2008 Rodeo Drive Concours d'Elegance

I've wanted to attend the annual Beverly Hills Rodeo Drive Concours d'Elegance the past several years since it is so close to home but it always falls on Father's Day and I usually have family commitments. Well, this year our family decided to celebrate on Saturday so Sunday was left free and I decided to have a look. The Rodeo Drive show is rather small by concours standards and took up roughly the two blocks between Santa Monica and Wilshire Boulevards. However, the quality as you might expect from this show was very high. I had a nice time strolling amongst some really high quality automotive beauties and also had time to chat with the folks at Ferrari/Maserati Beverly Hills and with classic car specialists at Gooding and Co.

Ok, here are some pictures to give you a flavor of the event:

At the north entrance of the show

60's Vintage Cobra Daytona Coupe. Just lovely!

Ferrari and Pininfarina. Classic combination!

60's Ferrari 250 GTO. 'nuff said.

50's Mercedes Gullwing 300 SL... another timeless beauty

Classics sit right next to modern Audi R8

Hanging out with the good folks at Ferrari/Maserati Beverly Hills and talking about... cars 'natch! How could you not when flanked by a Ferrari 599 and a Maserati Granturismo?

Still talking cars...

...and more car talk with the Gooding and Co. representatives about the magnificent yellow 1914 Stutz Grand Prix racer.

What car show would be complete in Beverly Hills without at least one uber-expensive and uber-exclusive Bugatti Veyron????

The Rodeo Drive show was actually quite relaxed. Sure, there were a lot of "beautiful" people hanging out as well but the cars were definitely the stars. Maybe I should bring my Ducati MH900e to the motorcycle corral next year. Hmmm... we'll see!

Karmina's Debut Album Is Now Available

Ok, I know this is a bit off-topic on my site but I just had to post about my friends' new album that debuted yesterday. Kelly and Kamille Rudisill make up Karmina and both are supremely talented musicians/writers/singers. I've watched their careers blossom over the past couple of years and I am delighted that CBS Records has released their first album "Backwards Into Beauty" nationwide in the USA. Have a listen over at http://www.karmina.com/ or check out Amazon.com.

I also had the privilege to be on-set for part of the video shoot for "The Kiss", the first released single from the album. For those of you with a keen eye and know me well do you recognize someone in the video? Here it is:

Finally, here is a clip from CBS television's "The Early Show" that provides a short interview with Kelly and Kamille followed by a live in-studio performance.

News Flash! JCW MCS Takes a 1st Place Prize at Huntington Beach, California Concours d'Elegance on 1 June 2008!

On the lawn

Waiting for the judges

Nervous time... Judges at work!

Keith (Concours Class Winner) on the left and I (Street Class Winner and Mr. Jet Lag) congratulated by famed MINI Hot Rod and Hollywood Vehicle Builder Fireball Tim

Parade of winners. Good company! Notice Keith's 2005 MINI Cooper S JCW/Alta right behind me.

Getting ready to take the spotlight and receive my trophy!

The 2008 Huntington Beach Concours d'Elegance 1st Place Glass Trophy

Ok, I knew it was going to be tough to get to the Huntington Beach Concours d'Elegance Car Show this year. I've missed it in the past because of the need to travel for business but the event has become a fairly regular show to attend and/or show a vehicle for me. I sent in my registration and fee just in-case I still wanted to attend even though it was just a day after my return from Europe. I knew that I'd be in no shape whatsoever to self-detail my MINI as I usually do for these types of events, so I contacted my friend Bill Debever at Transhine in Whittier, California (http://www.transhine.com/) while in Europe to see if he could take my car in on Saturday and detail it for Sunday's show. The car was already in need of a good detail (I detailed it last November upon the car's return from Europe) and Bill was going to have a stand at the show as well. The crew did an excellent job and suffice it to say the detail helped me garner a 1st place trophy and a bucket of detailing supplies for Best Modern MINI Cooper S in the "Street" (vehicle regulary driven) class. I showed JCW MCS at the HB show in 2005 in the "Concours" class and managed a third place trophy. Many miles and kilometers later it is satisfying to achieve a 1st place trophy. Bleary-eyed and jet-lagged I drove JCW MCS up to the stand to take the prize. It was worth the extra effort this year. Definitely!

Charley Boorman's bike from his and Ewan McGregor's latest motorcycle adventure. Love those guys!

Mid-1970's vintage bevel drive, square case, Conti exhaust, Ducati 750 Supersport. Bellissima!

For more info on the Huntington Beach Concours d'Elegance go to: http://www.hbconcours.org/. It usually takes a few weeks before the full winners list is posted.

Video Impressions from Europe, May 2008

Here is a video that highlights just a few of the week's many events.

Vienna, Austria and Riva del Garda, Italy... and a review of the Skoda Roomster

Stunning Alpine Scenery

On the road in Bavaria

Not all of the trip was about sobering 20th century history. We did spend a pleasant couple of days in Salzburg in the beautiful Salzkammergut area of Austria. I almost consider this part of Europe to be a second home (in addition to the Netherlands) as each time I return I grow more fond of the area. The culture and natural beauty is simply spectacular. After the all too brief stay in Salzburg it was on to Vienna for my biannual law school international reunion. An event I always look forward to, this year's reunion was quite simply the best yet. Good friends and accomplished professionals in their home countries, it is always a pleasure to meet and network and enjoy an interesting European city. We had a great time enjoying the Viennese nightlife. Two of the hip clubs we went to: Bar Italia and The White Line. Bar Italia had a nice lounge feel and the White Line had pretty people and great dance vibes. Check out Bar Italia and click on the video link to get an impression of this fashionable lounge.

Welcoming new Austrian graduates into the extended law school family at the opening dinner at the Vienna Radisson Hotel

Bar Italia, central Vienna after the reception/graduation dinner. The middle point of a very long night!

The party continues back at the hotel as the sun rises... almost time for breakfast!

Reception later in the day (after very little sleep!) at a Viennese law firm overlooking the Danube River and the city of Vienna

At the law firm reception

Entrance of a Viennese Heurigen (vineyard), site of the second evening's dinner and wine tasting. Turned out to be the first stop and then it was on to the nightclubs of Vienna... and another morning watching the sun rise before calling it quits! Don't believe anyone who says that attorneys don't know how to party!

From Vienna it was time to head across Austria to the Dolomites of Northern Italy and Riva del Garda for a business conference. Instead of driving the quicker route back west to Salzburg and over the Brenner Pass into Italy, I decided to travel south on the A2 via Graz (my home state of California Governor Schwarzenegger's hometown), Klagenfurt, Villach, and over the border to Udine, Verona and on to Riva del Garda. The drive was beautiful, especially near Villach and the Slovenian border. Northeast Italy is very industrial especially the region surrounding Venice and the traffic on the roads reflected this. Lots of freight on the move! After the hard weekend of VERY late nights in Vienna I needed to take a couple of breaks to get some seriously needed rest on the approximately 8 hour drive.

Beautiful scenery on the way to Italy

On the shores of Lake Garda in Northern Italy. Spectacular location to do business!

Business discussion at Riva del Garda

Several days of serious business talks followed in the supremely beautiful setting of Garda lake in the Trentino area of the Dolomites Mountains. Then it was back up through the Brenner Pass and Innsbruck Austria and then on to Munich for the return home.

Skoda Update:


So how did the Skoda fare over the 10 days of travel? I was pretty unimpressed during my initial encounter with the car. Rubbery shift feeling, long throws and a long reach to the shifter, a lack of steering feel, a top heavy feeling, all of the foregoing did not bode well for the Roomster. However, the 1.9 liter twin turbo diesel proved to be a fairly peppy motor and allowed me to pass a fair amount of traffic with gusto. I adjusted to the steering and though not a precision tool, enough feel exists to give confidence within the car's performance limits. The small tires and top heavy feel made me refrain from making quick maneuvers in favor of smooth inputs, especially at speed. The center armrest was a pain when in the down position since my elbow would always hit when I wanted to shift.

I attained approximately 180 kmh (111 mph) at about 4000 rpms (max approx 4500 rpm) on a derestricted portion of the German autobahn. Pretty good for a fairly high profile vehicle. Sure, I had to move over quickly for the true performance vehicles but torque and decent speed allowed for fairly easy overtaking.

Final verdict: After well over a one-thousand miles behind the wheel I found the Skoda Roomster to be a competent vehicle with decent space for luggage, roomy rear seats given the vehicle's size with good visibility and lots of glass, good fit and finish with quality VW feel, awkward styling, decent power, smoothness, and good fuel economy with highest spec diesel motor. Definitely not an enthusiast car, but it is a competent European travel companion.

Final Note

Before I sign off on this post I have to thank Jennifer for taking most of the photos and video. She joined me on this trip and also reconnected with several of my friends she got to know back in my post-grad study days and also helped with the business conference. Without her camera I'd have a lot less to post about!

Berchtesgaden, Germany

The Skoda Roomster chased by an angry classic Mini on the road from Salzburg to Berchtesgaden

Remains of the driveway leading to Hitler's Berghof

The Berghof seen in a period photo. I stood in the area roughly shown as the driveway to the left.

All that remains above ground of Hitler's alpine mountain retreat

Blasted area of the tunnel complex which ran underneath the Berghof. German writing on the wall stated that this machine gun position was taken out by a "panzerfaust" or better known to us in the USA: a bazooka.

View from inside the bunker complex near the ruins of the Berghof. Here machine gun and observation slits can be clearly seen in the hallway. To the left: a kennel for protection dogs.

At a Berchtesgadener specialty brewery. Much lighter atmosphere after visiting the foreboding ruins of a brutal regime.

I'm spending my final night near Munich's international airport and I thought I'd put up a small update. This trip has been very busy so I haven't had much time to get online but the beginning of the trip was actually quite relaxed. Immediately after touching down in Munich we drove to Salzburg with the plan to visit famous sights from Mozart and the musical "The Sound of Music" but jet lag and feeling a little bit under the weather meant a LOT of rest.

Before departing for Vienna we did manage to get over to Berchtesgaden, Germany while driving in a steady rain. Although always a beautiful place, the alpine setting was obscured by the rainy and overcast weather. History buff that I am I made sure to visit the area of the Berghof (Hitler's mountain home), or what little is left of it, and explored the remaining passageways of the underground complex that protected and connected different sections of a vast complex. I was alone for quite awhile down in the tunnels. It actually felt very eerie to be alone and facing machine gun slits meant to protect the Nazi dictator. It really is hard to imagine that this beautiful and serene mountain setting was the focal point of so many decisions that had a ruinous impact on the modern world.

After the sobering visit to the Berghof it would have been nice to visit the Kehlsteinhaus "Eagle's Nest" at the top of Obersalzberg Mountain for more history and for the spectacular view but I thought it better to get on with the drive to Vienna because of the bad weather.

Before we left Berchtesgaden we made a stop at the Grassl Enzianbrennerei and tasted a few of the locally grown, brewed, and distilled root-based liquor products. Picked up a couple of bottles and hit the road to Vienna. For more visit: Enzianbrennerei Grassl.

More later as time allows!

Back to Europe in the Skoda Roomster

The Skoda "Roomster" at Franz Josef Strauss Airport, Munich, Germany. Roomy for a small car yes, decent turbodiesel power, but darn if I don't miss the power of my MINI from last summer's blasts down the autobahn!

I'm in Europe on business and to attend a class reunion. It's good to be back even if only for a short stay! I arrived in Munich and immediately picked up my Skoda "Roomster" TDI at Hertz and drove over the border via autobahn (I already miss the passing power of my MINI!) into Austria and on to my old stomping ground of historic Salzburg, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's birthplace and home of the von Trapps of "The Sound of Music". Mozart dominates the town as usual and I am always very happy to be in this wonderfully beautiful place. I hope to take a day out and head over to the magnificent vistas and intriguing WW2 history of nearby Berchtesgaden, Germany before getting back on the "schnellweg" to Vienna for a class reunion. After that it is over the border into Italy for a business conference.

If you are interested in the Czech Skoda (an offshoot of the VW Group) have a look at: Autoblog on the Roomster or on the official Skoda homepage at: Skoda Roomster. For a history of the Skoda car company which goes all the way back to 1894(!) visit Wikipedia at: Skoda Auto.

I hope to post more soon and add some more Roomster driving impressions!

Just before leaving the airport in Munich, Germany we came across this interesting BMW display. Given that Munich is the home of BMW finding this advert was not a huge surprise!

JCW MCS Gets a High Performance Camshaft

I've been having issues with one of my O2 sensors as my "check engine light" has been on for a couple of weeks. I went up to Steve's Auto Clinic in North Hills, Calfornia (in the blazingly hot San Fernando Valley) to have the issue sorted and to take the opportunity to change oil and check all fluids prior to the summer driving season. I also have a Schrick camshaft sitting on my table that is just begging to be installed. Well, today is the day I decided to get all of it done.

The oil change and O2 sensor replacement was completed very quickly. The location of the sensors on the John Cooper Motorsport full exhaust system made access very easy.

The camshaft install was more intense but it was a fascinating experience to watch the engine head being removed and the valvetrain internals laid bare for the cam installation. The Schrick camshaft is tuned to remain smooth at idle and give a good punch from about 2500 rpm and on up to redline. A heavily modified car like mine should easily see between 5-10+ horsepower gain from the new cam install. I'll definitely have to get JCW MCS on a dyno to see just how far I've come from bone stock 168 horsepower to the original JCW 200 kit install back in 2004 to the JCW 210 upgrade to John Cooper Motorsport 225 HPD conversion to Cooper Motorsport sourced limited slip differential and light flywheel upgrades to the Schrick cam. Quite a bit of fettling under the bonnet I'd say!

I've posted some pictures to give you a flavor of the install process:

Faulty oxygen sensor replaced

On the lift surrounded by MINIs new and old and a very yellow '69 Camaro

Inspecting the valvetrain

New and old camshaft and various valvetrain parts

Schrick high-performance camshaft in-place

Steve and Junior completing camshaft installation

I've only had one drive with the new cam installed but I DEFINITELY feel a difference as I'm easily able to power-on chirp the front tires. I think I'm really gonnna like this engine modification...

JCW Clubman and Cooper S On Track

Fun Video of the new generation JCWs on the racetrack. What?!? No supercharger whine??? I still need to get used to the turbocharger era...

2008 MINI Cooper S JCW vs. Renault Clio Cup

Does the turbocharged "base" MINI Cooper S JCW have the speed and handling to take on the not-available-in-the-USA Renault Clio Cup? Tiff Needell and Jason Plato of Fifth Gear along with guest and awesome stunt driver Russ Swift (who performed amazing feats in the MINI at Mini United 2007) put the two cars to the test in the as-usual entertaining manner.



Video content is the property of Fifth Gear.

Berlin's Historic Airport Under Threat

As part of my MINI United adventure in 2007 I traveled to Berlin, Germany. A fascinating city with its huge role during the 20th century, Berlin is home to many landmarks including Tempelhof Airport. I circled the airport in my MINI and drove by the memorial to the Berlin Airlift. The buildings are architecturally interesting and I think it would be a shame if the airport were to disappear. Sounds like this is not completely the case, but there is that possibility. Anyway, Reuters has a video that talks about Tempelhof Airport:

Maserati Day at Ferrari/Maserati Beverly Hills

On Saturday, 12 April I was invited to drive the Maserati Granturismo (and Quattroporte GTS) by my friends at Ferrari/Maserati Beverly Hills. I've been eagerly awaiting this opportunity and the car did not disappoint. The event was elegantly organized and catered with wonderful Italian luxury goods on display when the guests weren't occupied with all the automotive engineering art all around.

Driving the Granturismo was quite easy. I thought the car's dimensions would be a little difficult to get used to but by two blocks I was comfortably rowing through the ZF auto transmission's Sport Paddleshift mode and maneuvering comfortably. Of course the stint behind the driver's wheel inside such an exquisite interior made me want more... and I look forward to the introduction of the Granturismo S with the the true manual paddle shift "Super Fast" gearbox out of the Ferrari 599 and the 440 hp 4.7 liter engine with revised suspension tuning. I can't wait for another drive!

The folks over at Beverly Hills put on a very nice event with some excellent gifts in the goodie bag we received as we left. I'll be sure to dogear the lovely Granturismo brochure and I'll be closely tracking the progress of the Granturismo S!