Every Day News
Here’s a blog-like update on my day-to-day “grind”:
The future is here, and it has LED’s.
The Cars and Coffee of 2015
What a wild year for the so-called “Canepa Cars & Coffee”. Flipping through my photos of the first meet of the year, you can see that it was originally a pretty low-key event.
At the time, we all considered this a pretty decent showing. There were a few really interesting cars, and overall it seemed to be mostly Porsches given the nature of Canepa’s shop and racing career, past and present. As a Porsche lover, you won’t hear me complaining about that.
As would prove a theme for the whole year, we met some friends from the internet. Time and time again, it was proven true that it’s the cool people who come out with their cars, while the trolls are just sitting in their mom’s basement defending their leased Jetta TDI on the internet.
The flip side of the low attendance was that the parking was much more, erm…informal.
Yeah. Lots of vans for some reason. Back then, there was room for everyone in the parking lot.
And as you can see, the crowd was pretty sparse.
This is a Porsche 906, which is one of my all-time favorite cars that Porsche ever made. It was the last road-legal Porsche race car; the end of an era. And it turned out this lovely orange example was in for a full restoration that I would see unfold over the next several months.
There’s a guy who shows up early every single month in his Mk5 Golf R32 and leaves his hood popped. What is he showing off? The only mod is a short ram intake. Big deal. Anyway, this Volvo has every reason to have its hood popped.
At the July C&C, I met Drew, the owner of this LS1-swapped Volvo V90. In case you were wondering, that’s the engine from a Camaro SS, or a base model C5 Corvette. And it’s not stock. He didn’t build it, but you know what they say: dumb guys build race cars, smart guys buy race cars. Here’s another cliché: buy the owner, not the car. Apparently the guy who did build this car was some sort of meticulous mad genius who builds awesome cars and gets bored of them quickly. Perfect!
This Miura appeared at the July event. By this point, word was getting out about how cool the meet was, and some truly awe-inspiring machinery was coming out.
I had never, ever seen a Panoz Esperante. And I don’t think I ever will again.
This Cadillac blew my mind. I believe it was a 1906; so not only was it the oldest car I’ve ever seen at Cars and Coffee, it was probably the oldest car I’ve ever seen driving on public roads! An entire family of four showed up in it, no problem. They worked back then, why shouldn’t they work now? Amazing.
So why was the meet growing in popularity? The opportunity to walk freely around the incredible shop space was surely the biggest draw.
See what I mean? Every corner of the shop is filled with some awesome vintage car in varying states or restoration or repair.
Remember the 906? This was the state of it in July. Coming along nicely…
Due to various commitments, I wasn’t able to make every event. In fact, it’s only now that I’m looking at my photos and realized that I made every other event: April, July, and October. Given that the October meeting was the last one of the year, I definitely wanted to go. So on the early morning of October 10th, I woke up before my alarm clock, too excited to sleep, and bounced down to my workplace to pick up “my” car: a Pearl White McLaren 650S that I’d be driving for the day.
We were also accompanied by Art in his new-to-him E36 M3, his neighbor Kevin in a C63 AMG (not pictured yet), and one of our friends who we originally met on the internet, Gabe (aka ‘safegabe’) in his ’91 Civic Si. Point proven again: the cool dudes on the internet bring their cars to hang out, while the trolling idiots on the internet just sit at home, lonely and embittered.
I wish I had taken more pics when we first arrived. After just a few minutes, the sun was getting harsh.
Another friend from the internet, “Dave_Car_Guy”. He has quite an eclectic collection, ranging from a Datsun Roadster to a 930 to this Fisker Latigo CS (and a few more besides). We begged him to bring the Latigo, not because it’s necessarily the “coolest” car in his stable, but because it’s definitely the rarest: only one customer car was ever made!
Of course, you can read more about this car on the internet if you like, but here are some fundamentals to whet your appetite: it’s based on an E63 BMW series–a V10-powered M6, in fact. The original prototype was based on a 645i, and there were supposed to be 150 made, but only one was ever sold: the car you’re looking at. At an original cost of $216,000 not including the base car, you can see why it was a hard sell.
The rear end of the car is so much better resolved than the original Bangle design, but the jury’s still out on the front. I’m not really a fan of the Bangle E63/E64, so I find the Fisker touch to be appropriate. Also, the grey bus next to us wit the deep red interior (and a table!) was awesome.
Rarity is king at meets like this. I’m glad Art didn’t bring his 993 out this time, because even though it’s a cool car in a cool and rare-isn color, there are always 993’s out there. Hell, there was even an Ocean Blue 993 there already when we arrived! But even though there were a couple other E36 M3’s, there weren’t any sedans. Although there was another slicktop M3; this insanely rare E36 M3 Lightweight that I’ve seen at every Canepa C&C so far.
There are some cars that you can see over and over and not get tired of; this lead sled Merc is one of them. I finally got the time and opportunity to grab some snaps, so I did what I could.
When the car next to it left, I jumped in and made my move!
This is a 1940 Ford I believe? I don’t have any pics of the front–it might be a ’39.
In front of that was another car for the “never get tired of” department. This long hood, glass window Targa has been at each C&C I’ve seen, but I never get tired of looking at it.
And in front of that was a lovely BMW in a similar hue. Man, I love blues like this; why don’t manufacturers offer colors like this anymore?
Or what about colors like this? I guess people in general aren’t bold enough to roll around in a pink muscle car anymore.
The term “classic” is thrown around pretty easily with European or American cars, but Japanese? Even though it’s a Corolla, this car is a legitimate classic in my view.
One of the original draws to the Canepa Cars & Coffee was, and remains to this day, the opportunity to tour the shop. You’ll always find a treat, whether it’s looking at this incredible Ferrari 250 LM and wondering what it was like to blast down the Mulsanne at over 170mph…
…or looking at this McLaren P1 next to it and wondering what it’s like to blast down the freeway at over 170mph. I imagine the experience in the McLaren is a bit more sedate, eh?
Of course, you also get the works-in-progress; priceless classic cars getting repairs as if they were just any old daily driver. Such is Canepa, where extraordinary vehicles are clearly quite an ordinary sight.
Like this hot rod. I don’t really know what I’m looking at in there, but I do remember the Gurney Eagle being one of the most beautiful Formula One cars ever.
I’ve tried to take this 288 GTO’s interior shot before, but this is the first time I’ve been able to pull it off.
Since this was right after the Rennsport Reunion at Laguna Seca (which I have about a zillion photos of–don’t worry, I didn’t forget about them!), the shop area was predictably filled with plenty of awesome racing Porsches.
Remember the orange 906? Well, here it is, looking like it just rolled out of Porsche’s factory in the 60s. Wow.
This pair of perfect 917’s was pretty awesome, too.
From that early 1970-spec 917 K-70 to this end of the line 917/30 Can-Am beast, it’s pretty interesting to think that those are essentially the same car.
I was in the back area and Gabe came up to me. “Did you see the LaFerrari parked next to you?” I walked over to see that there was quite a stir.
The Ferrari TheFerrari is another one of the current crop of exquisitely designed cars which really needs to be seen to be appreciated, because it’s actually all the things you can only perceive up close that really make it attractive. I think the same can be said of the McLaren P1, the Koenigsegg One:1, and even the Singer 911’s for that matter: they’re all about the details.
We cruised over to our usual meet-up location and had some lunch. Here are some gratuitous shots of everyone:
And with that, a great season of Canepa Cars & Coffee had ended. See you again in 2016!
Whoa! What’s that?? Remember to always keep your cameras out and your mind turned on.
Miata Ride & Drive / Jalopnik Film Festival 2015
Well, that was an interesting weekend. Two events were happening at the same time: the Jalopnik Film Festival, which featured a screening of Adam Carolla’s film, Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman as well as a Q & A with the man himself, but it was also the big Rennsport Reunion V at Laguna Seca–and I was determined to attend them both. Right now we’ll concentrate on the former, but don’t worry, I have plenty of Porsche content to come.
The adventure began when Art and I departed from my pad in San Jose. Behind that sexy thin A-pillar, you can see El Toro, the big hill located in Morgan Hill (fun fact: the town was actually named after a person–Morgan Hill).
This part of California has that high desert vibe going on. The scenery brings to mind Kyuss, but we were probably listening to Battles.
At one point we turned off at an interesting side road; its tarmac was relatively fresh and although straight, it was very, very wavy.
See what I mean?
Anyway, after these brief shenanigans we got back on the road.
A few short hours later we were in “Los Angeles”. Actually, I think our hotel was in Sherman Oaks and the film festival was in Santa Monica. As locals will know, that would probably involve a quick blast on The 101 to get to The 405 and down to The 10. However, not only is that paint-dryingly boring, but by 3:00 Google Maps was telling me the whole route was gridlocked anyway.
So we got to experience what, in my opinion, is the best part of LA: driving in the canyons. Although I have to say, anything involving a stoplight in southern California is eye-watering, and those are a necessary evil if you want to get to and from those brilliant canyons.
When we arrived, it appeared they had managed the attendance well. Although the (free) Ride & Drive was listed as “sold out”, the crowd was modest.
When I arrived, I got through the slowest part: signing in and getting a pass. I watched cars go back and forth and waited a few short minutes for my name to be called.
They had a bunch of different trim and color combinations there, although oddly enough they didn’t have the one color I’m most interested in: “Blue Reflex”.
Satisfyingly, I got to drive the exact model I’d want: a manual transmission Club trim with the BBS/Brembo package. I wish the premium audio, only available in the Grand Touring trim with leather and all that crap, was a standalone option like on European cars.
From the back, I’m digging the baby F-Type thing. The interior is actually quite good. But that front end? I dunno, man. It makes me want to wait for the refreshed model before I would even consider buying one.
As for the driving? Well, it was okay. There was a 25 mph “speed limit”, but worse than that, the course was EXTREMELY tight.
I mean, it was mostly hairpins that were like U-turning on a two lane road. So I guess the turning circle was impressive, but you couldn’t really carry any speed. Although some people did try, with hilariously understeer-y results.
If anything, the pillow-like suspension of the Miata was demonstrated to full effect. From it looking pretty sporty on one side…
…to looking like it’s going to take off on the other. Miata’s have always had a certain degree of body roll built in, but with the state of tire technology these days it’s kind of ridiculous in my opinion.
The OEM splitter/lip kit looks pretty good, right?
If you haven’t seen Patrick George of Jalopnik crashing a Camaro at a press event, please click this link and watch the video. At least look at the screenshot of the video after you click that link. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
Okay, now we’re on the same page. And so must have been that guy playing Forza Horizon 2. Car is understeering? Just add more steering angle!
What was the name of Mazda’s engine technology?
You know what? I love race cars. They’re just so purposeful. Yeah, things may have been better in “the good ol’ days”, but the modern stuff is still awesome.
Exhibit A: carbon fiber and downforce.
At this point, I went out and checked out some of the cars in the parking lot. As we all know, parking lots at gearhead events can be as entertaining as the events themselves. This E28 535i had the sexy Euro headlights, and the nasty US-spec bumpers were tucked for a slim look.
This is Matt Farah’s Fox Body Mustang. It’s an SSP model, which means it was a stripped out V8 powered car originally sold to the California Highway Patrol as an unmarked pursuit vehicle. It now has a Ford Racing 302 crate engine and Cobra IRS, and it rolls on a square 295/35/18 setup. Very cool.
As I was standing around shooting, a Morgan Three-Wheeler drove up, driven by none other than Alex Roy. Of course, all the cameras came out.
I’d never seen a Morgan, so this was a pretty cool opportunity.
A few minutes later, Alex Roy re-appeared and applied a Jalopnik sticker to the back of the car.
This was a pleasant surprise. Wait, what? A dirty Volkswagen VR6 with an aftermarket intake..?
Well, would you look at that. Isn’t that awesome? The “Emmkay Four” is a shockingly lame car in stock guise, and what most owners do it these days is dreadful. But this is one of the coolest examples I have ever seen.
It had a pretty cool gauge setup, and even a half-cage (not pictured). The owner uses it for track days, surprising much more exotic material with his nose-heavy little monster.
As it got darker, I synced up with Art as we anticipated the start of the film. Just hanging out near the Mazda prototype race car were the Car Cast team, Adam Carolla and Matt D’Andria. I can’t remember how it started, but as usual Art, the master of blab with the gift of gab, struck up a conversation and we chatted with them for quite a while–in fact, right up until we had to go inside the hanger because the film was finally about to begin.
So how was the film? In a word, excellent. Although the acoustics in the hangar were awful, the plastic folding chairs were very uncomfortable and too close together, and the A/C was blasting, I was captivated. Of course the subject matter was already going to be interesting; Paul Newman had a fascinating life and the people he knew were very interesting to listen to. It was well directed and edited, and overall I really enjoyed the film.
The Q & A afterwards was equally entertaining, with Matt Farah interviewing Adam Carolla, who was quite obviously pretty drunk. However, after about two questions he was sharp as a tack and then only got better until ‘they’ just cut the whole thing off. I thought that was a bit odd, but before that he had some great moments railing on Tom Cruise, condescending an audience member who was “disappointed not to have seen more clips from the original Winning film” (WTF? haha), and explaining why he didn’t buy the last car Paul Newman raced (a C5 Corvette; Carolla thought it was “too new” at the time, but he regrets the decision now).
Afterwards, there was a party with Justin Bieber’s DJ or something. The literal translation would be “loud music and alcohol”, although I have to say that this event definitely attracted its share of eye candy as well, so it wasn’t a total letdown. Through a set of completely coincidental circumstances, when we finally walked outside there were just a few people standing around and a few cars left in the parking lot. Among them was the owner of this BAC Mono.
Another dude had a Spa Yellow Honda S2000, and another with a WRX was showing pics from his recent trip driving at the Dunsfold Aerodrome (aka Top Gear Test Track). Even Patrick George, the Undersecretary of Understeer, was there inquiring about Art’s 993. Truly a gathering of real petrolheads.
At some point, after all the crew had gone home and it was pretty dark, we saw a lady come through to clean up the parking lot. At this point, we decided it was probably a good idea to call it a night, and headed out.
The next morning was the Rennsport Reunion…coming next.
Dad Car
Some people are immune to compromises. If I were about to bring a child into the world and needed to adjust my vehicular stable to accommodate, I would set aside my need for speed and sportiness.
Yeah, I would probably roll with my family in something like that: safe and new. Not even a badass all-wheel-drive version packing well over 300hp, either–I’d go with the FWD fuel miser. At least Volvo offers a “Sport Package” sort of option that gets you a stiffer and lower suspension, bigger wheels, and sexy seats. But that is practically the definition of a compromise—“okay, it might be an automatic Volvo wagon, but at least it has the Sport seats!”
If you’ve been following this site, you’ve seen his E30 M3, E82 135i, i3, and Porsche 993. What you’re looking at is Art’s newest car. This is a man truly not given to compromise. When life called and a suitable family car was needed, the only answer was Unicorn.
The requirements were deceivingly simple: it must be a sporty four-door sedan or wagon. Always keeping money on his mind, it should also be something that would either depreciate very little or even appreciate. That crossed almost every new car off the list, so the search extended to modern classics.
That’s where this E36 M3/4/5 fits the bill perfectly. Perhaps riding the E30 M3 wave, or perhaps because they’re cool cars in their own right, the E36 M3 has essentially stopped depreciating and begun its upward appreciation curve.
And as a tool for the job? It’s ideal. E36’s are in the “Goldilocks zone” of cars; you can cruise with four adults in comfort, yet narrow roads and city parking spots are no problem.
What about compromises? There are none. It does everything it needs to do and its only deficiencies relate to its age (like the condition of certain wear items, or the presence of a 5-speed–as opposed to 6-speed–gearbox).
One thing you should know about Art is that he is not fond of sunroofs. Not only are they unnecessary weight strapped to the worst part imaginable (the very top), there’s one other huge consideration with this car in particular: E36 sunroofs are terrible. Twenty years later, most E36 sunroofs are either rattly, non-functional, or both.
But, you see the roof on this car, don’t you? Yup, there’s nothing there: this is a sunroof-delete car, aka a slicktop. By default, all US-spec M3’s until the E92 were equipped with sunroofs; if you wanted a slicktop, you had to special order the car with a sunroof delete. Since Americans tend to buy their cars straight off the lot instead of waiting three months for a special order to arrive, slicktop M3’s are exceedingly rare.
And again the refusal to compromise comes back. Because believe it or not, even though the E36 M3/4/5 is the perfect car for Art’s situation, he would not have bought it unless it was a unicorn-spec sunroof-delete car. Somewhat hard to fathom–unless you refuse to accept a compromise.
As far as we can gather from internet research, there were 75 total Dakar Yellow E36 M3/4/5’s made, but no one knows how many are slicktops. In addition to that, there’s no data concerning interior colors. Given how few slicktop sedans were made in general, this is a very rare car in North America. So far I’ve found three other cars that meet the “DYE36M345” criteria, but none had a black interior like Art’s. Do you have a Dakar Yellow slicktop E36 M3/4/5? If so, we’d love to see it!
Star Road 