On the Road 2012...my year in cars (pics)
Discussion
Its now December 18 2012, and I am were I was on the same day last year...Scottsdale AZ. Drove a variety of cars, ranging from very good to truly awful, said goodbye to a car and hello to another. Here are a few pics.
December 2011, had my first automotive mishap. Driving along at a steady 70MPH on a sunny day, rear tire had a complete blowout . My own fault entirely. I had bought the SL500 new in 2003, and t had been lightly used. As a result there was only about 13000 miles on the car. No damage, but lesson was that old tires need to be changed regardless of wear. It had been on my list of things to do and I had neglected it.
The Dane hated the SL and only travelled in it on very local trips
Drove down past the Barrett-Jackson showroom in Scottsdale and saw maybe the strangest car offered for auction in a while, the ambulance that transported JFK's body after his assassination in 1963
Had no idea what the owner of this MG replica in Scottsdale was thinking:
Came across some model Ts just out for a Christmas run. AMazing to think that they are 100 years old and still going:
By January, back in Canada, there was absolutely nothing happening automotive wise, so amused myself by taking a photo of the models of my stored GT3s...
Attended the unveiling of the 991 in Canada, a car I would spend a lot of time with later in the year:
Things started to move again car-wise in April, when I did the Spring Route 66 drive to pick up the dogs and trailer the SL back to Canada for the summer.
Stopped in St Louis which is not a bad town:
Oklahoma city in a Sunday night which looks like a scene from 28 days, though the memorial to the Oklahoma city bombing is very powerful. Many kids died there, and there is a chair for each victim with the small chairs in memory of the kids>
Came across a very complete Willys Jeep abandoned by the roadside on Route 66 in Kansas
In the ghost town of Texola on the Texas border, there is the smallest jail have ever seen:
Everyone has seen the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, but the bug ranch in Conway TX is a little different
Exactly half way along Rte 66 is the Midpoint Cafe in Adrian Tx. The owner was the model for the character of Flo in the movie " Cars", which features all sorts of 66 references.
The Roberts Truckstop nearby has a revolving display of the owner's cars, including this Corvette with 1.4 miles on the odometer:
Into Albuquerque NM, we hit weather: - it changes very quickly on the high plains
Cleared by AZ and we stopped in WInslow AZ, where the Eagles song is commemorated including the girl in the flatbed Ford:
Detoured up to the Grand Canyon. People do insist on sitting on the edge ( its not fenced) and they do fall in regularly. Its a mile down.
Took a quick trip across the Apache trail,,stopped in the tourist trap of Goldfield AZ
In the hight security prison town of Florence, saw an interesting exhibit in the museum. Originally they hanged murderers here, and they preserved the noose foe each event and displayed it surrounding a photo of the executee:
and came across an RS owned by a Scottsdale neighbour, while mine remained stored in the chilly Canadian spring.
Now Hooked up, it was time for the trip back:
Came across a Daytona Cobra rep in NM
Had a good meal in the Ariston Cafe, a 66 landmark in the same family since 1924, even before the highway
Took a 991 for a couple of weeks to try it out. It is a very accomplished car, but maybe a bit too civilized for me:
[IMG]http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n29/RMcG/2012%20in%20review/file-32.jpg[/IMG
Second worst car I drove all year a Chevy Equinox in Philadelphia. Vague handling and a crude, cheap interior:
Astonishing Lambo replica. I would not have spotted it, but built y hand by an engineer and powered by a BMW V12. Even the interior is right:
December 2011, had my first automotive mishap. Driving along at a steady 70MPH on a sunny day, rear tire had a complete blowout . My own fault entirely. I had bought the SL500 new in 2003, and t had been lightly used. As a result there was only about 13000 miles on the car. No damage, but lesson was that old tires need to be changed regardless of wear. It had been on my list of things to do and I had neglected it.
The Dane hated the SL and only travelled in it on very local trips
Drove down past the Barrett-Jackson showroom in Scottsdale and saw maybe the strangest car offered for auction in a while, the ambulance that transported JFK's body after his assassination in 1963
Had no idea what the owner of this MG replica in Scottsdale was thinking:
Came across some model Ts just out for a Christmas run. AMazing to think that they are 100 years old and still going:
By January, back in Canada, there was absolutely nothing happening automotive wise, so amused myself by taking a photo of the models of my stored GT3s...
Attended the unveiling of the 991 in Canada, a car I would spend a lot of time with later in the year:
Things started to move again car-wise in April, when I did the Spring Route 66 drive to pick up the dogs and trailer the SL back to Canada for the summer.
Stopped in St Louis which is not a bad town:
Oklahoma city in a Sunday night which looks like a scene from 28 days, though the memorial to the Oklahoma city bombing is very powerful. Many kids died there, and there is a chair for each victim with the small chairs in memory of the kids>
Came across a very complete Willys Jeep abandoned by the roadside on Route 66 in Kansas
In the ghost town of Texola on the Texas border, there is the smallest jail have ever seen:
Everyone has seen the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, but the bug ranch in Conway TX is a little different
Exactly half way along Rte 66 is the Midpoint Cafe in Adrian Tx. The owner was the model for the character of Flo in the movie " Cars", which features all sorts of 66 references.
The Roberts Truckstop nearby has a revolving display of the owner's cars, including this Corvette with 1.4 miles on the odometer:
Into Albuquerque NM, we hit weather: - it changes very quickly on the high plains
Cleared by AZ and we stopped in WInslow AZ, where the Eagles song is commemorated including the girl in the flatbed Ford:
Detoured up to the Grand Canyon. People do insist on sitting on the edge ( its not fenced) and they do fall in regularly. Its a mile down.
Took a quick trip across the Apache trail,,stopped in the tourist trap of Goldfield AZ
In the hight security prison town of Florence, saw an interesting exhibit in the museum. Originally they hanged murderers here, and they preserved the noose foe each event and displayed it surrounding a photo of the executee:
and came across an RS owned by a Scottsdale neighbour, while mine remained stored in the chilly Canadian spring.
Now Hooked up, it was time for the trip back:
Came across a Daytona Cobra rep in NM
Had a good meal in the Ariston Cafe, a 66 landmark in the same family since 1924, even before the highway
Took a 991 for a couple of weeks to try it out. It is a very accomplished car, but maybe a bit too civilized for me:
[IMG]http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n29/RMcG/2012%20in%20review/file-32.jpg[/IMG
Second worst car I drove all year a Chevy Equinox in Philadelphia. Vague handling and a crude, cheap interior:
Astonishing Lambo replica. I would not have spotted it, but built y hand by an engineer and powered by a BMW V12. Even the interior is right:
Edited by RDMcG on Monday 17th December 20:57
Edited by RDMcG on Tuesday 3rd December 15:51
Spent a week in Sicily . I had always wanted to drive the old Targa Florio route and had recently talked to Vic Elford for something I was writing, so I decided to go to see Nino Vaccarella in Palermo, the greatest Sicilian driver of all and a charming man. As he had little English and I had no Italian we set a few hours in French). I rented a Fiat 500 and drove if for 1500KM around Sicily . Driving the old TF I could not imagine how these guys managed to drive it at speed. Amazing talent and bravery. I like the 500 apart from the fairly vague gearbox. Came across a highly unusual place to find another RS...a French registered car with some very friendly enthusiasts on the top of Mt Etna
.
There were quite a few of these around, forget from whom:
Came back to Canada and had a look at an amazing project, a complete four year recreation of the lost Bugatti Aerolithe of 1935. Made of magnesium, only one was built and it was the direct precursor of the Atlantique. This recreation is on an original Type 57 chasis and running gear. Magnesium is very tricky to weld. I will be seeing the completed car next month
.
Historical pic of the original car
In Philly saw this odd sculpture, which is a plant greenhouse. Can't help thinking that I would ave preferred the plane to be restored:
Drove up to NYC, and realized that the Crown Vic are disappearing very fast now. I think they will all be gone by next year. Sorry to see them go:
Did a few track days with the RS.2, which is a very good car overall, and has given me no trouble. One recall early in its life to change centre lock hubs, but nothing else.
Said goodbye to the M6. It had tons of character and only did about 20,000 miles in six years from new. One ECU meltdown, a big job under warranty, but otherwise trouble free. I have never travelled faster in any other car I have owned.
Pic week one:
Pic last day:
Tried out a Panamera GTS. The thing is vast, but handles very well. I could not get over its bulk however, and it sure is ugly. ( I know, so's the M6)
Went over to Ireland to see some mates from when I grew up there and rented incomparable the worst car I drove all year. Something called a Renault Fluence What an awful car. COld not get a comfortable driving position and hated the gearbox. Out int he West of Ireland I moved over for a large dual wheeled tractor and forgot about the ditch in the rain....slid into the ditch at about 30 MPH. Car was a writeoff.
If the English like garden gnomes, the Irish have to go one better:
Got a Pug to replace the Renault, a much better car:
As usual pubs and scenery are a pleasure:
The RS.! reached the ripe old age of 5. 14000 miles. Very early change of clutch was a big surprise, and ther is a lot fo wear on the alcantera steergn wheel, but otherwise is has been good. I will keep in indefinitely:
Tried a Fiat Abarth:
Lovely interior, overall inferior to a Mini Cooper, but lots of character. Still vague gearbox
Bought a 2013 Jeep Wrangler unlimited for AZ, perfect for offroading, and drove out on the very remote part of 66 leading to the California border:
Went to the Uk for some business and a quick side trip to Oxford and Brooklands. Had never been to Brooklands. What a simply amazing place.
Some AC were parked there including an unregistered AC 378...
In the nearby Mercedws-Benz world, they had a hyper-rare alloy bodied 300SL Gullwing..worth millions:
and this:
Back in London they had a magnificent Ferrari in the HR Owen window:
Went to a variety of restaurants and had the best meal of the year anywhere n the world at the Ledbury. The new Heston Blumenthal place seemed overrated to me:
Saatchi gallery is superb , and there are always cars to see in London , even this awful Range Rover
A little indulgence of my inner Harry Potter in Oxford:
Autumn in Canada, and the beginning of the end of the season:
Time for storage:
and preparation once again for the Westbound trip, one that would have a very sad ending:
There is an endless amount of kitsch of 66, including the Blue Whale of Catoosa Oklahoma...
The roads in the Texas panhandle are very remote on old 66,and the weather often results in big accidents, so the truck graveyard was large in Shamrock Tx
:
By the time we got to Flagstaff Az my faithful Great Dane was moving quite slowly,though she loved travelling in the Cayenne.
]
Up through Monument Valley she had her last happy photo. She died three days later at a little over 9 years old, a happy companion on thousands of miles.
It was time to take the Jeep offroad. It is a lot more agile than the Cayenne for this purpose:
Because of the loss of the Dane, the trip back was sombre, stopping at Meteor Crater, Dead Man's curve, and Santa Fe:
Had some business in SF.Strange view from my hotel window, 65 degrees,palm trees and a live skating rink....
They are as bonkers about dogs as the British:
Saw a strange Citroen on Union Street
The Beat Museum has just been given the original movie car from the new version of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" , the book that really inspired all countre culture road movies since.
Although I have been to SF over a hundred times over the years, I had never visited the Cable Car barn where all the cable control the entire fleet . It is very Victorian and wonderfully mechanical:
Last trip of the year was to Northern NY state to pick up some wine. There are still small towns and dairies:
and massive supermarkets with the usual personality mags in the checkouts:
Back in Az now till the end of 2012. Weather permitting I want t cover the very last little strip of AZ Route 66, and start the California leg. Still, most of that it for another year. A god year overall, but I will remember it mostly for the last trip of my Great dane.
.
There were quite a few of these around, forget from whom:
Came back to Canada and had a look at an amazing project, a complete four year recreation of the lost Bugatti Aerolithe of 1935. Made of magnesium, only one was built and it was the direct precursor of the Atlantique. This recreation is on an original Type 57 chasis and running gear. Magnesium is very tricky to weld. I will be seeing the completed car next month
.
Historical pic of the original car
In Philly saw this odd sculpture, which is a plant greenhouse. Can't help thinking that I would ave preferred the plane to be restored:
Drove up to NYC, and realized that the Crown Vic are disappearing very fast now. I think they will all be gone by next year. Sorry to see them go:
Did a few track days with the RS.2, which is a very good car overall, and has given me no trouble. One recall early in its life to change centre lock hubs, but nothing else.
Said goodbye to the M6. It had tons of character and only did about 20,000 miles in six years from new. One ECU meltdown, a big job under warranty, but otherwise trouble free. I have never travelled faster in any other car I have owned.
Pic week one:
Pic last day:
Tried out a Panamera GTS. The thing is vast, but handles very well. I could not get over its bulk however, and it sure is ugly. ( I know, so's the M6)
Went over to Ireland to see some mates from when I grew up there and rented incomparable the worst car I drove all year. Something called a Renault Fluence What an awful car. COld not get a comfortable driving position and hated the gearbox. Out int he West of Ireland I moved over for a large dual wheeled tractor and forgot about the ditch in the rain....slid into the ditch at about 30 MPH. Car was a writeoff.
If the English like garden gnomes, the Irish have to go one better:
Got a Pug to replace the Renault, a much better car:
As usual pubs and scenery are a pleasure:
The RS.! reached the ripe old age of 5. 14000 miles. Very early change of clutch was a big surprise, and ther is a lot fo wear on the alcantera steergn wheel, but otherwise is has been good. I will keep in indefinitely:
Tried a Fiat Abarth:
Lovely interior, overall inferior to a Mini Cooper, but lots of character. Still vague gearbox
Bought a 2013 Jeep Wrangler unlimited for AZ, perfect for offroading, and drove out on the very remote part of 66 leading to the California border:
Went to the Uk for some business and a quick side trip to Oxford and Brooklands. Had never been to Brooklands. What a simply amazing place.
Some AC were parked there including an unregistered AC 378...
In the nearby Mercedws-Benz world, they had a hyper-rare alloy bodied 300SL Gullwing..worth millions:
and this:
Back in London they had a magnificent Ferrari in the HR Owen window:
Went to a variety of restaurants and had the best meal of the year anywhere n the world at the Ledbury. The new Heston Blumenthal place seemed overrated to me:
Saatchi gallery is superb , and there are always cars to see in London , even this awful Range Rover
A little indulgence of my inner Harry Potter in Oxford:
Autumn in Canada, and the beginning of the end of the season:
Time for storage:
and preparation once again for the Westbound trip, one that would have a very sad ending:
There is an endless amount of kitsch of 66, including the Blue Whale of Catoosa Oklahoma...
The roads in the Texas panhandle are very remote on old 66,and the weather often results in big accidents, so the truck graveyard was large in Shamrock Tx
:
By the time we got to Flagstaff Az my faithful Great Dane was moving quite slowly,though she loved travelling in the Cayenne.
]
Up through Monument Valley she had her last happy photo. She died three days later at a little over 9 years old, a happy companion on thousands of miles.
It was time to take the Jeep offroad. It is a lot more agile than the Cayenne for this purpose:
Because of the loss of the Dane, the trip back was sombre, stopping at Meteor Crater, Dead Man's curve, and Santa Fe:
Had some business in SF.Strange view from my hotel window, 65 degrees,palm trees and a live skating rink....
They are as bonkers about dogs as the British:
Saw a strange Citroen on Union Street
The Beat Museum has just been given the original movie car from the new version of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" , the book that really inspired all countre culture road movies since.
Although I have been to SF over a hundred times over the years, I had never visited the Cable Car barn where all the cable control the entire fleet . It is very Victorian and wonderfully mechanical:
Last trip of the year was to Northern NY state to pick up some wine. There are still small towns and dairies:
and massive supermarkets with the usual personality mags in the checkouts:
Back in Az now till the end of 2012. Weather permitting I want t cover the very last little strip of AZ Route 66, and start the California leg. Still, most of that it for another year. A god year overall, but I will remember it mostly for the last trip of my Great dane.
Edited by RDMcG on Monday 17th December 20:54
denniswise9 said:
You live a pretty awesome life, some really great pics. Route 66 is on my list of places to go driving.
Sorry to hear about the dog though, RIP. Loved the look on his/hers face sat in the SL!
Her story is here:Sorry to hear about the dog though, RIP. Loved the look on his/hers face sat in the SL!
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=121...
Japveesix said:
Great post, really enjoyed the read, thanks for taking the time to share it all.
RIP the dane though, are you likely to get another?
Ps. love the look of the green wrangler, very subtle!
No doubt about it...Danes are quite unique dogs. I expect that another road companion will be heading out on the trek one of these days.RIP the dane though, are you likely to get another?
Ps. love the look of the green wrangler, very subtle!
K50 DEL said:
I always look forward to your reviews, just wish you did them in more depth and more often!
Thanks for the read!
There are lots of detail posts but it would me a bit redundant to repeat them. However, I am going to assemble a proper PH'rs guide to Route 66 in order. from West to East so that all of the posts make sense for anyone planning a tripThanks for the read!
Edited by RDMcG on Monday 17th December 21:11
RDMcG said:
K50 DEL said:
I always look forward to your reviews, just wish you did them in more depth and more often!
Thanks for the read!
There are lots of detail posts but it would me a bit redundant to repeat them. However, I am going to assemble a proper PH'rs guide to Route 66 in order. from West to East so that all of the posts make sense for anyone planning a tripThanks for the read!
Edited by RDMcG on Monday 17th December 21:11
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