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STAR BULLETINJune 2015Page 5EVENT REPORTDinner at the Morada RestaurantSteve RossWe had a problem for this fine dining event. We did not book enough seats! This is a nice problem to have we think. You Star Car driversnever cease to surprise us, keep it up. The more the merrier we say. There is concern now that we did not book enough seats for theCabaret Show next month.The historic Inn at Rancho Santa Fe was designed by a noted female architect Lillian Rice who was among the firstwomen architects in the U.S. Born in National City, Ca and graduated from U.C. Berkeley in 1910 with a degree inarchitecture. She spent her entire professional career in San Diego. Photo on left is Lillian manning, womening adump truck during the construction of the Inn.Arriving at the Inn we were met by the valet for free parking which is abit unusual these days. The staff at the inn gave us a heartywelcome and showed us to our banquet table.Goingaround thetable fromthe left, RayDavis. David& MuniraCoomber,Gary Jarvis,standing isour VicePresidentVictoriaMazilli, BrianKruse, PresidentMichael andDenise Cooperand Carol RossOskar and Judy Kristen and Brian Kruse are all smilesDoreen Welsh, Oskar and JudyWalter WelshGary JarvisJoan Barnard andMuniraCoomberThe food was fantastic andeveryonewas full but thedesert menu looked sooogood that everyone paired upand shared a desert as isdemonstrated by VictoriaMazelli and Ray Davis. Whosays we are not a friendlygroup?The food was gourmet, service was beyond excellent and the conversation was stimulating and was not entirely about Mercedes- Benz. Ourcoming Coastal Cruise next month as discussed. This is going to be a great drive up the coast to a surprise destination. I know some donot like surprises but this surprise will be a very nice one.

Page 6June 2015ST AR BULLETINSan Diego SectionMY FIRST CARSteve RossThis not about a Mercedes-Benz but not many young men in rural Missouri in the middle of the lastcentury, had the funds to purchase a Mercedes-Benz and in fact most of the boys had never heardof a Mercedes-Benz. Most of us can remember vividly our first automobile that was our very own.In my case it was a 1951 Oldsmobile 98 Sedan, a boat. That may seem like an unusual choice fora young guy. At that time the 55 Chevy V-8 and the Fords were the car of choice I purchased itin the fall of 1957 from a used car lot in Kansas City, Missouri and I paid 350.00 for the car "outthe door". There were several of the more popular cars on the lot but they cost a bit more and Ireally liked that big Olds. As I recall it had a little over 60,000 miles on it. It had the Hydramaticdrive and was loaded for that era including fender skirts. I drove the wheels off the car foreighteen months without one problem and it was quite roomy! Although it did not look the part Isoon learned that it was faster in every respect than the Fords and Mercurys of that era including the 1954 Ford. It cruised easily at 70 mphwhich was a bit fast for most of the roads then but it handled well and the brakes were very adequate. What I have found both unusual andinteresting is that I have never seen an Olds 98 at any car show or auction that I have attended. I have seen plenty of 88's but no 98's. Onewould assume that the 98 is not all that collectible nor as sleek and "hot" looking as the 88. The Oldsmobile pictured here is identical to theone I had same color and all except the Olds here does not have fender skits.The guys I grew up with in rural Missouri were all Ford men as were their fathers and as amatter of fact they still are. They could make the word Chevy sound dirty if not even filthy.Oldsmobile and Cadillac were considered over priced Chevys. I was working for Standard OilCompany in Kansas City and went back home at least one weekend a month and usually got alot of crap about the Olds. I knew the day was coming and finally it did; I was challenged to adrag race against the Ford boys. You all know there is no way out of this without losing yourdignity, all semblances of manhood and "face". There was a stretch of flat paved rural highwayalong a river bottom about 6 miles long that was the place to settle any and all car matters.The 6 or 7 mile drive to the site was a long one for me as I knew I and my land yacht weregoing to get our butt waxed by these Fords and Mercurys. I just wanted to get it over with, takeall their s--t and be on my way. We arrived at the scene for the slaughter and it was decidedthat I would run against a 53 Mercury so we lined up nose to nose. I looked down the loooong stretch of highway and figured it would be allover with long before I reached the turnaround point. I also knew that I would have to endure a run against all of them after they tasted blood.A guy named Jerry Clark wanted to ride with me, probably to witness the look of defeat on my face. Jerry's brother in the "Merc" did not wanta passenger due to the added weight and I knew then that they did not want defeat but humiliation. The Mercury is revving with dual glasspack pipes roaring. I saw no point in revving the Olds as it had a stock muffler, only one, that you could barely hear. Tom drops the flag andaway we go. The Mercury is making a deafening roar with tires squealing while the Olds squats like a mule pulling a sledge loaded withbricks and proceeds to pull away! Holy s--t Batman I am beating this guy! By the time we get to the end the run the Mercury was far behindin my rear view mirror. Jerry my passenger is setting there with a look of utter disbelief. I stifled my desire to scream out a shout of you knowwhat and maintained a look of humility. When we returned to the starting point there was a conference of the Ford boys and I of course saidit was probably just a fluke, while knowing full well it was not. They were mine. After conferencing it was decided that I would run against the49 and 51 Mercury respectfully. These two were considered faster as they had a lot of chrome and louder pipes. Results were the same butworse for them, like duh. By this time there is a lot of "carb" adjustment going on, tire pressure checks, taking everything out of the trunketc. Looking back all they could adjust was the idle. I did nothing but set in the car and drive. I had a passenger on every run. Finally thestarter Tom who had a 54 Ford that was really tricked out stated that "this was enough of this crap" and he was going to put me and the landyacht away. We ran with the same results as the other constants except Tom had to do it twice. By now I am not acting humble anymore buthad the "bring it on attitude". I have never forgotten that day and it is without a doubt the high point of my driving career and it happened soearly in my life. I still see these men every year and that day has never been mentioned. I believe I will bring it up next time I see them,this year as a matter of fact. There have never been any comments about the car I am driving when I go back to the homeland. I secretlywish there were as I would very much like to relive that day that happened fifty eight years ago.

STAR BULLETINJune 2015Page 7Havasupai 2015 – SAVE THE DATEThis year’s Havasupai will have the participants traveling through north central Arizona. We will begin our event Fridayevening September 18th in Payson [the Heart of Arizona] witha reception at the hotel. The next morning the participantswill be sent off through Payson looking for various clues andlandmarks.From Payson participants will drive towardsStrawberry and ultimately over to Camp Verde for lunch.Once done with lunch the participants will be sent back outfor round two which will take them across i-17 and in to theVerde Valley passing through Cottonwood, Cornville andultimately Sedona. Sedona will be the end of the line andwhere we will enjoy an awards dinner and spend Saturdaynight. September 20th we will plan an event in or aroundSedona for those interested. Save September 18th – 20th.To get a preliminary count of potential participants we arerequesting you RSVP to rlborino@hotmail.com . Stay tunedfor costs and details.********************The San Diego Section Board purchased a space at the Scripps RanchCommunity Fair, set up our canopy, flew the Mercedes-Benz Club ofAmerica flag with a CLA 250 on display to make the general publicmore aware of our great club. We had Star Magazines, our ownSection Star Bulletin and of course membership applications. We forsure gained two new members and some others perhaps. Once wegot past we are not selling cars the conversation became more casual shall we say.Strategically positioned near the beer gardenMichael Cooper and Brian Kruse on the benchDiana Kruse, Director of first Impressions. President

Page 8June 2015ST AR BULLETINSan Diego SectionPages from the April 1975 Star Bulletin

STAR BULLETINJune 2015Page 9

Star BulletinPRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGEPAIDSAN DIEGO, CAPERMIT No. 96016151 Fruitvale RD ValleyCenter CA 92082NEXT BOARD MEETING IS TUESDAY,APRIL2015JUNE 16,6:30pmat Macaroni Grilllocated at 202 E via Rancho Parkway (WestfieldMall), Escondido CA 92029 (Please Note: The board has occasionally cancelled meetings whenthere is a small amount of business that can be considered adequatelyby telephone or e-mail. If you are considering joining us for a boardmeeting, you might want to call a board member first to be sure themeeting will take place as scheduled.MBCA San Diego Sectionhttp://sandiego.mbca.orgPresidents' MessageHappy June everybody! I’m sitting here at my desk thinking about why people join the MercedesBenz Club San Diego Section. I came up with (2) one word answers. Fun & Friendship. Now I knowthese two words mean different things to everybody, so I’m going to share with you what they meanto me.For me the fun is sharing the common love of the marque with others. The restoration, the old carsmell, the new car smell, the pride of ownership, and the four wheel fantasy we all had as kids. Ilove hunting for parts, test driving new cars, and being mesmerized by all of the technology.Friendship for me as it relates to the club is most important. I know that long after I’m unable todrive and long after that new car smell has dissipated, the friendships that were made will endure.I’ll always remember the laughs, the drinks that were raised in the air and the sharing of a goodmeal. I learn something from club members each and every day (And not always about cars). Myrespect and admiration for each of you runs deep. Each time we have an event I get to share in myfavorite hobby with my favorite people.With all of that being said, enough about me and my thoughts. Your Board of Directors is dedicatedto making sure that YOU have fun! So come have some fun, expand your circle of friends and makesome lasting friendships. We have events lined up for each and every month!Hope to see you soon and thank you for your support.Michael Cooper

winning Broadway show Cabaret. We have booked twenty five of the best seats in the house and they will go fast so don't wait until the last minute to book. The scoop: Cost 40.00 per person for show only OR 62.00 per person for brunch and show. Time: Show starts at 1:00 p.m. with a show time of 12:30 P.M.