and diagram on a website/forum somewhere and was able to share it with me a few thousand miles away literally sitting in my car via a smart phone.

Vegas for Car Guys

I haven't been posting for a while.  I've basically been waiting for some descent weather to visit New England so I can start getting out and reporting on the local scene.  However, I just spent the last week in Las Vegas on a business trip.  During my trip I managed to spend a little bit of time enjoying myself.....turns out Vegas is a fairly car guy friendly place.....

I had some time to kill to so I checked out http://www.fantasycarrentals.com right by the airport.  Other companies offer exotic car rentals in Vegas (such as Hertz) but Fantasy Car Rentals has a great selection ranging from vintage American cars to modern European exotics.  They will also pick you up at the airport or hotel and drop you off afterwards.  Since I was on a budget and the weather was fantastic I ended up with a convertible Camaro SS.

A view from Fantasy Car Rentals

Another view from Fantasy Car Rentals

First stop was Red Rock Canyon.  Its amazing that a place like Red Rock is within 30 minutes of the strip and yet the completely polar opposite of what the strip is.  Its a great drive out there and the 13 mile scenic loop is breathtaking.  The speed limit in the loop is 35 MPH so it is in fact a scenic loop and not a high speed circuit.  I didn't do the Hoover Dam or Lake Mead on this trip because I did that on a previous trip (in a rented Cobra!).

On my way back from Red Rock I decided to swing by Count's Kustoms. The speedshop owned by Danny 'Count' Koker and made famous by shows like Pawn Stars and Counting Cars. The people were extremely friendly and they have a section of the shop dedicated to displaying some of Danny's collection. Free, laid back, and about a mile from my hotel on the strip.

Next morning I headed north to where Las Vegas Motor Speedway is located.  The area of the speedway is a car guy's paradise.  In addition to the race track, the area hosts a dragstip and a few companies that specialize in exotic car driving experiences such as http://www.exoticsracing.com.  The area also houses an industrial complex loaded with racing teams and automotive related businesses.  My favorite is the headquarters of Shelby American Inc.  The facility includes a museum area. The contents of the display is always changing and includes some of the most famous cars ever produced from the first Cobra CSX2000 to prototypes of the Series 1, Shelby GT-H, Terlingua, GT500KR, and others. Shelby also runs a free tour of the shop at 10:30AM Monday through Saturday.

I arrived at the speedway area early one morning during the week (so I could take the Shelby tour). When I pulled off the highway exit and entered the track complex I was immediately met with the sound of a race car circling the speedway, Shelby moving cars around their lot (including a Shelby 1000) and a herd of exotic sports cars coming up the street on their way to the lot location where they operate their driving experience business.  Just for an extra helping of testosterone, fighter jets from nearby Nellis Air Force Base would make intermittent cameos overhead! Freakin' awesome!

Another thing I did not do on this trip to Sin City was visit the Auto Collections at the Quad Resort & Casino (which used to be the Imperial Palace).  I went there last year and did have to get some work done on this trip. 

But there you have it.....Vegas from a gearhead's perspective.