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Monthly Newsletter of the Pikes Peak Section of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America.
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Welcome new members!
Inside this issue:
View From the Peak 2
Springs Rally 3
February Fun Run 3
D-I-Y Tech Session 3
No Brakes 3
Magic of the West 4
Monument Trifecta 5
P&R Drive 5
MHS Events 5
PPS Shirts 6 Mesa Verde Regional 6
Der Marktplatz 7
Click 7
V-Day Dinner Recap 8
P3 Update 8
Ice Festival Recap 9
Top Sale in AZ 9
Solar Roads 10
Wm. Rutherford
Newsletter of the PIKES PEAK SECTION
MARCH 2016
‘ROUND THE BENZ
2016 Pot Luck DinnerSunday, 20 March 2016
6:00 p.m.The Pikes Peak Section is usually an intrepid bunch of fun-seekers, but we’re not crazy. That’s why we bowed to cau-tion and cancelled our January Pot Luck Dinner when faced with Winter Storm Kayla. Discretion is always the better part of valor, and we got enough snow that night to make us glad we were snug in our beds.
Still we apologize to our members for putting you all to the work of cre-ating your culinary masterpieces and then not being able to sample them. We hope you were able to freeze most of your dishes.
Now it’s time to de-frost those meatballs and casseroles, and dig out the crockpots once again. Yes, we’ve rescheduled the Pot Luck for Sunday, 20 March at Mercedes-Benz of Colorado Springs, 733 Automotive Drive, Colorado Springs, CO. Festivities start at 6:00 p.m.
So, everyone, bring your favorite dishes to share. We will all have hearty appetites and expectations of a gustatory extrava-ganza! In past years, we’ve asked for main dishes such as casseroles and crock pots but salads and desserts are also on the list
of things to bring. Surprise us!
Please give Dave Williamson a call at 575-7976 (or email him at [email protected]) by 15 March to let him know you are coming and what you will bring. The dealership provides the tables, chairs, plates and napkins as well as the beer and wine and soft drinks. We
like to give them an accurate head count in advance. It’s only polite, right?... consider-ing all that they do for us.
We’ll have a surprise raffle again with our cutie pie auction-
eers Jadyn and Glenn handing out some fun M-B gear and other surprises. Remember, all proceeds from the usually raucous auc-tion go to the Section.
Our Paved Peaks & Passes traveling gnome also known
as the Platinum Posterior Award, will be moving to
a new home with some lucky traveler who put some serious miles on his own poste-rior as well as his car. You won’t want to miss the look of surprise and dismay on the recipient’s face this year.
Please plan to join us for this fun-filled evening - your taste buds will be glad you did.
The Best or Nothing!
Good friends, good food
2015 Platinum Posterior Award winners
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]
Glenn [email protected]
Henry [email protected] Sylvia [email protected]
Dave [email protected]
Webmaster:Robert [email protected]
Editor:Judy [email protected]
Regional Director:Michael [email protected]
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‘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
Mercedes-Benz truck memories, part two:
The Star mag-azine had an article on one of the most unique and exceptional vehicles ever produced, the UNIMOG.
UNIMOG is a German acronym for UNI-versales MOtor Gerat, roughly meaning universal motorized implement. The UNI-MOG is an unparalleled four-wheel drive truck that is produced in many configurations. I had the privilege of owning one.
In 1986, during the height of the “gray mar-ket,” I imported a 1961 404.1 Model Swiss Army surplus UNI-MOG flatbed truck. This heavy truck was powered by a romping, stomping 120 hp, 2.2 liter inline six. All that power was transferred to the wheels through a six-speed gearbox. 1st and 2nd were very low gears, i.e., a normal walking speed was faster than the truck would travel in 1st at engine redline. 1st and 2nd were for off-road only and reverse. 3rd through 6th was for on-road driving. It had a very complex transmission. In fact, it had four levers: the gear shift lever, the reverse lever, the 4-wheel drive lever, and the power take-off lever. The vehicle was normally in the 2-wheel drive mode. To engage 4-wheel drive you had to come to a stop, depress the clutch, pull up one
click on the 4-wheel drive lever. For really serious off-roading, you pulled the lever two clicks to fully mechanical, to lock the axles and differentials.
My vehicle came equipped with a mas-sive power take-off winch at the front. This was engaged by its own lever. It had solid axles suspended by all coil springs; the drive shafts were completely enclosed inside torque tubes. The power transferred to the wheels through portal axles on the top of the wheel hubs. All that meant was 16” minimum ground clearance at the differentials, with a substantial running ground clearance and superlative off-road performance.
However, the on-road performance left much to be desired, the top speed in 6th gear on flat ground was, may-be, 55 to 60 mph at best. It was extremely loud because there were no side windows. I actually had them -
they fit into slots in the top sides of the doors but were a pain to install. The inside of the cab was all steel, covered by a canvas top. The steel engine cover was inside the cab, barely covering the sonorously high rpm scream of the I-6 that was always at hand. But, the off-road performance more than made up for the on-road quibbles. I have a great story about the UNIMOG’s off-road prowess, but that will have to wait until next month.
As always, drive safe, and I will see you down the road.
Andrew
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“...without
drivers, steer-
ing wheels,
brake pedals,
or throttle
pedals.”
In a letter posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website this week, NHTSA told Google it can test autonomous cars without drivers, steering wheels, brake pedals, or throttle pedals.
NHTSA’s letter states, “We agree with Google its SDV [self-driving vehicles] will not have a driver in the traditional sense that vehicles have had drivers during the last more than one hundred years.” In oth-er words, the artificial intelligence can drive the car. NHTSA reasons that, since the AI is driving the car, a human in the vehicle would not fit the definition of a driver.
The letter also allows Google to outfit its autonomous cars such that the AI receives rearview information instead of a human
driver. That means, as long as there are sensors that detect what is happening behind the car, rearview and side mirrors aren’t needed.
In addition, NHTSA agrees that a foot isn’t re-quired on the brake pedal in Google’s self-driving cars when shifting out of Park. Since there is no human foot and no brake pedal, such a provision is unnecessary. NHTSA
also states that other similar issues can be resolved through rules interpretations and exemption petitions.
This letter is further evidence that the federal government intends to support the development of autonomous cars in the interest of safety. Similar rulings are sure to follow.
No Brakes, No Steering Wheel by Kirk Bell
“Springs” Rally & Breakfast - 16 April 2016Please join us at The Egg & I restaurant for our monthly section breakfast on Saturday, 16 April. It’s a great way to meet up with and get acquainted with your fellow Pikes Peak Section members.
This month after breakfast, at approximate-ly 10:30 a.m. we will commence with what I’m calling the “Springs” Rally. The theme of the rally will encompass most things “springs” about our great city. I hope this
is enough information for now to “wet” your appetite.
As you can probably surmise, the route will be in and around the greater Colorado Springs area and should last 2-3 hours. The terminus will be at a
appropriately themed restaurant for lunch, where prizes will be awarded for the top 3 finishers. The entry fee is only $15 per car. Please RSVP to Andrew Nelson at 719-634-7522 or [email protected].
Plan to attend our Spring Do-It-Yourself Tech Session on Sunday, 24 April at Mercedes-Benz of Colorado Springs at 730 Automotive Drive. We start out the morning with coffee and doughnuts, cour-tesy of Dave Williamson, and then head to the lifts where we change our wiper blades, oil, and tires just in time for the Spring thaw and resulting slush alerts. We can also tend to other minor repairs. Cost
is only $10 per car and all proceeds go to the Section. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.
Give Dave a call at 719-575-7976 to reserve your lift and discuss your project. Time to save some big $$ people; remem-ber, it’s one week after the IRS puts a dent in your wallet. Call Dave Williamson at 719-575-7976 for details.
D-I-Y Tech Session - 24 April 2016
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“...join us
on what I
believe will
be a long,
but great
trip.”
Magic of the West Tour by Ken SheehanSeptember 16-18, 2016
I’m happy to report we’ve had some interest in the “Magic of the West Tour.” Planning is still in progress. We still need more input. Do you think we should make this a three or a four day venture? Either way we will need to make an early start. There is very nice place we can stop for breakfast. It’s the Johnson’s Corner Truck Stop, Restaurant, and Travel Plaza, north of Denver. It’s famous for cinnamon rolls and home style cooking; it’s been open since 1952. The Johnson’s Corner Truck Stop was recently reviewed on the Travel Channel where it received high ratings.
We are planning to stay in Rapid City, SD. On Saturday we will set out on a self drive tour of Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monument (which is still under con-struction). The drive through the Black Hills is a trip you don’t want to miss.
If you’ve been to Mt. Rushmore, you can skip this part of the trip and visit the Bad-lands National Park (http://www.nps.gov/badl/index.htm). The park is 244,000 acres of beauty. You can spend as much time as you like at Mt. Rushmore, there is plenty to see. Once we’ve finished with Mt. Rush-more (approximately 2 hours) we will travel to the Crazy Horse Memorial (https://www.travelsouthdakota.com/explore-with-us/great-8/crazy-horse). There is a really nice visitor’s center that contains the “Indian Museum of North America.” Depending on the day, you could see native craftsmen, Native American dancing performances or a nightly laser light show. When the park is finished it should look like this:
There is so much to see you will find yourself a little pressed for time. The Crazy Horse Monument is much larger than Mt. Rushmore. You will want to spend more time here, we’ll leave this up to you. When finished with the Crazy Horse Monument, we’ll head back to Rapid City for supper.
Sunday will be a long day, the drive to the Devil’s Tower is relatively short, about 100 miles. Along the way you’ll see a lot of beautiful country side. In some areas you’ll expect to see the Indians and cowboys riding over the hills. The picture below is Devil’s Tower as seen from the highway.
Here is where we need to make another choice. Do we want to spend the night in the area prior to the drive back to the Springs?
So update your navigation system; if you don’t have a navigation system, be sure to bring a map. And join us on what I believe will be a long, but great trip. I am going to try and get some travel brochures, which you’ll find helpful. If you are interested in joining us for this adventure, or if you’ve got ideas to share, contact me at [email protected]; 719-433-9025. Hope to see you there.
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PREVIEW OF COMING ATTRACTIONS!
‘ROUND THE BENZ
March SocialDate: 16 Mar 2016Location: Benihana RestaurantCost: Order From the MenuContact: Lou Rogers, 303-466-3372, [email protected]
Sunday BrunchDate: 17 Apr 2016Location: Brown PalaceCost: TBDContact: Michael Davison, 720-233-7411; [email protected]
Mile High Section EventsFor more information, visit the MHS website at http://www.milehighmbca.org
“...we’re
going to
Monument
to finish one-
two-three
with beer
wine, and
whiskey...”
Monument Trifecta - 21 May 2016Do you know what a trifecta is? Miriam-Webster defines it as “a bet in which the person betting forecasts the first three finishers in a race in the correct order.” Well, Pikes Peak Sec-tion, you are all going to be winners in this race because we’re going to Monument to finish one-two-three with beer, wine, and whiskey. You guessed it - we will be visiting a local brewery, winery, and distillery for tastings and a late lunch.
Join us for our monthly breakfast at The Egg & I at Academy Crossing and then we’ll take off on a leisurely drive through
the countryside, wending our way north to the bustling and picturesque little town of Monument, CO. If the weather cooperates, it’ll be an ideal opportunity for an outing
for the road-sters in our group - tops down, wind in our hair, and adult bever-ages at the end of the drive. What’s
not to like?
Mark the date on your calendar and watch your newsletter for more details. Con-tact Dan Kerbs for more information at [email protected] or give him a call at 719-594-6017. Bottoms up!
Breakfast & Parks & Rec Drive - 18 June 2016Phase 3 of our Paved Peaks & Passes program goes into full swing on 30 April. If you haven’t picked up your passport yet, there’s still time to get one before this fun run.
We will choose a scenic route that will en-able us to collect 4-5 passport stamps for the day - maybe more if we’re so inclined. Fingers crossed that the weather will co-operate and give us a nice sunny day for photography.
Join us for breakfast at The Egg & I Res-taurant at Citadel Crossing at 9:00 a.m. We’ll depart from the parking lot at approxi-mately 10:30 for our scenic drive, stop-ping for a late lunch along the way later in the afternoon. If you have any questions, please contact Judy Bennett at 719-576-9737; [email protected]
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Pikes Peak Section ShirtsTime to show your MBCA spirit, Pikes Peak Section. We’ve found some new shirts that look spectacular - light blue for the ladies and darker blue for the gents.
Your choice of cotton pique or polyester. For more details, please contact Judy Ben-nett at [email protected] or 719-576-9737. The order form is below.
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Der MarktplatzWanted. C36 or C43 sedan. 300SEL 6.3 sedan. Call Pete at 719-599-7100 or email [email protected]
Running 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 and we’ll each save over $1000. Contact Dave Car-penter 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 purchas-ing 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.
Mercedes CD Changer – 6 disk, $80, 002 820 5989, with frame-holder and velcro cover. Call Har-vey at 331-1212.
This just in from the latest edition of the MBCA e-newsletter, Click, a quick wrap-up of news, dis-counts & special events:
Announcing StarFest® 2016! Wednesday August 3rd- Saturday August 6th, 2016. The Minuteman Section invites you to New Eng-land for 2016 StarFest®! StarFest® 2016 will take place in Connecticut’s “Quiet Corner” with lush green val-leys and picturesque hilltop farms, it’s also know as the Antique Capital of Connecticut. From the seashore near the host hotel, to the lush greenery near the host track, the two are linked by a short trip on I-395. Spectacular scenery and iconic New England towns await your discovery. Registration for StarFest® is open now. For more information, visit MBCA.org.
2016 Germany Tours. June 20 and September 19,
2016. Travelers will enjoy guided tours of the Carl Benz Museum in Ladenburg; the Daimler Workshop in Bad Cannstatt; AMG facilities in Affalterbach; the Mercedes-Benz Museum and Brand Center in Un-terturkheim; the Technical Museum in Sinsheim; the Bad Cannstatt Engine Assembly Plant; the Classic Center in Fellbach and the Sindelfingen assembly plant that covers more ground than the entire princi-pality of Monaco. This trip is $2,500 U.S. per person plus airfare. For more information please contact
Jim O’Sullivan at 843.671.2079 or [email protected]
Cars & Coffee at Amelia Island. For a third year, Mercedes-Benz Club of America members have been invited to display their Mercedes-Benz ve-hicles on the fairways of the Golf Club at Amelia Island during the Cars and Coffee at the Concours on Saturday March 12, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sub-mittals should be submitted in digital form; mailed or hard copy nominations
will not be accepted. Submit your nomination to Wil-liam Hopper, [email protected].
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Paved Peaks & Passes UpdateThe Paved Peaks & Passes program is alive and well. Our teams are still working on completing Phases I and II. But Phase III, Parks & Recreation (P&R) is almost ready to launch.
We are still checking out interesting places to visit for Phase III for 2016. We’ve decided on a list of 40 possible locations, mostly city and regional parks around our area. Participants will have to visit 35 of them to complete their passports.
You’ll be driving all around our area from Trinidad to the south, to Limon in the east,
to Loveland in the north, and to Gunnison in the west. We’ve con-centrated on locations we have not visited before, as we continue to explore our beauti-ful state of Colorado. You’ll be happy to know that for this phase, we’ve included some
locations in our home stomping grounds of Colorado Springs.
So stay tuned to see where we’ll be driving this summer. Passports should be avail-able by the April breakfast. Contact Judy for more information at [email protected] or give her a call at 719-576-9737.
Valentine’s Day Dinner RecapThe Pikes Peak Section celebrated Val-entine’s Day in style on Sunday, 14 Feb. Twenty-seven members gathered at Mimi’s Cafe for a delightful 3-course meal that we ordered from a pre-selected menu. The setting was private and romantic, complete with a fireplace; the service was excellent (thank you Clay!); and the food was deli-cious and plentiful, living up to Mimi’s justifi-able reputation.
Stan and Mary Bixler did a wonderful job setting up this evening. They worked close-ly with the manager, Spring Gould, to refine the menu and then finished it all off with adorable table decorations complete with, what else? Sweets for the sweets.
Our thanks to Mimi’s Cafe, Spring, and Stan and Mary for a most enjoyable evening.
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It was a great day for a drive into the Rocky Mountains on Saturday, 20 February. After our monthly breakfast, the Pikes Peak Sec-tion journeyed up Hwy 67 in search of some local color and some great driving. We found both at the 9th annual Cripple Creek Ice Festival.
The beautiful sunny weather was good for us; not so good for the gorgeously delicate ice sculptures. Record high temperatures kept the ice carvers busy salvaging the beautiful sculptures and creating new ones. This year’s theme was The Old West and
the sculptures honored that theme.
Several sculptures were made just for kids, with an ice slide and an ice maze. Street vendors had the perfect items for mementos of our visit. We especially liked the alpaca sweater tent - it was down-right cold in them thar hills. We ended the day at McGinty’s Pub in Divide - um-m-m, um-m-m good.
It was a very satisfying day in our beauti-ful Rocky Mountains. Our thanks to Stan & Mary Bixler for a great idea for an outing.
Ice Festival Recap
“...officially
the most
expensive
car sold....”
The top sale at the 2016 RM Sotheboy’s auto auction at the Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix, was a rare, fantastically pre-sented 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster at RM Sotheby’s. It was officially the most expensive car sold in Arizona Auc-
tion Week history at $9.9 million.
The 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster fell short of its projected sale price between $10 and $13 million but still beat the previous Arizona record of $9.6 million set at the same auction last year.
Top Sale at AZ Auto Auction by Andrew Norton
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“...will pave
621 miles of
road with
solar panels
over the next
five years.”
Roads have been mostly the same for a thousand years. Different types of vehicles traveled on them, and the surfaces might have been made with different materi-als, but the basic function of a road has been the same since the Romans built the world’s first highways. All that might be about to change.
Building on the Climate Accord reached in Paris last December, France’s minister of Ecology and Energy recently announced that it will pave 621 miles of road with solar panels over the next five years. The goal of the project is to provide enough energy to power homes for 5 million people – roughly 10 percent of the coun-try’s population.
The project is called the Wattway and is going to be a collaboration between French road builder Colas and the National Insti-tute of Solar Energy. The remarkable thing about the project is that the road will be paved with solar panels embedded into the road itself. The panels are about a quarter of an inch thick and supposed to be able to withstand highway traffic without mak-ing roads more slippery. The technology is innovative, compared to other photovoltaic solutions, in that it does not require to rip out the existing road infrastructure, or make any kind of civil engineering work.
Wattway panels are composed of cells inserted, in superposed layers, inside a thin film of polycrystalline silicon which can be applied directly on the pavement. The cells are encapsulated in a resin substrate, to keep them rainproof, and the compos-ite material is just a 7 mm thick, making it possible to adapt to thermal dilation in the pavement. Installing the solar panel surface over the existing roads is expected to take five years.
There are a lot of skeptics of the French project, and just because it is an ambitious
large-scale effort does not mean the effort will be successful. Yet in terms of taking a big risk with potential to change to way the world looks at one of the most basic trans-portation conduits, this effort is amazing. Colas says that 215 square feet of panels will be enough to power a single French home, with each kilometer of roadway sup-porting the energy needs of 5,000 houses.
The economics of the project will need to be markedly better than a Netherlands experi-
ment with bike paths before any of this effort makes sense in the future though. In the Netherlands, a 229 foot bike path cost $3.7 million to build and generated roughly $2,000 worth of electricity in its first year. At that rate of
return, France’s project would be a com-plete fiasco. With that said, France is using entirely different technology, and it is impos-sible to project what the cost of the project might be. The Netherland’s bike path was around 1,000 square feet which means it cost roughly $3,700 per foot to install. The French project is a little more than 78.5 million square feet, so at the same cost per foot, the 620 miles of road would cost an unaffordable $290 billion. Obviously the economics for France will have to change drastically versus the Netherlands project for the project to ever get past the an-nouncement stage.
There are a whole host of additional unan-swered questions to be considered from what will happen when the solar panels get dirty or covered in snow to the issue of replacing panels that die over time and the expected useful life of the road. None of these questions have been answered yet, but the cost of the road is one of the first issues that will need to be settled. At this point trial portions of road are being laid out though, and financing plans for the project are being considered.
Solar Roads by Michael McDonald
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1 March 2016Board Meeting - 6:00 p.m.Andrew Nelson 719-634-7522
19 March 2016Monthly Breakfast - 9:00 a.m.Andrew Nelson 719-634-7522
20 March 20162016 Pot Luck Dinner - 6:00 p.m.Dave Williamson 719-575-7976
5 April 2016Board Meeting - 6:00 p.m.Andrew Nelson 719-634-7522
16 April 2016Breakfast & Springs Rally - 9:00 a.m.Andrew Nelson 719-634-7522
24 April 2016D-I-Y Tech Session - 10:00 a.m.Dave Williamson 719-575-7976
3 May 2016Board Meeting - 6:00 p.m.Andrew Nelson 719-634-7522
21 May 2016Breakfast & Monument Trifecta - 9:00 a.m.Dan Kerbs 719-634-7522
7 June 2016Board Meeting - 6:00 p.m.Andrew Nelson 719-634-7522
18 June 2016Breakfast & P&R Drive - 9:00 a.m.Judy 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 St Patrick’s
Day
