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Performance Driving at Talladega Grand Prix Raceway

Submitted by jertoothsaver on Tue, 2022-07-05 02:07
Saturday, Jun 11, 2022 - 02:15pm
Talladega
Alabama

Performance Driving at Talladega Grand Prix Raceway

11 June

 

The Alabama – NW Florida and Peachtree sections jointly host this event with assistance of some of my Porsche Club fellow instructors. 

Also in attendance were both AL- NW FL Pres. Jim Sparacio and Peachtree Section President Gary Edwards who co-chaired the event with me. 

Performance Driving Committee chairman, Arno Pitzen drove his AMG SL from Austin, TX.

Our special guest was MBCA Marketing Director, Ken Engelman who remarked that he was impressed with the energy of the MBCA members and guests.  Among these was Ken’s brother, Dave some of whose professional photos are included with this report.

I had the best job of the event: instructing 21 year old twins Kristen and Nicole Jebeles.  You may recall that they were the stars of StarFest® 2019 with their ML.  Their driving skills have advanced so much that Nicole instructed a much older novice gentleman.

In this event four of the students and two of the instructors were women.  Participants ranged from 21-91.  Cars included 2 S-classes, a GLE AMG, SLS, and several other AMG’s.  Some MBCA members drove other cars.  All progressed with their driving skills and had a great time.  Again, no cars were damaged.

Altogether I drove 3500 mikes and then helped PCA with a national instructor school at TGPR followed by their 2 day Performance Driver Education event at Barber—that is their motivation for helping MBCA.  This was a wonderful and grateful experience.  The only thing better would be sharing it with more MBCA members.

Not even PCA can stage their events without partners, friends, and other students in other brands participating.  At that last event 40% were not PCA members.  These events are a great source of non-dues income.

Make plans to join us at Summit – Point WV (GWS Section) on 24-25 Sep and then drive through the Smokey Mountains with us to visit the Mercedes-Benz factory in Alabama on 30 Sep followed by two days on the Barber track or driving in the mountains.

Lots of fun driving in great cars, meeting interesting people, sights and experiences you will treasure.  What’s not to like?

Jim Roberts, DAL

 

Photo Credit: Kathouse Media

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Legends of the Autobahn®-East

Submitted by mbcapdxdave@co… on Tue, 2022-04-12 12:04
Saturday, Nov 05, 2022 - 02:00am to Saturday, Nov 05, 2022 - 11:00am
Port Royal Golf Club
Hilton Head
South Carolina
David Abarr
541.981.1919

We are back for a second edition of Legends of the Autobahn®-East in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Held during the Hilton Head Motoring Festival and Concours d’ elegance, Legends®-East will be held on Saturday November 5th.  Join MBCA, BMWCCA and Audi Club NA at the Port Royal Golf Club centrally located in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Legends®-East is a separate event from the Concours which will be held on Sunday, November 6th.  If you are showing a car during Legends of the Autobahn®-East, your entry does include 2 tickets to the Concours. This year the Carolina Section is hosting a regional event on Saturday, the 5th, as well on the concours lawn featuring a special roadster display. Tickets sales for this years Legends®-East will go sale this summer. Stayed tuned in future Click editions!


Hilton Head Motoring Festival Website. https://www.hhiconcours.com/


*Legends®-East entry tickets to show your car will be hosted on a club website that we shared with BMWCCA and Audi Club. If you are bringing a car to show at Legends®-East, please do not purchase tickets on the Hilton Head website.

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Mercedes Freude 2022

Submitted by mbcapdxdave@co… on Tue, 2022-04-12 12:04
Tuesday, Oct 25, 2022 - 02:00am to Sunday, Oct 30, 2022 - 03:00pm
Hyatt Regency Newport Beach
Newport Beach
California
David Abarr
541.981.1919

Mercedes Freude 2022-Newport Beach California

We are excited to announce we have in place this year’s premier annual event for Mercedes-Benz Club of America. This year we will be hosted in Newport Beach, California at the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach, October 25-30th. In partnership with The Mercedes-Benz Classic Center, now located in nearby Long Beach, we have some great events lined up for the week.
 
Hyatt Regency Newport Beach, a hotel retreat adjacent to the Upper Newport Bay Nature Reserve, is nestled among 26 acres featuring hundreds of palms and succulents. Renowned locally, “The Newporter" as it was previously named, the hotel team has been creating memories for over five decades for guests and locals alike. MBCA will have a special rate to offer and includes amenities like a 9-hole Golf Course and an array of other activities.

Click here for the Hyatt website.

 

Registration is now OPEN!

 

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Legends of the Autobahn®-West

Submitted by mbcapdxdave@co… on Tue, 2022-04-12 12:04
Thursday, Aug 18, 2022 - 08:00am
Pacific Grove Golf Links
77 Asilomar Blvd
Pacific Grove
California
David Abarr
5419811919

The Legends continues in California this August with a new venue in picturesque Pacific Grove. Join MBCA, BMWCCA and Audi Club North America on Thursday, August 18th at the Pacific Grove Golf Links. This year MBCA celebrates the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the w116 S class. The first car to be referred to the as S class or Sonderklasse. Truly a modern marvel of innovation. We feature a special class celebrating all S classes during this year’s Legends of the Autobahn®-West at Pacific Grove. The 20 year rule applies for judged cars but all S classes are welcome to display.

Registration is now open at https://cvent.me/N3Bknv

There is a non-refundable $25.00 registration fee per transaction. It would beneficial to make all of your purchases and registration in one transaction. This fee will increase to $30.00 after June 30th.

MBCA Concours Classes 2022 viewable here.

 

Pricing:

Registration $25.00/$30.00 after June 30th

Judged $125.00

Silver Star $125.00

Display $75.00

Polo $25.00

T shirt $20.00

Breakfast and lunch package $85.00

VIP Breakfast and Lunch package $135.00

Spectators parking (details to come) $30.00

Meal options are viewable under the Food Options tab.

Please note that refunds, minus the registration fee, must be processed prior to August 1, 2022.

For questions, contact David Abarr [email protected] or Jon Bernardi [email protected].

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Mercedes Freude | Nov 2 thru 6, 2021

Submitted by abiby on Sun, 2021-12-26 01:12
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2021 - 06:00am to Saturday, Nov 06, 2021 - 04:00pm
Hilton Head
South Carolina

MERCEDES FREUDE

(The Joy of Everything Mercedes)

The MBCA’s brand new National Event, Mercedes Freude, was held at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, the first week of November.  Adding to the club’s largest attended National Event were several St. Louis Gateway Section members. After four days of receptions, educational seminars, day trips, competitive rallies, and a final banquet, most members stayed on for Legends of the Autobahn and the renowned Hilton Head Island Concourse d’Elegance.  St. Louis Gateway Section member, Ed Knoll, won both the overall People’s Choice award and Best-In-Class at the Concours and Rick Siefert won Best-In-Class at Legends of the Autobahn.

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Mercedes Freude from Bluegrass Stars perspective

Submitted by NancyRece on Fri, 2021-12-17 04:12
Wednesday, Nov 03, 2021 - 02:00pm to Saturday, Nov 06, 2021 - 05:00pm
Hilton Head
South Carolina
As 2022 is fast approaching, the Bluegrass Stars finished out 2021 in style with our two last events.
In November, six of our members attended the "new and improved national event," the Mercedes Freude, The Joy of Everything Mercedes, November 2 - 5, at the Omni Hilton Oceanfront Resort, on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
The event was the kickoff of Legends Of The Autobahn East Coast, which was held on the Port Royal Golf Course, followed by the Hilton Head Island Concours d' Elegance, also held at Port Royal.
MBCABGS Treasurer, Fred Mudge and Ann Mudge attended the Technical/Educational Session on the TSD Road Rally and then participated in the event on Friday.
Vice President Anne Gilliland and Ann Mudge attended the presentation on Creating Excellent Club Presentations/How to take Photos for Publication presented by Jeff Zurschmeide, the Editor-in-Chief at The Star Magazine. This was an excellent presentation, and we both learned a lot for future event photography.
There were lots of other official events included; a trip to Savanah, Georgia, a tour of the Butterfield Plantation, as well as the casual evening get- togethers after the busy day's schedule to meet and exchange section news with our counterparts from all over the country.
Special thanks to Ken Hayes, who attended with his wife, Ann, for taking all the pictures we took ( both before and after Jeff Zurschmeide's outstanding session!) and creating a slide show that I hope we will be sharing at events for months to come!
Rick Seifert, MBCA's National Events Chair did an outstanding job with this national event, even in view of the unfortunate arrival of unseasonably cold, wet weather that hampered the Saturday events. It was an outstanding event, that I wish we could all have attended.
Submitted by VP Anne Gilliland

 

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Mercedes Freude, Hilton Head Island S.C.

Submitted by rseifert4628@i… on Fri, 2021-11-19 09:11
Thursday, Nov 04, 2021 - 04:00am to Sunday, Nov 07, 2021 - 10:00am
Hilton Head Island
South Carolina

Mercedes Freude

The Joy of Everything Mercedes

Omni Hilton Head OceanfrontResort

Hilton Head Island, S.C.

November 2 – 5th

 

The Freude Event at Hilton Head Island was attended by 300+ members from all across the country.  15 North Texas members and guests were at the event.  The event had a great program this year with the first day having 11 speakers that covered technical issues for restoration of cars, updates on the collector car hobby, tips on concours preparation of cars, tips on photographing cars for sale and presentations, cars to buy for collectors.  All great presentations.  The second and third days were tours, drives and rally’s.   The final day of Freude ended with a banquet and a great speaker regarding the status of the collector car hobby.  Saturday morning was to be the Legends of the Autobahn concours on the golf course prior to the Sunday Concours d’Elegance.  Saturday was cold and raining so the Legends of the Autobahn was moved to Sunday with the Concours show.  Jerry Chenault won a beautiful crystal bowl trophy for his beautiful 107 at the Legends event. While there was some rain and temperatures that were cold the event was great fun with time to visit with old friends and meet new ones.  The hotel was excellent and the program for the week was informative regarding our hobby, the drives gave us a chance to tour the area which was beautiful and to look forward to another national club event.  

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Winners - 2021 Great Marques at Old Westbury NY!

Submitted by JohnMcAuliffe on Wed, 2021-09-29 10:09
Sunday, Sep 19, 2021 - 02:00am to Sunday, Sep 19, 2021 - 09:00am
Old Westbury,
New York

Congrats to Bob Bersh for winning the Mercedes Best of Show Hagerty award with his beautiful 1971 280SL Well Deserved! #greatmarquesconcours #mbcanycli

 

Our Special guest was the round trip winner of the Cannonball Run featured in the Road & Track Magazine article.  Thank you, Chris Clemens  for attending our show and sharing your amazing R129, story and achievement with us. 


The link to the artical is  https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a37080863/back-to-back-cannonball/?source=nl&utm_source=nl_rdt&utm_medium=email&date=072121&utm_campaign=nl24441932&utm_term=AAA%20--%20High%20Minus%20Dormant%20and%2090%20Day%20Non%20Openers

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Breakfast with Speed at Mercedes Benz of Flemingtin ,NJ

Submitted by jeffdds on Tue, 2021-07-20 09:07
Sunday, Aug 08, 2021 - 04:00am to Sunday, Aug 08, 2021 - 08:15am
Mercedes Benz of Flemington New Jersey
135 Route 31
Flemington
New Jersey
08822
Jeff Powell
9176264984

This is an annual cars and coffee event held at the Mercedes-Benz dealer in Flemington New Jersey. There is a pre-registration required you can find the information online. I'm not associated with the dealership or the event I'm just posting it for any interested parties. I went last year and entered my car. It was a great event. Hope to see you there. 

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Legends Of The Autobahn® East

Submitted by mbcapdxdave@co… on Mon, 2021-06-07 06:06
Saturday, Nov 06, 2021 - 03:00am to Saturday, Nov 06, 2021 - 09:00am
Port Royal Golf Club
10 Clubhouse Dr
Hilton Head
South Carolina
29928
David Abarr
(541)981-1919

The all-German marque Concours d’Elegance that has become a staple on the annual Monterey Car Week schedule will host a second event in 2021, which will bring the show to the East Coast. Legends Of The Autobahn East will be held in partnership with the Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival’s Car Club Showcase event on Saturday, November 6, 2021 on the grounds of the Port Royal Golf Club.

The BMW Car Club of America, Audi Club North America, and Mercedes-Benz Club of America—in conjunction with the HHI Concours—will offer a total of 160 entries for this inaugural event. LOTA organizers will conduct their own judging, and the winning cars from each club will be asked to join the festivities and to be displayed during the Concours d’Elegance on Sunday, November 7. 

“We were all so incredibly disappointed to cancel our 2020 show,” said Lindsey Harrell, the Hilton Head Island Concours’ president. “However, this has given us the opportunity to shift our focus towards building a spectacular event for next year. And, to have this event already in the works for 2021, is beyond exciting and will be a great addition for our guests and our island.”

The members of the Audi, Mercedes Benz, and BMW Clubs of America look forward to bringing the premier all-German Marque Legends Of The Autobahn concours to the East Coast,” said Frank Patek, BMW CCA Executive Director. “Legends is a mainstay of the famed Monterey Auto Week. The founders of this landmark event agree that the Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival and its acclaim is the best place to share our passion on the East Coast.”

“We couldn’t be more eager for our return to the show field next fall after the COVID-induced hiatus,” said Harrell. “Much is planned for the 2021 Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance, and this will only add to the excitement of our comeback. We are enthusiastic about this partnership and what it could bring down the road.”

With the addition of Legends of the Autobahn East to the schedule, more than 600 vehicles are scheduled to participate at the 2021 Festival.  What will now be the nineteenth annual Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance Motoring Festival is scheduled for October 29 – November 7, 2021. For more information on the Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance & Motoring Festival go here.

This will be held in conjunction with Mercedes Freude. Go here for more information. https://mercedes-freude.mbca.org

There will be a 50 car limit for this event. Pre-registration will be through Motorsport.reg. Once accepted you will be given the official registration information. Admission to Legends East includes 2 tickets the Sunday Concourse as well as full acess to the Saturday Car Club Showcase events at Hilton Head. 

Now open to Silver Star presesrvation class! Follow the link to register.

To purchase discounted spectator admmision tickets for the Savannah Speed Classic and Hilton Head Island Concours d'Elegance go here.

  • 1 day pass for Saturday Car Club Showcase (includes Legends of the Autobahn) for 1   Reg. 55.00 discounted to 50.00

  • 1 day pass to the Sunday Concours d'Elegance for 1    Reg. 65.00 discounted to 60.00

  • 2 day pass to the Sunday Concours d'Elegance and Saturday Car Club Showcase Features for 1   Reg. 95.00 discounted to 90.00

This year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the release of the beloved r107 SL chassis with a special judged class. In April 1971 the second longest production car in Mercedes-Benz history made its debut. Spanning 18 years of production it was the only roadster available from Mercedes and the first SL to have an 8-cylinder powerplant. 

Pre-registration now live 

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