START-UP CRUISE Upcoming Events
Transcription
START-UP CRUISE Upcoming Events
Volume 16 #3 April, 2006 Upcoming Events Sun Apr 30 Sat May 6 10:00 AM Thu-Sun May 4-7 Wed-Sat May 17-20 Mon May 29 Sat Jun 3 Thu-Sun Jun 15-18 Sun Jun 25 Sat Jul 8 Sat-Sun Jul 15-16 Wed-Sun Jul 26-30 Sat Aug 12 Fri-Sun Aug 18-20 Sat-Mon Sep 2-4 Start-Up Cruise Sat Sep 9 Monthly Meeting at I79 Mazda and Cruise Mountain Miata Colorfest www.ridgerunnermiata.com Deal’s Gap Run - Northcoast Club Topless in the Mountains Monthly Meeting Fri-Sun Sep 8-10 Midwest Miata Gathering Sat-Sun Oct 14-15 Fifth Annual Train Cruise Sat Dec 2 Oakmont Memorial Day Parade Christmas Party Monthly Meeting and Cruise Miata Mountain Mania Make a Wish Charity Car Show Monthly Meeting Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix START-UP CRUISE by Rich and Ellie Lowden S pring has sprung - Get your Miata out of storage. Have you put on new tires - changed the oil - put on new goodies? Do you remember how to shift gears? Well, here is a chance to test Horse and Rider. Hope to hear from you soon. April 30th is the first cruise of the season for our club. 10th Anniversary Miatas at the Gap Monthly Meeting and Bond’s Cruise Place: Norwin Hills Shopping Center Time: 11:00 am Contact Rich or Ellie at: (412) 672-1689 or [email protected] Miatas at Mentone www.rocketcitymiata.org The Newsletter of the WEST PENN CLUB 2 Miatas at Deals Gap Event Celebrates tenth anniversary BY Thom & Sue Stuewe T his summer marks the tenth anniversary of Miatas at Deals Gap. Word is that there will be a huge turn out for this years special event and motel rooms in the area will fill up quickly. It would be a good idea to reserve your room now if you have any intention of going. You can always cancel it with 24 hours notice if you do not attend. The Northcoast Miata club and many others will be staying at http://valleyviewlodge.com or call 1-800292-4844 . I would love to have some of the members from the West Penn Miata Club join us down there or on the way. Sue and myself are looking forward to meeting many of the members of our new Miata club. The Northcoast participants will be leaving for the Gap Wednesday July 26, 2006 and return on Saturday July 29, 2006 that afternoon. We have not yet confirmed our directions hoping the West Penn people will hook up with us for the trip down. We are planning to arrive Wednesday afternoon about 4 pm with time to get something to eat, take a run through the dragon, go back to our rooms, wash the cars, and enjoy some wine and good conversation with all our new friends at West Penn. Any questions, e-mail me at [email protected] or call Thom at 219-598-0295. Twelfth, and final, Topless in the Mountains by Steve Lapp T he twelfth, and last, Topless in the Mountains is scheduled for September 2-4, 2006. Trillium Club members Rick and Chris Annis, who have done an absolutely fantastic job with this event, are retiring. This event is really about one thing - DRIVING. Over the course of two days, expect to take your Miata over 500 miles on some of the best roads West Virginia has to offer. At this time, all five spaces allocated to WPMC are taken and a waiting list has been started. Trillium has set a deadline of June 1 for their members and if spaces remain after that, more spaces will be given to WPMC. To place your name on the waiting list, contact Steve Lapp at [email protected] or 412-366-3388. WPMC members currently registered are Steve Lapp, Paul McCullough and Lulu, Dave and Carole McLaughlin, Joe and Linda Zimliki, and Bryan and Leslie Bond. Jay and Lorraine Miller and Tom and Brenda Bolin are on the waiting list. The Newsletter of the WEST PENN CLUB 3 Member Profile • • • Name: Phil & Diane Prier Miata: 2000 Mahogany Mica Special Edition License: 4CURVES Miatas at Mentone by Clem Akins Rocket City Miata Club T he Rocket City Miata Club of Huntsville, Alabama is planning a late summer drive to, through and around the mountains of north east Alabama, north west Georgia and southern Tennessee and we invite you to join us. We are expecting club participation from the Music City, CAMS, Peachtree, the Carolinas, the West Penn, Scenic City and the RCMC, plus a few that are not lucky enough to have a club close to them. This year has the promise of a bigger and better turn out than we had last year. We have 28 cars from the RCMC alone, with 41 people planning on being there. • • • • • • • • • • Miata owners since 2000 Miata Clubs: Eastern Oklahoma, Anchorage, WPMC Current Home: Presto, PA (near Bridgeville) Previous Homes: Colorado (we both grew up there), Houston, Tampa, Farmington New Mexico, Green River Wyoming, Tulsa, Anchorage Passions: Eating – er, check that, Our Grandson! Eating Miata club cruises Golf Included in our other interests are fishing, hiking, reading, cooking and visiting wineries We both grew up in Colorado and we married just outside of Denver not quite 26 years ago. The early years of our married life had us moving to Texas for Diane’s job and then to Tampa for Phil’s. After that we decided to follow Diane’s career path that eventually brought us to Pittsburgh in December 2004 after a circuitous path through four other states. Last May, we were blessed with our first Grandson who has taken over the top spot on our priority list. We didn’t think we would be silly Grandparents but boy were we wrong! We enjoyed belonging to Miata clubs in Tulsa and Anchorage but the West Penn Miata Club is our favorite, without question. There seems to be some event going on almost every weekend during the driving season which takes us to a new place over fun roads. Most of all, however, we enjoy – and appreciate – all the friendly members of the club that we’ve met. It has really helped us transition into the area from the far reaches of Alaska. Thanks everyone! The second "Miatas at Mentone" event will be held the weekend of August 18, 19 and 20, 2006 in Mentone AL. We are planning this event, with some local dealer support, as a social gathering for those who own, drive and support the Mazda Miata/MX5 sports cars. We anticipate different clubs would lead or plan a drive out which when combined would provide a couple of days of driving pleasure in our area as well as some great social opportunities. We are planning some self-guided driving tours and a place to show off your cars. There could easily be a couple hundred cars involved. The main area of operation will be at The Mentone Inn in Mentone, AL at the flashing light on Hwy 117. Look for the clubs’ banners and the Miatas. Mentone is located near the AL/GA/TN borders in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. There are a number of lodging and dining possibilities. Each group will be responsible for their own lodging and dinning reservations. There are no fees or charges for the drive outs or activities. None of the events are competitive type racing events and all are conducted on public highways open to general traffic; all traffic laws apply. Some of the lodges in the area require a 2-night minimum. Lodging in the Mentone area may be found by going to www.tourdekalb.com and varies from camping to very nice. The planning is complete and we are ready for the fun to begin. Many of the resorts and lodges in the Mentone area are full beginning in mid September through (continued on page 4) The Newsletter of the WEST PENN CLUB 4 (continued from page 3) November with old folks, not like us, to look at the Fall Color. One additional note; Mentone is in a dry county so bring it with you or do without, bring it in a bag and keep it out of sight. Additional information and event updates will be posted on our web site www.rocketcitymiata.org or you can email me at [email protected]. We have four drive outs planned, Little River Canyon, Crow Mountain (RCMC), A Mountain Run (Scenic City) and the Unclaimed Baggage / Ice Cream Parlor Trail (RCMC). We'll have a Bar-B-Q late Saturday afternoon at the Mentone Inn courtesy of Jeff Sikes Mazda in Huntsville, AL, followed by some evening entertainment. There is promise of a special treat like last year. Remember it's AUGUST 18, 19 & 20 2006 in Mentone, AL Live and Let Drive by President Bond, James Bond C ar and Driver just recently released their list of the “10 Best cars sold in America.” I’ll bet you can’t guess what was on the list...... the MX-5 took the “Best Roadster” category, of course! Does this surprise you? Check out the April edition of Consumer Reports. Under the reliability section, the only car pictured was see one out there - and you will - give them a “Nice Miata!” card. They will be glad you did. Ask John and Clara, Tom and Cindy, Jay and Lo—Ohhh!! You get the picture. As you can see, the events calendar is filling up. Looks like another great year for WPMC. If you have an idea for a road trip, just pick a date and email Rich Lowden to get it listed on the events page. Trust me, planning the event is as much fun as the event itself. Our first regional, Miata Mountain Mania, is moving along just as planned. I can’t believe that it’s only 2 months away. If you weren’t able to register due to other commitments, at least stop by to say “Hi.” Have you ever seen 130 Miatas in one place before? What a sight that is. Did someone say photo? Is there a picture of you and your car posted on our member page? If not, send one to Steve Lapp. We would love to see all of you on WPMC’s website. Have you signed up on the forum? What are you waiting for? It’s easy!! Got a question to ask or a problem you need help with? This is where to get the answers. Where to get that dual exhaust you’ve been dreaming about? Ask and you will receive. Sign up today and join in the fun. The season opener is only days away. Our cruise director, Rich Lowden and his wife Eleanor, will be leading our “Start-Up Cruise” on Sunday April 30. Check out the events page for more details. I hope to see you there. ‘Til next time, the Miata. Only 5% of 2004 Mazda MX-5 owners reported any problems last year. That’s right! The MX-5 Miata was rated higher than the Honda S2000, BMW Z-3, and the Nissan 350Z. How can the best get better? If you don’t know this answer, you need to visit one of our fine local Mazda dealers to test drive the all new MX-5 Roadster (if they have any left). Maybe this is the reason the sales figures for the month of March ‘06 are 194% higher than in March of the previous year. Year to date sales of the new MX-5 through March ‘06 are at 4,362 units, versus 1,769 units sold during the same period in ‘05. That’s a 147% increase! Sports car buyers are finally learning what we already know! Live and let drive There are new owners out there having half the fun that The deadline for articles for the May newsletter is May 8, 2006 we are. To complete the ownership of this fine Roadster, these new Miata owners need to join us on a cruise. If you May Deadline The Newsletter of the WEST PENN CLUB e-mail: web site: Officers [email protected] http://www.westpennmiataclub.com Founder: Paul Fronko President: Bryan Bond Vice President: Bernadine Leach Treasurer: Joe Zimliki Legalese (724) 439-4001 (412) 781-1232 West Penn The FUN ‘N’ THE SUN TIMES is published as a service by the West Penn Miata Club, Inc. – a non-profit corporation. Club The WEST PENN MIATA CLUB (724) 327-1762 Secretary: John Whitmire (412) 262-1813 Events Chair: Rich Lowden (412)672-1689 Past President: Linda Zimliki (724) 327-1762 Editor - In - Chief: Steve Lapp Send all editorial contributions to: WEST PENN MIATA CLUB c/o Steve Lapp 105 Gadshill Place Pittsburgh, PA 15237 e-mail: [email protected] assumes no liability for any information contained herein; or injury or damage resulting from the use of this information. The ideas, maintenance, opinions, or modification tips expressed are to be used at the readers’ discretion. Individual contributors and/or editors express no approval, authentication, or endorsement. WEST PENN MIATA CLUB c/o John Whitmire 131 Nyetimber Parkway Moon Township, PA 15108 g bi t or f o b t s i l l r c s o moto hank il a m i n g t h i s n e w s le tt e r ! ! a Address goes here West Penn Club The Newsletter of the WEST PENN CLUB leave room for mail bar code to go here West Penn Miata Club MEETING MINUTES April meeting at Smail’s 6:15 Bryan called meeting to order New Website has 12,586 hits, which is about 1,500 hit s a month Member photos on the website need to be updated. Encourage people to send in photos. Phil and Diane will do an article on themselves. This was suggested last year but never followed up. Christmas party will be 12-2-06 at the Comfort Inn in Monroeville - put down deposit of $500.00. Bryan will look and see how many new members since Jan.. Bryan gave treasurer’s report will send both in attachment Bryan will check on when new membership roster will come out. Randy said Eddie Dull will do a tech session some time in the summer. New business To renew the domain rights on the website, Steve needs $120.00 to renew. Eleanor made the motion to renew the domain and Randy seconded it. Rich made motion to adjourn Eleanor seconded 7:30 meeting adjourned Attended Bryan Bond Randy Shellhammer Rich & Ellie Lowden Todd & Joanne Welty