WE DOVE RIGHT INTO THE 2023 SEASON with our April opener. There we recognized three of our members who did an outstanding job in 2022. We awarded our trophy for Rookie of the Year to Will Askew, the trophy for Most Improved Driver to John Ecklund, and our 2022 Instructor of the Year to Gord McNeil. Each of them has stood out among the 800 individual participants in last year’s DE program and set the benchmark for future participants to aspire to.
We also hosted our first Introductory Driver Education (IDE) event in conjunction with the DE and welcomed nineteen new drivers into the fold. It’s a pretty busy weekend for everyone as the new drivers are schooled and prepped for their Sunday advance to the green run group. A mixture of classroom sessions and paddock car control exercises gives them the knowledge and confidence to begin their lapping careers. Hopefully some day it will be their turn to volunteer and pass on the skills that UCR has generously shared with them.
Our chief instructor, Peter Carroll also took the opportunity to offer check-out runs for any black drivers who are interested in becoming Instructors. Our instructor day falls on June 2 this year when we can concentrate on mentoring some new Instructors. We hope to dedicate some extra time to the white group in July as that seems to be the largest group now. We are constantly making room, so those in the lower run groups can move up without getting waitlisted. It’s a constant juggling act.
The track restaurant has re-opened for breakfast and lunch. It’s under new management this season so make sure you utilize their services. If we don’t make it worthwhile to open they will have to shorten their hours. I’ve arranged for free morning coffee from 7:30 until 10 a.m. for everyone, so please make sure you stop by and say “hi.” That goes for all the services that help give us a great track experience, from the corner workers to Robin in the tow truck. Make sure they know we appreciate their efforts.
I saw an interview on CNN the other day and it featured a so-called automotive expert. He was giving his clever opinion on why cars are so expensive today. It was his opinion that it is the consumer’s own fault because they demand the latest tech and that development and equipment is expensive. I think he was full of crap. Everyone loves to blame the customer for their excess while ignoring the reality. When was the last time you were able to buy a base vehicle? Remember when the new mid-engine Corvette was coming out and they promised a base car for $60,000? They didn’t build any cars without $25,000 in options and now a couple of years in, you would be hard pressed to find one under $100,000. It’s not us, it’s them. The manufacturers see a gold mine in producing fully loaded cars and nothing else. That’s the perfect platform for them to rent you the options that you already paid for.
My brother in-law owned a ‘67 Chevy Nova with an eight-track in it. I had a ‘73 Corvette with a cassette player in it. The first GPS was nothing more than a file with a map in it. My first car phone was a big transmitter box in the trunk with a wire running to a handset on the dash. It cost thousands of dollars. As time goes by any technology put into cars will become obsolete and valueless. That goes for all of the screens and connectivity they are now stuffing into our cars at our expense. We aren’t presented with the choice to opt out as all the cars on the lot are loaded. To prove my point anyone who watches the Barrett-Jackson auctions in the spring can attest to the value of the Copo Chevrolets. Copo was an off-the-books ordering system in the late 1960s where dealers could order base cars with the largest engines available. A Copo Camaro at auction is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. The fully loaded ones are just old cars and go for a moderate price.
I priced out a new F250 recently and found that the matching one to mine is $94,000 – for a pick-up truck! I don’t want my truck to give me a massage, just pull my track car, so I decided to keep what I have. My F450 has manual door locks. I must use two fingers to unlock the door instead of one finger. I don’t know how I survive but I do know I’m not paying for it. Wow, am I ever cheap LOLOL.
The reason I’m mentioning all this is that I’ve just seen a preview video of the new Cayenne interior and most of the dash is screen. It’s wonderful while it works and wonderful while the technology is current. The problems start when it gets older, and they stop making the parts or the darn thing goes on the fritz. The first fully electronic dash I ever had was a new Lincoln. The control module got wet and from Gary, Indiana to Chicago I had no fuel gauge, speedometer, or warning lights. It wasn’t repairable so they had to replace the whole thing, fortunately for me it was on warranty.
I think some people have forgotten that cars, while fun, are supposed to be transportation, not entertainment centres. Adding all these electronic distractions makes them very expensive and the roads less safe.
Make sure you sign up early for as many events as you can attend. It’s going to be a great track season! </>
Photography by Michael Coates
