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Volume 23 Issue 10
September 2013
What’s Inside
Page 2 Taking the Long Way (cont.)
Board Meeting
Page 3 Upcoming Events
October Board Meeting Club Classifieds
Advertiser
Page 4 Great Western Adventure
Page 5 Great Western Adventure Cont.
Page 6 Christmas Dinner Reservation Form
Page 7 Advertisers
Page 8 Advertisers
Taking the Long Way … By Ken Rabbers, President
Driving a race car; driving a sports car on curvy hilly roads; watching a race in person; watching a race on TV are all things I’ve done and love to do. What’s missing? Yes, it’s watching movies having to do with the above. I’m sure most of you have seen your share of car movies over the years. No, I’m not talking about the movie Cars. To me, the cartoon movies (Cars, Turbo, etc.) are still just cartoons. To be a real car movie, it has to be about or contain real cars. Everyone has their own idea about what makes a great car movie but since I’m writing the article, I get to choose the movies.
What I think are some of the great movies are: Grand Prix, LeMans, Senna, Bullitt, Gone in 60 Seconds (I like the original version best but I like the car from the second version bet-ter), The Italian Job (here again, I prefer the original version), Rendezvous, and Christine. There are a lot more out there as well but either I haven’t seen them, they didn’t leave much of a lasting impression, or I just didn’t remember while writing this article.
I’m not sure that I enjoy any one type of car movie better than another; the racing movies pretty much have me enthralled throughout with the sights and sounds of high powered race cars. The first racing movie I saw was Grand Prix with James Garner soon after it came out in 1966. A friend and I went to our local theatre (the Glen in Glen Ellyn, IL) and sat in the front row. As soon as the movie started I was hooked! Even with the story line and the actors getting in the way, the movie sucked me right in and seemed to go by way too quickly for a 3 hour movie. This movie was my first real exposure to Formula 1 racing and some of the iconic European circuits such as Spa, Monza and Silverstone.
The other racing movie I like is LeMans (1971) with Steve McQueen. As with Grand Prix, there is so much actual racing footage that it’s not hard to forget that you’re watching a
The Official Newsletter of the Indy Miata Club
Fill out the reservation form on page 6 of this newsletter and send in with payment of $10 per person. Don’t forget to sign up on the website.
Deadline will be November 15th
2013 Indy Miata Club Christmas Party
Saturday, December 7th George's Neighborhood Grill
6935 Lake Plaza Dr. Indianapolis, IN
Indy Miata Club Officers
2013
President Ken Rabbers
Vice-President Gary Weidman
Treasurer Steve Crouse
Membership Director Tom Lewis
Secretary Joan Rabbers
Website Editor Sara J McBride
Newsletter Editor Sabrena Smith
The Open Road is published monthly for the members of the Indy Miata Club. The Indy Miata Club assumes no liability for any information contained herein, or injury or damage resulting from the use of this information. The ideas, opinions, maintenance or modi-fication tips expressed are to be used at the reader’s discretion. Individual contributors and/or the editors express no approval, authentication, or en-dorsement. Thank you.
movie and not a real race.
Senna (2012) is not really a racing movie but more of a documentary that has a lot of great racing footage. The movie is about the life of Aryton Senna, and other than having to read a subtitle is very interesting and a good history of one of the greatest drivers of all time.
Rendezvous (1976) is somewhat of a cult classic with a lot of guessing about the car and the driver. I’ve read quite a few opinions of both but nothing definitive. Bottom line though, it really doesn’t matter. What matters again are the sights and sounds coming from the screen. For those who aren’t familiar with Rendezvous, it’s a short (9 minute) film that was shot on an early Sunday morn-ing in Paris with a bumper mounted camera. All filming was done without permission and rumor has it that the director, Claude Lelouch was arrested after the film was first shown in Paris. Unlike Grand Prix and LeMans, there is no story line or actors dialog to get in the way, nothing but action from the first frame to the last.
Bullitt (1968) has the classic chase scene through the streets of San Francisco. I don’t think this was ever conceived as a car movie but the chase scene is probably the one thing that most people re-member and talk about. The rest of the movie is really pretty good and has a lot of suspense and drama but it’s not likely that anyone would remember much about it if it weren’t for the great chase.
The Italian Job (1969 and 2003) both use cars, Mini Coopers, as the stars for the action scenes. The two movies are not much alike at all except for the use of the Minis. The earlier movie takes place in Italy of all places! The latter movie takes place primarily in California. The opening scenes how-ever do take place in Venice, hence the ability to use the Italian reference. The use of cars through-out these two movies makes them more car movies than some others such as Bullitt.
Gone in 60 Seconds (1974 and 2000) is about an ex car thief who is enlisted to steal cars in order to save his brother’s life. Again, a lot of great action and some great car footage but not on the same level as Grand Prix, LeMans, or The Italian Job.
Christine (1983) was the first Stephen King movie I saw, also the first Stephen King book I read. No chase scenes, no racing footage or high powered sounds, but this movie is definitely not one to forget. Eerie doesn’t come close to describing the movie and anyone who thinks that cars are sim-ply inanimate objects will most likely reconsider that line of thinking after seeing Christine.
There are other car videos as well, some in my personal collection such as 50 Years of Formula 1 On-Board, are nothing but racing from the point of view of the driver. The footage is all from car-mounted cameras with views from either just at the side or behind the drivers. The tracks are the classics; the Nurburgring (the original 14 mile circuit), Spa, Rheims, Silverstone, Monza, Suzuka, and Monaco.
One movie I haven’t yet mentioned is Rush the latest offering from Ron Howard. Before the end of September, I will have sat through at least one showing of the new racing movie, and will no doubt sit through additional showings. This movie has been in the making for several years now and is basically the story of the Formula 1 rivals James Hunt and Niki Lauda during the 1976 season. I have been an active follower of Formula 1 since 1967 and distinctly remember the happenings of 1976. From what I’ve heard and read about Rush, there is little doubt that it will quickly become one of the all-time great racing movies.
As mentioned, there are lots of other car movies but these are the ones that do something for me. So many to choose from; oh yeah, what about Winning, The California Kid, Days of Thunder, Talla-dega Nights, … Ok, I was kidding about the last two.
The Last Word(s)… -If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough. Mario Andretti -Everything comes to those who wait... except a cat.
Mario Andretti
Page 2 Open Road October 2013
Taking the Long Way Home cont.
Now celebrating 40 years!
Exclusive Discounts for Indy Miata Club Members
Tom Roush Mazda, Indiana’s first Mazda dealer established in 1972 has not only the most experienced sales and service staff in town, but also is the highest vol-ume dealer in Indiana. We hope to serve you in our next 40 years as Indy’s pre-mier Mazda dealer. In support of the Miata Club member’s we would like to offer the following benefits:
15% off regular door labor rate
15% off any accessory purchase
S-Plan pricing to eligible customer’s
Extended Saturday service hours 7:30—3:30
US 31 North @ 169th Street Westfield, IN 46074 800-891-3056
CLASSIFIEDS 1999 Miata Parts for sell—Brand New spoiler parts. Contact Saundra Kimmerling at [email protected] or call 765-617-8884 2006 Mazda Miata Mx-5 Touring, 5spd manual, 49,000 miles, True Red, It has Mom Wheels, Sportster11 Muffler, IIL Motorsports red strut bar. Excellent condition. Asking $12,500. Call Mark @ 317-60-6686 Odds & Ends—A former member (and President) sold his Miata (boo!) and found some items while doing spring cleaning in his ga-rage. 1st gen front license plate bracket, original console ashtray, brand new. And a used but still good original engine oil cap. All
Page 3 Open Road October 2013
BUSY OCTOBER We’ve had fewer club activities this summer than some of us hoped for, but fall is another story. We have several events lined up to provide you with some serious Miata time before cold weather arrives. First up is the Celebration of Fall outing on October 12, hosted by Sabrena and Larry Smith. They have a very special day planned, with a drive in the scenic southern Indiana hills followed by a private hayride and a wiener roast at McCormick’s Creek State Park. This will undoubtedly be a great way to enjoy fall in Indiana. The next weekend, on Saturday, October 19, a short drive is planned on the far eastside, with a lunch break. After lunch, we will head to Ray Skillman Northeast Mazda, where we have been invited to attend a Tech Day scheduled exclusively for the Indy Miata Club. Last year, we had the opportunity to put our cars on lifts in the service department for a closer look. Service Techs will be available to answer questions, the parts department will be open, and a discount will apply to any purchases made. The dealership will also provide light snacks and beverages. The following Saturday, Steve Myers will be the rally master for another southern Indiana drive. Steve has put together a route with lots of curves, culminating with a meal at a lakeside Amish restaurant. Steve will even provide suggested route directions for your trip home so that you can enjoy more curves. For more details, and to register for any or all of these events, please go to the events page of the club website.
October Board Meeting
The next scheduled meeting of the Board of Directors will be October 16, 2013. The meeting will be held at Smee’s Place, 1454 W 86th St, Indianapolis, IN. Joins us for dinner at 7:00 pm or just come for the meeting which will start at 8:00 pm. Each person in at-tendance will be responsible for their own food and/or drink purchases.
If you do plan on attending, please sign up ahead of time and let us know. The restaurant needs to know how many to plan for to assure that we have adequate space for our group. For additional information, map, and to sign up, visit the Events page on the Indy Miata Club website.
Page 4 Open Road October 2013
GREAT WESTERN ADVENTURE (PART THREE) Twenty one days, twenty one motel rooms!
By Gary and Kathy Collings
Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana
June 12th – July 2nd
Hopefully you’ve all read part one and two of our story in the August and September Open Road. If not, you need to go back and read it before reading any further.
June 20: Destination Everett, Washington (cloudy, breezy) – On this day we traveled the Chumstick Highway with lots of pine
trees on both sides of the great Miata roads which included 30 miles of “S” curves! Our route led us through the area of the glacier
-fed Lake Wenatchee. After arriving in Seattle some of us toured the downtown Seattle Underground, which is the long ago rem-
nants of the pioneer city with its debris strewn along musty tunnels below the surface of the modern day city. Seattle was a hus-
tling, bustling city with traffic backed up in every direction. (373 miles)
June 21: Destination Sequim, Washington (overcast, breezy) – We enjoyed a ferry ride with our Miatas, OTMs, kayaks, and ca-
noes on the Puget Sound along a chain of islands; we unloaded our Miatas off the ferry at Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. This
area was beautiful, classy, and expensive with many yachts and million dollar homes. We had lunch at a place on the water that
was built to look like a ship. There were blooming flowers everywhere and a tiny, unforgettable Post Office on the dock. We later
drove to Port Townshend to catch the 7:00 PM ferry to Sequim, Washington but just missed it so we had to wait a couple of hours
for the next one. A young girl named Sukhy Dhillon from Canada socialized with us while we waited and treated us to Mimosas!
The rest of us pulled out our ever-present snacks and made a party out of our wait time. (67 miles by land).
Continued on page 5
Gary on the Ferry Our Miata on the Ferry View of one of the Islands
Flower Gardens Tiny Post Office Evening Island View
Page 5 Open Road October 2013
GREAT WESTERN ADVENTURE Cont.
June 22: Destination Astoria, Oregon (sunny, warm) – We visited Gray’s Harbor Lighthouse in Westport, which is the tallest light-
house in the Pacific Northwest; this 107 foot lighthouse was put into service in 1898 and has been in continuous beacon ever since.
It was originally built within 400 feet from the waters’ edge. Now, the water is over 3,000 feet away due to shoreline changes the
past 100 years. Some decided to climb the 135 steps to the top of the lighthouse. Later that evening we ate Italian food at Fulios in
Astoria with new friends, Lou and Carol Lynn, Steve and Rhonda, Mike and Lynn, and Spence and Sherri –what a great group of
people. The server created a special Riesling-like wine blend for us; she also told us we were the most fun group she had served in a
long time … her kind comments earned an extra tip! You may wish to ask Kathy for the secret ingredients of the wine blend? (298
miles)
June 23: Destination Coos Bay, Oregon (overcast, rainy) – We drove Route 101 along the Pacific Coast Scenic Highway from the
Columbia River to the California border. We stopped at Tillamook, Oregon home of the Tillamook Cheese factory and, of course,
did cheese tasting and shopping. Our next stop was Astoria, the oldest American settlement west of the Mississippi, where the Co-
lumbia River empties into the Pacific; it is also known as the start of the “Northwest Passage.” There is a historic Column in Astoria
built in 1926 high atop a hill overlooking the Columbia River. The carvings on the Column graphically depict the history of the area.
We kept seeing signs for Cape Disappointment, which we found out was named by sea captains, who were “disappointed” when they
could not find the northwest river passage due to weather, wind, fog and water conditions. We continued down the Coastal Highway
from Astoria and on to Coos Bay, Oregon, which opens onto the Pacific Ocean. We stopped along the way to go to the beach and
took some side trips, which added to the “Adventure.” (259 Miles)
Join us in the next newsletter edition as we continue our journey. Stay tuned…..
Gray’s Harbor
Lighthouse
Beautiful but Invasive Plant
Driftwood along the Pacific Columbia River Passage
Page 6 Open Road October 2013
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Page 7 Open Road October 2013
Page 8 Open Road October 2013
Do you have a Garmin GPS? If so, here is a site that provides custom Miata vehicle icons. The site pro-vides ZIP files for NA and NC models but not for the NB models. If interested, download the appropriate ZIP file, NA.zip or NC.zip from http://amber.rc.arizona.edu/3dmiata.html to your computer then extract the >srf file for your color of car. Now attach your Garmin to the computer via the USB port, copy the .srf file to the ‘Vehicle’ folder and
detach the cable. When the Garmin boots, goto ‘Tools/Settings/Map’ then click the ‘Change’ button under ‘Vehicle’. Select your Miata icon.
