Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Monthly newsletter of the Pikes Peak Section of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America.
Citation preview
Welcome new members!
Inside this issue:
View From the Peak 2 President’s Rally 3
Denver Museum 3
Drive-In Movie 4
Making Wine 4
Did You Know? 4
POI Drive 5
Section Election 5
MHS Events 5
Enchanted Weekend 6 Der Marktplatz 7
Click 7
MHS Regional Event 8
P3 POI Update 8
Paint City Recap 9
Star Party Recap 9
Price Hikes or Not 10
Carson Anderson
Brian & Janene Croak2011 GL350
Newsletter of the PIKES PEAK SECTION
JULY 2015
‘ROUND THE BENZ
Joint Section PicnicSaturday, 11 July 2015
12:00 p.m.Mark your calendar, everyone - you’re in for a real treat. On Saturday, 11 July 2015, The Pikes Peak Section will host the an-nual Joint Section Picnic at Maguireville in Monument, Colorado.
Maguireville is a world-class museum started by Jim and Donna Maguire on their horse ranch near Monument, CO.
The interior of the barn was made over into a large social area surrounded by the origi-nal horse stalls converted into reproductions of busi-nesses from rural America. Each business is fully outfit-ted with original furnishings that Jim has collected over the years.
As Jim turned over more of his owner-ship responsibilities at Overhead Door to his son Kevin, this gave him more time to collect memorabilia for Maguireville, and collect he did, and still does.
A friend who was making his first visit to Maguireville recently stated, “This is one of
the best kept secrets in El Paso County.” For more information on Maguireville, ac-cess the Web.
If you would like to spend a few hours with old and new Star friends, enjoying catered barbeque while surrounded by memora-
bilia from your parents’ and grandparents’ era, plan to at-tend this year’s Joint Section Picnic.
All you need to do is RSVP by July 6, 2015, and arrive with $10 for each adult and $5 for each child under 12. Plan to arrive between 12:00 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. Food will be served at 1:00 p.m.
To RSVP, contact Clark or Karen Absher at 719-749-2621, or [email protected].
Driving directions to Maguireville:
I-25 to exit 161 (Monument/CO-105). Take a right turn on to east-bound CO-105 at the traffic light. Proceed to Knollwood Blvd (4th traffic light) and make a left turn. Pro-ceed to first driveway on your left and turn in to Maguireville. Hope to see you there!
The Best or Nothing!
View From the Peak by Andrew NelsonSection OfficersPresident:Andrew [email protected]
Vice President:Judy [email protected]
Secretary:Mary [email protected]
Treasurer:Julie [email protected]
Directors:Stan [email protected]
Gary [email protected]
Glenn [email protected]
Henry [email protected] Sylvia [email protected]
Dave [email protected]
Webmaster:Robert [email protected]
Editor:Judy [email protected]
Regional Director:Charlie [email protected]
Page 2
‘Round the BENZ is published monthly by the Pikes Peak Section of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America (MBCA), Inc. Articles and ideas are the opinions of the writers and no authentication is implied as to the validity of any infor-mation contained therein. Explicit permission to republish any article with proper attribution is given to all sections of MBCA, Inc. Articles for publication consideration should be mailed to Pikes Peak Section, MBCA, Attn: Editor, 4335 Penhurst Place, Colorado Springs, CO 80906 or, whenever possible, emailed to: [email protected]. Deadline for receipt is the 18th of the month prior to the month of issue.
Pikes Peak Section members are encouraged to support the advertisers in our newsletter. They help to make this publication possible.
‘ROUND THE BENZ
N ow that summer is officially here, we can all see the results of the many days of precipita-tion that the Pikes Peak region has received during May and June. It
has been many years since it has been so green! Even the scar where the old quarry was is an emerald green. On a personal note, I haven’t had to water the lawn for at least six weeks or more which has really helped with the utility bill.
However, to rain on the parade, so to speak, the frequent storms have taken a terrible toll on the roads. I hardly notice the thousands of minor pot holes be-cause I’m constantly dodging and weav-ing around the hundreds of potentially wheel/suspension-busting major pot holes, while always on the lookout for the ever-more-frequent sink holes that ap-pear after a storm.
Even worse from a driving safety per-spective is the sight of other drivers on-coming and beside you also dodging and swerving to avoid the same pot holes you’re trying to avoid. It’s like a giant game of bumper cars out there.
Fortunately, both of our vehicles’ tires and wheels are not the low profile type. I really sympathize with those of you with that type of wheel, because even a minor pot hole with a sharp edge can easily puncture a low profile tire or break
a wheel. So let’s all be careful driving around town and to the two upcoming July events.
First, on Saturday, 11 July, is the Joint Section Picnic, being held this year at Maguireville Ranch in Monument, CO. Please RSVP by 6 July and check out the details and directions to the venue on page 1.
And don’t miss our monthly Section breakfast on the following Saturday, 18 July at 9:00 a.m., at the Egg & I Restau-rant at Citadel Crossing. Following break-fast, at approximately 10:30 a.m., we will start the President’s Rally. The theme of the rally is inspired by the 1980s “Back to the Future” movie trilogy. Multiple choice questions and clues will center on movie trivia and some historical Mercedes-Benz facts covering the years 1885, 1955, 1985, and 2015. I hope to see many of you at these fun-filled events.
In the meantime, here’s a quick up-date on the latest Formula One results. Mercedes AMG driver Lewis Hamilton started last month’s Austrian Grand Prix race from the pole position, but it was his teammate Nico Rosberg who led the entire race. The German secured his third win of the season to reduce Ham-ilton’s title advantage to just 10 points. The team has now claimed every pole position since last year’s Austrian Grand Prix, which equates to 19 in a row. Looks like it’s going to be another very winning season for Mercedes AMG.
As always, drive safe (achtung pot-holes!), and I will see you down the road.
Andrew
Page 3
‘ROUND THE BENZ
President’s Rally Saturday, 18 July 2015
9:00 a.m.Please join us for breakfast at 9:00 a.m. at The Egg & I Restaurant at Citadel Crossing on Saturday, 18 July. At approxi-mately 10:30 a.m., the real fun begins.
The theme of the rally is in-spired by the 1980s “Back to the Future” movie trilogy. In “Back to the Future II,” Marty and Doc travelled thirty years into the future from 1985 to 2015. In the 2015 movie future, people drove flying cars, kids rode hover boards, and “Mr. Fusion” compact power supply units were com-mon. Obviously, our 2015 is quite different from the movie version, but it will make for great rally ques-tions.
The movies covered the years 1885, 1955,
1985, and 2015. Multiple choice ques-tions and clues will cover movie trivia with some Mercedes-Benz related history from those same years thrown in. For example, did you know that Mercedes introduced 4-MATIC AWD in 1985? Or that only one
year after 1885, Karl Benz made his first motorized tricycle and Daimler built a horseless carriage? So, they were both hard at work during the fictional 1885 movie.
We strongly suggest you watch all three movies, if you can, before the rally. The rally should take 2 to 3 hours, ending with lunch at an appropriately-themed restaurant. Prizes will be awarded to the top three finishers. The cost is $10 per car.
Please RSVP to Andrew Nelson, 719-634-7522 (home) or email him at [email protected].
Denver Nature & Science Museum - 15 August 2015The Denver Nature & Science Museum is the destination for our August Fun Run. We’ll be traveling to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, where we will explore exhibits on dragons, unicorns, and mer-maids; the Silk Road; Egyptian mummies; and North American Indian cultures, just to name a few.
A wide variety of ex-hibitions, programs, and activities help museum visitors learn about the natural history of Colorado, Earth, and the uni-verse. The 500,000-square-foot building houses more than one million objects in its collections including natural history and
anthropological materials, as well as ar-chival and library resources. This will be a very edifying trip with some much-needed socialization at lunch following the tour.
So, join us at the Citadel Crossing Egg & I Restaurant at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, 15 Au-gust. If you’re not in to breakfast, meet us in the parking lot. We will depart for Denver at approxi-
mately 10:30 a.m.
Please RSVP to Henry or Sylvia Russell so we have an idea for a headcount for lunch. Contact them at [email protected] or 719-599-5503.
“...learn about
the natural
history of
Colorado,
Earth, and the
universe.”
Page 4
‘ROUND THE BENZ
“...sample
a variety of
wines, eat hors
d’oeurves, and
desserts....”
The Mountains, Movies & Mercedes regional event of last year was such a suc-cess that we can’t begin to duplicate it. So this year, we’re going to throttle back just a little on our annual Drive-In Movie event. This may be the last year for this iconic event, so mark this date on your calendar and join us for a top down (and sunroofs open), fun-filled evening.
Once again, we’ll gather at Dan & Cheryl Kerbs’ homestead for dinner and a movie - Pikes Peak Section-style. Plans are still
being formulated, but we’ll have steaks on the barbie and accompanying side dishes along with suitable beverages, adult and otherwise. Line up your Star car and grab some popcorn as you relax under the stars. It’s one of the best times you’ll have all year.
Contact Dan Kerbs if you plan to attend - his email is [email protected], or give him a call at 719-594-6017.
Drive-In Movie - 6 September 2015
The owners of Old West Homebrew Supply have reserved, for the Pikes Peak Section, their popular wine making class for the month of September. The 10 Sep-tember class starts at 6:30 PM and will take the mystery out of wine making with a hands-on 3-hour evening session in a relaxed environment. Participants will sample a variety of wines, eat hors d’oeurves and desserts with port wine. At the end of the class you get to take a bottle of wine home as an extra bonus. All of this for a small class fee of $29.95/per-son. This makes a great couples’ evening.
The course is led by Gary Gagnon and pro-vides instruction on the equipment, tech-niques, supplies, and methods you need to transform a Wine Expert wine kit into over
2 dozen bottles of enjoyable, high-quality wine.
There are only 12 seats available for this class and early registration and payment is
required. To reserve your class seat, call Old West Homebrew and Wine Supply at 719.635.2443. You will have to provide your name and payment at the time you call and reserve your spot.
Old West Homebrew Supply is located at 229 East Pikes Peak Av-enue, Colorado Springs, CO. Here is the url for the class location map:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/ls29sj3 (please copy and paste the url into your browser).
The point of contact for this class is Gary Gagnon, 719.282.9313 or [email protected].
Wine-Making Made Easy - 10 September 2015
Did You Know?On 24 June in 1911, yes, that’s 104 years ago, the great Juan Manuel Fangio was born! An incredible FIVE Formula One World Championships, including two with Mercedes-Benz in 1954 and 1955, make ‘El Maestro’ one of the undisputed all-time greats of our beloved sport - and a true Silver Arrows superstar!
Page 5
PREVIEW OF COMING ATTRACTIONS!
‘ROUND THE BENZ
CO-NM Regional EventDate: 31 July 2015Location: Pagosa Springs, COCost: $35 per person + hotel, foodContact: Jay & Deb Hokanson, 303-935-8270; [email protected]
PPIR Track EventDate: 23-24 August 2015Location: Fountain, COCost: TBDContact: Natalie Mashburn, 303-988-2710 or [email protected]
Mile High Section EventsFor more information, visit the MHS website at http://www.milehighmbca.orC
Section Elections - 13 October 2015The Pikes Peak Section elections are coming up soon and it’s time to think about the direction the club is going. The Pikes Peak Section Board of Directors decides the types of events the Section holds and the frequency of those events, and, pro-vides for the detailed man-agement of those events. The members of the board are key to the ongoing success of our section.
This year, we’ve got five board members up for reelection. One of those board members has de-cided not to seek reelec-tion, opening a vacancy on our board.
If you are interested in getting involved with the day-to-day management of the Sec-tion and if you’ve got the time to devote to planning and directing one event per year, we’re looking for you. The position requires attending one board meeting a month and participating in monthly Section events hosted by your fellow board members.
There’s a level of professional courtesy and synergy in attending and supporting events planned by your fellow board mem-bers. If you are interested in serving your Section, please contact Charlie Bennett at [email protected] or 719-576-
9737.
The 2015 elections will be held on Tuesday, 13 October at 6:00 p.m. and we have tentatively planned to be at Bi-aggi’s Italian Restaurant, 1805 Briargate Parkway (Promenade Shops at Briargate) in Colorado
Springs.
The dinner and elections are open to all members and you are encouraged to attend on a no-host basis. The Section pays for the meals of board members and potential board members as a thank you for their service. If you would like to attend, please RSVP to Judy Bennett at [email protected] or 719-576-9737.
Drive-In Movie - 6 September 2015
POI Drive - 20 September 2015The 2015 Paved Peaks & Passes pro-gram is doing great. Our 15 teams have driven to 123 points of interest (POIs) across southern Colorado. On Saturday, 20 September, we’ll be picking up a few more POIs after our monthly breakfast at The Egg & I restaurant.
It’ll be a nice, leisurely drive through the Colorado countryside, weather permitting.
It’ll be a perfect day to take the roadsters out of the garage and put the tops down or open the sunroofs. Let the wind blow through your hair (or not) and don’t forget the sunscreen. We’ll decide the exact route closer to the Fun Run date but wherever we go, you can be sure of great camarade-rie and great driving experiences. Come on out and join us.
“...members of
the board are
key to the on-
going success of
our Section.”
Page 6
‘ROUND THE BENZ
Pikes Peak Section Enchanted Weekend
“Highlights
include driving
the Enchanted
Circle Scenic
Byway and
visiting the
Black Mesa
Winery....”
The Pikes Peak Section is headed south to New Mexico this fall for a 3-day regional event called The Enchanted Weekend. We plan to leave Colorado Springs on Friday, 9 October for Taos, NM. Highlights of the weekend include driving the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway and visiting the Black Mesa Winery and other points of local inter-est.
The Enchanted Circle is an 83-mile loop through mountains, valleys, mesa, and national forest, all unique to northern New Mexico. We’ll drive from Taos to Questa via Red River, Eagle Nest and Angel Fire. This beautiful countryside offers dramatic moun-tain vistas of aspen and pine in the shadow of 13,000-ft Wheeler Peak, the highest point in the state.
Then it’s a 37-mile drive down a winding canyon road along the Rio Grande River to the Black Mesa Winery. Black Mesa Win-ery has garnered multiple “Best of Show”, “Best in Class” awards, and “Double Gold” and gold medals in international competi-tion. Black Mesa’s wines meet the high-
est standards for wine, not only for New Mexico, but also on the international stage. Need more activities? Taos Pueblo is a living Native American community and National Historic Landmark. The multi-story adobe buildings have been continuously inhabited for over a 1,000 years.
We will be staying at the historic La Fonda de Taos Hotel on the Plaza. Our renowned hospitality suite will be open on Friday and Saturday nights before and after dinner. The event cost for this weekend is $37 per person and includes a continental breakfast, box lunch, snacks and drinks in the hospitality suite for two nights, dash plaques and prizes. We plan to return home Sunday, although it’s possible to stay over to Monday and have breakfast with anyone who wants to spend Sunday shop-ping or sightseeing.
Contact Dave Carpenter at [email protected] for more information or to sign up. Registration deadline is 1 September 2015. Please plan to join us for this delightfully enchanted weekend.
Page 7
‘ROUND THE BENZ
Der MarktplatzRunning Board Trade. I have a 2012 ML 350 that needs running boards. I’m looking for someone with a 3rd generation ML who has running boards but really wants rocker panel covers. Let’s trade. It’s not a hard job to do; Dan Kerbs &
Gary Gagnon can walk us through it and we’ll each save over $1000. Contact Dave Carpenter at 719-532-0257 or [email protected]
Roof Box Cargo Carrier. Price reduced! $300 cash only or make an offer. Contact John or Hilda at 548-8322 or [email protected]
2000 SL-500 hardtop (black and perfect) with stor-age stand for $1,000. Plus I’m interested in pur-chasing a ‘04/’05 SL-500, Black on Black or Black on Gray, the usual stuff - perfect and low mileage for around $20,000 - $25,000. Call Rick Palmer 597-5241.
Kelly M. Shaffer, CSPVice President / COO
2118 Hollow Brook Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80918
719.528.8888
Accounting + Administrative + Executive + Medical + Technicalwww.addstaffinc.com
This just in from the latest edition of the MBCA e-newsletter, Click, a quick wrap-up of news, dis-counts & special events:
Legends of the Autobahn®: Legends of the Auto-bahn. Live the legend … at the 6th annual Legends of the Autobahn® -- the only car show featuring German marques (Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi) during the world-famous Monterey Classic Car Week and Pebble Beach Concours on Friday, 14 August 2015. In addition to the judged classes and display-only corral, this year we’re celebrating the 60th anniversary of the 190 SL and also introducing the Silver Star Preservation Class. Register your car now, and spend a fun-filled day with other enthusi-asts among beautiful cars! Visit the MBCA website for more information.
Gemütlichkeit: Gemütlichkeit is the longest run-ning MBCA national event, last held in 2011. It is your opportunity to make and renew friendships with other Mercedes-Benz enthusiasts from across the
country.
If you love your Mercedes-Benz and love meeting other Mercedes-Benz enthusiasts, this is the event for you. There will be 3 days full of defensive driv-ing, autocross, a driving experience on Pittsburgh International Raceway, Concours d’ Elegance, rally, banquets and tours of the Pittsburgh area. Mark your calendar for Aug. 20-22, 2015.
This year’s Gemütlichkeit will feature:
• Social events, including an opening reception and closing awards banquet
• A defensive driving class• An autocross• Track driving experience • A Concours d’Elegance• Tours and activities in and around Pittsburgh
For more information, including registration package information, contact Sue and John Morrison at: 330-673-7885, [email protected]
Page 8
‘ROUND THE BENZ
Phase II of our Paved Peaks & Passes driving program is in full swing. The rains have finally let up mostly, and our teams have hit the roads in search of the elusive, but interesting, points of interest. We’ve even got folks still driving passes from P3 Phase I.
We are planning our next group POI drive in September when the weather should
be conducive to top-down driving. Even if you haven’t signed up for a passport, plan to join us. But if you’re interested in joining this event, con-tact Judy Bennett at [email protected], or give her a call at 719-576-9737.
Victor - Croaks
Guffey - Croaks
Elizabeth - Russells
Wind River - Kerbs
Franktown - Russells
Paved Peaks & Passes, Phase II
Page 9
‘ROUND THE BENZ
Wine Painting Recap The Pikes Peak Section displayed a delightfully unexpected degree of creativity on Friday, 5 June when we visited Paint the Town. This colorfully hippy-dippy, psy-chedelic art studio lets everyone explore their inner Matisse with some help from their very talented resident artists (thanks, Angela).
We feasted on pizza and salad and cook-ies; and I’m sure the wine we shared accentuated our painting prowess. We painted Sparky the Cat, winter aspens, kids on snowshoes, a 1974 red SL, wine bottles, Paris, land-scapes, and modern art. We
were all over the map and we had a blast.
Thanks to Dan and Cheryl Kerbs for this great idea for an outing.
Star Party RecapOur second Star Party was impeccably timed to coincide with the best view of the conjunction of Jupiter, Venus, and the moon in a decade. Clark and Karen Absher welcomed 25 of our members to Absher Acres, far from the light pollution of the city. The location couldn’t have been better and the stars were bustin’ out all over. While we still had some daylight, we settled in for a mini potluck dinner of baked beans, coleslaw, salads, and hot dogs with special sauce, with margarita chasers!
After dinner we raffled off the contents of the prize closet and everyone walked away
with a prize, even if it was just a lanyard!
Then it was off to view the heavens through 3 high-power telescopes and explore 4 moons of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn. The weather cooperated beautifully and even produced a slight wind to keep the mosquitoes at bay. It was good to see long-standing members as well as new folks - the O’Maras, Guffins, and Thompsons.
Thanks to Ken Sheehan for setting up a great evening of star-gazing. Check out all of the pictures on our Facebook page at MBCA Pikes Peak Section.
Our Group Dan & His SL
Cheryl & Her Granddaughters
Socializing At Dinner Sighting In - Star Cars in the Background Andrew & Ken
Page 10
‘ROUND THE BENZ
“...a rise of
$2700 on
pricing for the
base version of
the outgoing
M-Class.”
We expected big changes when Mer-cedes-Benz dropped its M-Class designa-tion and rebadged its mid-size SUVs the GLE, and now we have our first informa-tion on what the new nomenclature means for consumers cost-wise.
The starting price of the 2016 GLE is $52,025, including a $925 destination charge. This is for the base GLE 350 and repre-sents a rise of $2,700 on pricing for the base ver-sion of the out-going M-Class. 4-MATIC variants command $2,500 over that—and the GLE 300D 4-MATIC rises $2,800 from the previous year, to $54,525, including destination. Even in this segment,
a hike of nearly $3000 isn’t insignificant.
Though models at the point of entry see the most change, the increases continue all the way up the line. The GLE 400 4-MA-TIC sees a bump of $1,700, to $65,525,
while the Mer-cedes-AMG GLE 63 gains $1,550 to settle at $100,875.
Opening bids for uber-hot S-Mod-els will begin at a suitably robust $108,025. Once again, all prices include destina-tion.
Pricing for the GLE 550e plug-in hybrid will be an-nounced closer to the market launch next year. Mercedes is also yet to release pric-ing for the 2016 GLE Coupe range.
New GLE = Price Hike by John Coyle
Buyers shopping for a 2016 Mercedes-Benz S550 might get sticker shock upon learning exactly how much upgrading to the S550e plug-in hybrid variant will cost... because it won’t cost a dime.
Opening bids for either the gasoline or gasoline-elec-tric hybrid version of the uber-lux sedan will begin at $95,325, including destination. It’s a surprising move from the German giant.
To find a Mercedes-Benz where the green credentials didn’t come with a premium, you have to go back to the S400 Hybrid, which was actually cheaper than its S brethren.
But we wouldn’t imagine this is the start of a trend, as BMW went the traditional pricing route with its forthcoming X5 xDri-ve40e plug-in hybrid. Going green in the
X5 means a sticker price of $63,095, making it a whop-ping $8,200 more than the line’s point of entry, and second only to the eight-pot X5 xDrive50i—MSRP: $71,695—in terms of cost.
Of course, it’s worth mentioning even
that premium pales in comparison to the nearly $20,000 price jump buyers will face with Volvo’s range-topping 2016 XC90 T8 ‘Twin Engine’ plug-in. The Swedish maker’s flagship will start at $69,095.
New Plug-In Hybrid = No Price Hike by John Coyle
“...sticker
shock...be-
cause it won’t
cost a dime.”
Page 11
‘ROUND THE BENZ
7 July 2015Board Meeting - 6:00 p.m.Andrew Nelson 719-634-7522
11 July 2015Joint Section Picnic - 12:00 p.m.Clark Absher 719-749-2621
18 July 2015Monthly Breakfast - 9:00 a.m.President’s RallyAndrew Nelson 719-634-7522
4 August 2015Board Meeting - 6:00 p.m.Andrew Nelson 719-634-7522
15 August 2015Monthly Breakfast - 9:00 a.m.Denver Museum Fun Run
Henry Russell 719-599-5503
1 September 2015Board Meeting - 6:00 p.m.Andrew Nelson 719-634-7522
6 September 2015Drive-In Movie - 6:00 p.m.Dan Kerbs 719-594-6017
10 September 2015Wine-Making Made Easy - 6:30 p.m.Gary Gagnon 719-282-9313
20 September 2015Monthly Breakfast - 9:00 a.m.POI Fun RunJudy Bennett 719-576-9737
Calendar of Upcoming Events
The Pikes Peak Section Board of Directors meets the First Tuesday of Each Month at Mercedes-Benz of Colorado Springs, 730 Automotive Drive. Meetings start at 6:00 p.m.
All Section members are welcome and encouraged to attend.
Return Service Requested
On the Web at www.mbca.org/pikes_
peak/
To:
‘ROUND THE BENZ
‘Round the BenzEditor
4335 Penhurst Place
Colorado Springs, CO 80906
MBCA Pikes Peak Section
Happy 4th of
July
