see you there (as tired a HELL from the previous night's revelries)...

Gentlemen:

The vagaries of my schedule are such that I am (counting the 500E meet) now -triplebooked- on events for Saturday, and I have a friend's birthday party which is expected to run both late and raucous tonight on Friday. Not to mention that my usual nine AM Saturday activity is REM sleep.

Nevertheless, I can't *not* be there for this! I shall see you all at Borders at 0900, and I'll stay for as late as humanly possible.

s/b

Kudos to everyone up in Nor.Cal who organized this event, esp. Fad and Tom.

Here are some pics.

Tom- if you could post our "drive" for posterity sake, that would be great.

Thanks again and it was great meeting everyone!

:-) neil
1988 360TE AMG
1993 500E (SLOW compared to Fad's!)

Hi N Cal 500e'rs - ....had a wonderful time and was great to meet you all! I know we can chat all day about the cars- so it was even better that we had a few chances to get loose on the Marin/ Petaluma backroads and twisties on Highway 1. My brother is still beaming from seeing so many rare & clean 500E/E500's in one place and still talking about the raucious spurts of power and speed we were able to enjoy. Thanks for all coming out and participating in a funnn GTG and drive.

Neil- (RE: "1993 500E 'SLOW compared to Fad's):
Thanks for the kudos/compliments on my snappy E500 (Pearl Black/Black, chrome 8 holes w/ S-03's)- - it is a beast and a TOTALLY STOCK: Euro-spec 6.0L, special hardened cam & valves, increased compression/ delivery fuel injectors/ injection intakes, reprogrammed software, beefed SL600 trans, rearend ltd. slip re-geared to top out at ~180mph, 340HP (dyno'd) to the rear wheels, upgraded suspension & bushings & ABS system, revised steering ratio and box, revised mastercylinder, and etc. etc. - - surprized you didn't catch any hints upon your inspection! .......(j/k, mine is totally Starmark stock- totally stock I say..... )

Big Kudos to Neil (Blackberry/ Parchment 500e, ~70kmiles) for enthusiastically blasting up from S Cal to hang out with us and demonstrating the new Bergwerks W/S & reprogrammed shifting mod. Neil thanks for the CDs and thanks for the test drive (don't forget to send me Intro to Service 500e manual- pleeeeze oh pleeeeze!). The sportline struts definitely stiffen up the front end noticably and we can't wait to see you're custom built wheels on your car. Neil- nice ovetake/pass over the double yellow line when we were 1st climbing to the Marin headlands (poetry in motion w/ skinny one lane going each way! (...one lane foots over the cliff and the other shoulders close against the mountain)- - that Toyota Corolla was pisssssed!)

Thanks Tom (Pearl Black/ Black ~100k miles, AMG 17's) for mapping out our route and coordinating our N Cal GTG! Beautiful 500e example! On our way back to highway 101- Tom pointed his 500e and squirted strong!

Big Kudos also to Scott Shell (Silver/ Parchment 500e/ Renn goodies/ AMG 18's/ slammed down super low!) for demonstrating the smokey burnout in his Renntech 500E. Thanks Scott for giving us a ride in your monster car too! Both Scott and Neil have ASR defeat switches and software upgrades. (Scott- can you burn a copy of your Renn chip and perhaps burn me a copy of your 500e video on CD too....and send to me pleeeeaze?) Scott- that was a nice runn before we got back to Highway 101- - where we passed Tom and a few other cars and let them rippppp!

Thanks Russ (super rare Black Opal/Black/Black ~57K miles, stock wheels w/ Mich xgt-zs's) for hanging out with us pretty much all day- - even with soo much on the social calendar on Sat! I think Russ's car (sea coast benz) is chipped as well!

Thanks also Bob C. and Family for the hospitality and stiff espresso in the AM prior to the GTG (Fran was totally buzzzz'd- he never drinks coffee). Thanks for fitting us into your busy Sat schedule too and for showing us your super clean handsome E500 (Anthracite/ Black E500 ~50k miles, 17's AMG wheels). Bob's car is next to Scott's in the pic.

Our GTG had early AM police presence (I was looking fw: to seeing one of Scott's smokey burnouts early in the AM over coffee), a maintence session where we replaced rubber dip stick seals (Scott- your's is in the mail this AM), and a tech session where Scott felt free to start taking apart our headlight wiring housings/pins (without asking us first!)- - Scott, no worries man- - ensure that your brown wire (ground) is sufficiently connected and no damage and you're back in business.

Pic 1 & Pic 3: (From Right to Left):
-fad, Scott, Bob C, Tom, Neil, Russ (Sea Coast Benz)

Pic 2: (From Left to Right):
Sea Coast Benz (Russ), Neil, Tom,. Bob C., Scott, -fad

Best regards!
-fad

PS- Had a chance to flavor my friends new CLK55 yesterday and.....that sucker is a very very quick vehicle with monster torque!!!! Simply bodaciously wonderful!

Aloha, everyone!

I just wanted to take a moment on a crazy Monday morning to post this short note -

I had a GREAT time at our Saturday (21SEP02) get-together; the "500 posse" through the flatlands and winding hills was mindblowing!

Even on zero sleep, our time together snapped me back and got the ADRENALINE PUMPING!!!

I have posted some video (shot by fad's brother with my DVCAM) to my website - check it out!!!

Let's do this again VERY SOON!!!

Mahalo,

A big thanks to Tom for arranging the first (of I hope many) Northern California 500E/E500 meets. It was great to meet all of you (finally!) and to share our passion for these automobiles. I apologize for exiting a bit early during the ride, and I am looking forward to seeing some of the great video shots!

A special thanks to -fad and Scott for stopping by after the ride! What a distinct pleasure to see two beautiful 500E/E500s pull up the driveway!

Now if we can only figure out a way to get Michael and Dean to join us on our next get together!!

__________________
'94 E500 Anthracite
'92 300E 4Matic (donated to charity)
'90 300TE 4Matic

Thanks, guys, for showing up. We had a great ride and I was able to put faces to names of people who were really helpful in my quest to find a great 500E!.. Man, I saw some beautiful cars. I realized how tech lame I am compared to most of you guys, but i had a great time. I'm sorry I missed the ride with Neil; I want to do the 1st gear start, and I would have liked to have seen it in action.
Again, thanks, guys, for showing up.
PS, we had an interesting interaction with a couple a San Rafael's finest, who showed up where we were parked because of all the raised hoods. I think they were expecting quite something different than what they found - middler-aged (sorry, Scott and Russ) progessional guys with their very rare Mercedes! Although theyseemed interested, I think they were a bit disappointed.
Tom

Tom- could you post specifics of our drive?

:-) neil

Sure.
We met at 9:00 at Borders bookstore parking lot in san Rafael. I knew I was in the right palce when I saw two 500e's with their hoods up (neil and Scott). Everyone else showed up soon afterwards, got a bite, took some pics, talked to the fuzz, and headed out. We first took a shrt ride through the Marin headlands on a coast hugging ride that was invisible, due to the fog. We then cruised through
Sausalito, then back u orht on 101 to Lucas Valley
Road, where we passed George Lucas' ranch (forgot to tell you guys) to Nicasio, then Northwest to Pt. Reyes Station, where we picked up Higway One. We then headed North past Tomales Bay, through Marshall, to our destination, Tomales. We then broke for sandwhiches and chitchat. We then headed East on the Tomales_Petaluma Road, where we shoed each other how fast we all thought we were. Unfortunately, Russ made a left turn following a 300E, but he soon realized his error and quickly caught up with us, only because we were all stopped at the sie of the road. We then caught 101 South back to Mill Valley. On the way, we managed to scare the **** out of an unsuspecting Camry driver. We then reconnoitered at Starbucks, where some of us, myself included, had to take care of other business. The est of the fellows went over to Bob's, in Tiburon, in Neil's 1st gear start.
Let's do it again!!! I'm hapy to collaborate to plan a different route. Maybe we can meet a bit South of SF, to facilitate Neil and Russ, and travel a different route.

Tom
Who now has 104,000 miles. 7000 miles in three months!

PS On Friday I saw the supermodel with the green 500E sitting at an outdoor cafe in my town. I got the nerve up to ask her if she was an enthusiast (If she was, I was going to invite her to the get together. However, in her charming Eastern European accent, she said she had known nothing about the car, that it had been a gift from her husband. Somehow, I had expected that answer. Oh, well.

Bob -

Please e-mail me your contact information, as I neglected to ask you for your business card.

My e-mail address is: nemo@nemonis.net

Thank you,

Damn that looks so fun,,,,I wish I was there......Pics are nice.....saw some of the video clips..All I got to say is....OMG you guys are lucky hope I could make it to the next 500 meet and hope to see you guys on Dec. 1st

Your Friend,
Albert S.

Cool Video's from the Nor cal trip. Tell me I can view the video but can't hear it. Is that supposed to be like that. Anyone can
reply to this. maybe its my settings. but my sound works.
So I'm not sure.




guido

__________________
500E Sold
2006 Mini Cooper S
Modified,pulley,injectors,suspension
2009 E350 Sport AMG package

Only a few of the videos have audio, at present.

Given the nature of the from-the-passenger-seat footage, I will
probably insert-edit some music over the existing video, ASAP.

Later, I will shoot some video that includes audio of the 500E/E500's distinctive "voice."

; )

Okay, okay, so I'm -finally- getting around to posting impressions and a review of the NorCal 500E meet, a full month after the fact. It's been pretty balls-out busy here. Sorry 'bout that.

Anyway, my capsule summary: a bunch of beautiful cars, owned by some great guys. If any of the rest of you ever get a chance to sit down and talk motoring with this crowd, do it.

I spent most of the time sitting quietly and listening to others (uncharacteristically), because it was a rare chance to listen to people who really know what they are talking about, and are passionate on the subject. Opinionated, certainly, but in a good way.

And the touring loop was beautiful. Couldn't have asked for a better day weatherwise. I brought my wife a couple of photos of the northbound GG Bridge tower half-visible in a smooth flow of gray fog. Sweet!

So at the end of the day, y'all just lost me in traffic right around the merge to 101 southbound. The freeway flow was compressed enough that there weren't many opportunities to catch up, and I was inclined to hold back anyway. Before even the freeway join, when people started to really drive hard on the loop out from (?) Colitas (?) to 101, I was way back there holding it to ten over the limit.

There was a good reason for it, which I didn't get a chance to relate to anyone. When we were doing our walkaround after lunch, I'd looked at the (already pretty well used) XGTs on my ride, and found that the right front one had picked up a huge sidewall injury somewhere.

A fresh piece of sidewall rubber about the size of a quarter was peeled up and showing lots of cord underneat. I definitely wasn't about to work the car hard on a two-lane country road with that visible! Yikes.

The XGTs are now all replaced anyway (see review post for the new BFGs) but I did drive home at careful speeds that afternoon. I suspect there may have been some light metal debris out on the road where we ran the leg along Tomales Bay -- the sidewall tear showed up after that. Glad it happened to the -old- tires instead of the new set, which would have been a drag. I'm also happy there was no failure mode from the damage.

And yeah, it is a very impressive experience watching Scott Shell work his chipped, ASR-defeated, first-gear-start 500E. At one point when I was ahead of him in the line, I pulled out from a stop sign onto a long straight bit and noticed him hold back for a couple of seconds, then nail it. I saw about 50 meters of expensive tire smoke before he let up, which he had to, because at that point he was about to overrun my car at a very high relative closure rate. Begorra, I'm glad that 500E brakes are up to the job!

Fad, thanks for the new dipstick retaining ring; I was under the hood the other day and noticed that it is functioning perfectly. Amazing what small 1-minute replacements can accomplish!

s/b

--

let's do that again, ASAP!!!

it was my sincere pleasure to have met all of you - and i am MORE
than enthusiastic about another GTG, sooner than later!

the next time we meet, I will be able to show off my:

- carbon-fiber engine bay appointments
- straight, seamless front impact-strip
- city lights (THANK YOU again, Fad!)
- blue Puma beanie (to give the red one a rest)

!!!