june 2016 'round the benz

Welcome new members!

Inside this issue:

View From the Peak 2

Joint Section Picnic 3

Parks &’Marks Drive 3

President’s Rally 4

Dinner and a Movie 4

Gas In A Diesel 4

September Fun Run 5

Section Elections 5

Georgetown Loop 5

MHS Events 5 Mesa Verde Regional 6

Der Marktplatz 7

Click 7

P3 Update 8

Electric Cars 8

Monument Trifecta 9

Engine Braking 10

Air Scarf Turned Off 10

Glynn Carter

Newsletter of the PIKES PEAK SECTION

JUNE 2016

‘ROUND THE BENZ

“Springs” RallySaturday, 18 June 2016

9:00 a.m.Okay, the Springs Rally is back and the Pikes Peak Section is ready to rumble. We’ve finally got sunny spring weather; despite Mother Nature’s best efforts this past Spring. We’re hoping for a warm, sunny driving dayso we can put our tops down and open our windows and sunroofs. Gotta get that Vitamin D, right?

Please join us at The Egg & I restaurant for our monthly section breakfast on Sat-urday, 18 June at 9:00 a.m. If you haven’t attended in a while, it’s a great way to meet up with and get acquainted with your fellow Pikes Peak Section members.

After breakfast, at approximately 10:30 a.m. we will commence with what we’re

calling the “Springs Rally - Historic, Iconic, Quintessential Colorado Springs.”

The theme of the rally will encompass most things “springs” about our great city. Think Colorado Springs, mattress springs, all things seasonally Spring, hot springs...you get the idea. I hope this is

enough informa-tion for now to “wet” your appe-tite. These pictures should help you out.

As you can prob-ably surmise, the route will be in and around the greater Colorado Springs area and is approximately 50 miles in length.

It should take about 3 hours to complete. The terminus will be at a appropriately themed restaurant for lunch, where prizes will be awarded for the top 3 finishers. The entry fee is only $15 per car. Please RSVP to Andrew Nelson at 719-634-7522 or [email protected].

The Best or Nothing!

View From the Peak by Andrew NelsonSection OfficersPresident:Andrew [email protected]

Vice President:Judy [email protected]

Secretary:Mary [email protected]

Treasurer:Julie [email protected]

Directors:Stan [email protected]

Glenn [email protected]

Dan [email protected]

Henry [email protected] Sylvia [email protected]

Ken [email protected]

Dave [email protected]

Webmaster:Robert [email protected]

Editor:Judy [email protected]

Regional Director:Michael [email protected]

‘Round the BENZ is published monthly by the Pikes Peak Section of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America (MBCA), Inc. Articles and ideas are the opinions of the writers and no authentication is implied as to the validity of any infor-mation contained therein. Explicit permission to republish any article with proper attribution is given to all sections of MBCA, Inc. Articles for publication consideration should be mailed to Pikes Peak Section, MBCA, Attn: Editor, 4335 Penhurst Place, Colorado Springs, CO 80906 or, whenever possible, emailed to: [email protected]. Deadline for receipt is the 18th of the month prior to the month of issue.

Pikes Peak Section members are encouraged to support the advertisers in our newsletter. They help to make this publication possible.

‘ROUND THE BENZ

After winning the first four Grand Prix races of the 2016 Formula One season in such a domi-nant fashion, there were whispers in Formula One of the possi-bility of Team Mercedes

AMG pulling off a “perfect” season, i.e., winning every race. I believe it was Ma-claren in 1988 that came the closest by winning 15 of the 16 races that year.

The speculation was not without merit. The 2016 race cars are again clearly the best of the field - fast and almost bullet-proof, and with the return of both drivers, led by 2014 and 2015 World Champion Lewis Hamilton and teammate Nico Ros-berg, the possibility of a perfect season was well within reach.

On a team with a dominant car and with two drivers who are relatively equally skilled (their qualifying and race pace times are almost identical), most races have come down to the two competing with just each other for every victory. The rest of the field competes for third.

The competition between the two drivers has been fierce, with the speculation that they don’t much like each other. There were several times last year that the animosity was evident at post-race press conferences. Rosberg appeared to be frustrated by having a less than reliable car and not winning as many races as Hamilton.

This season was the opposite. It was clearly Hamilton showing his frustration because of Rosberg’s seven-race win-ning streak. Every race driver who has won the first four races of the year has gone on to win the F1 championship.

Well, at race number five, the Span-ish Grand Prix, the perfect season was thrown away on the first lap. Hamilton won the pole position with Rosberg in P2. They were both clearly the class of the field, so this race would again come down to the two Mercedes AMG drivers.

Rosberg got a much better start and by turn one, he had grabbed the lead. At the approach to turn three, Hamilton tried to make an inside pass, where there was no room (in my opinion). Rosberg defended his position and forced Hamilton onto the inside grass. Hamilton spun out, taking out Rosberg at the same time. And just like that, both cars were out of the race. Perfect season over, Rosberg’s chance to win ten consecutive races (the record) over.

With Daimler-Benz AG Chairman Dr. Zetshe at the race, speculation was that both drivers were “taken to the wood-shed” over the incident. Rosberg will most likely still win the 2016 F1 Champi-onship and the team will probably win an overwhelming majority of the remaining races if they just observe the cardinal rules of racing: “Never take out your teammate” and “To finish first, you first must finish.” Stay tuned.

As always, drive safe, and I will see you down the road.

Andrew

‘ROUND THE BENZ

Saturday, 9 July 201611:00 a.m.

The Mile High Section is in charge of the Joint Section Picnic this year. After 3 con-secutive years at Ab-sher Acres, we’re giving Karen and Clark a rest.

The Mile High Section is still working on the arrangements, so we don’t know yet where the picnic will be or any of the particulars. But we do have a date! Yes, mark it on your calen-dars - Saturday, 9 July 2016.

This is always a popular event and a chance to reconnect with our northern neighbors. We will enjoy picnic fare in an specially-selected venue. Niels Haubold

is in charge and we’re sure he’ll come up with something creative. His previous picnic outing took us to Rambler Ranch in Elizabeth, CO. If you can’t wait for the details, give him a call or drop him a note at 303-949-7673; [email protected]

Stay tuned to ‘Round the Benz for updates. We’ll

post ‘em when we get ‘em.

Joint Section Picnic

Breakfast & Parks & ‘Marks Drive Saturday, 16 July 2016

9:00 a.m.Our July Fun Run will combine breakfast with a visit to a mind-boggling car collec-tion, with stops at various Paved Peaks & Passes, Parks and ‘Marks stops. If you haven’t picked up your passport yet, there’s still time to get one.

One of the stops in the passport is the Gal-lery at the Vehicle Vault in Parker, CO. The Vehicle Vault is home to an awesome collection of cars. The complex museum opened Oct. 25 and the complex is still in development. Eventually, it will fea-ture about 120 car garages for collectors who will pay $100,000 or more a year for homes for their cars. The aim is to create a country club for car lovers.

The heart of the business is the museum, which features automobiles as old as the 1906 Success, to classic 1950s and 1960s racing cars. There is a 1954 Mercedes-Benz Gullwing, which is considered the crown jewel of the collection because it is so rare and has only 400 original miles on it. The museum also has a Maclaren SLR and two 1914 Mercedes-Benz town cars that have been meticulously restored.

There are also vehicles from every de-cade, including an 1980s DeLorean and 2006 Ford GT. Admission is $10 for seniors and military, $12 for adults, and $8 for kids. Discounted rates are available for groups of 15 or more.

After our visit, we will wend our way home via a sce-nic route that will enable us to col-lect several more passport stamps for the day.

Join us for break-fast at The Egg & I Restaurant at Citadel Cross-ing at 9:00 a.m. We’ll depart from the parking lot at approximately 10:30 a.m. for our scenic drive, stopping for a late lunch along the way, later in the afternoon. If you have any questions, please contact Judy Bennett at 719-576-9737; [email protected].

‘ROUND THE BENZ

“We’ve

changed the

date and the

venue slightly.”

Breakfast & President’s Rally - 20 August 2016Plan to join us at 9:00 a.m. for our month-ly Pikes Peak Section breakfast at the Egg & I Restaurant, located at the Citadel Crossing Shopping Center.

After breakfast, at ap-proximately 10:30 a.m., we will start the Presi-dent’s Rally. This is a time-honored tradition for our Section and our president Andrew always is up for the challenge of putting together a fun time.

As you know, 2016 is a U.S. Presidential

election year, so the theme of the rally will be, appropriately, U.S. Presidential cam-paigns and elections past and present.

We hope you will “jump on the bandwagon” and “keep the ball rolling” (hint, hint) and join us for breakfast and a rally. The entry fee is only $15 per car, which sounds like a “fair deal” to me.

Please RSVP to Andrew Nelson at 719-634-7522 or [email protected]

After the resound-ing success of the Monument Trifecta +++, Dan and Cheryl Kerbs are teeing up another Pikes Peak Section event and we know it’s going to be equally fabulous.

It’s a variation on the Drive-In Movie we have done for the last 7 years. We’ve changed the date and the venue slightly.

We will still be going to the drive-in but we won’t be doing a rally in the afternoon. And we won’t be doing it on Labor Day Weekend.

So, plan to join Dan and Cheryl at their house for dinner and a movie on Saturday, 27 August.

Mark your calendars and plan to attend this fun event.

Dinner and a Movie - 27 August 2016

When you open your fuel filler door, you may miss that bright green letter D staring you in the face. That D stands for diesel, and it’s what your engine craves. If you put regular gasoline in there, you’re going to have a bad time. What exactly happens when you put gas into a diesel vehicle’s fuel tank?

You’re dealing with a lot of components that deliver fuel into the engine, so there are many parts that need to be examined. Some just need to be flushed and cleaned out, while others need to be replaced. Additionally, there’s a special disposal process for the combined gas-diesel fluid

you’ve just created, and it’s surprisingly expensive. That cost, along with the parts and labor to fix your diesel car, will run somewhere between $5,000 and $8,000, at least for a VW diesel. Expect higher end diesels from Mercedes-Benz and BMW to cost even more to fix.

The best way to avoid all of this? Pay at-tention to what you’re doing. Automakers are making it tougher to accidentally pump the wrong fuel by using different size fuel filler necks, but you should still focus on the task in front of you...even if it’s as mun-dane as filling up your tank.

Put Gas in a Diesel Engine? by Jeff Glucker

PREVIEW OF COMING ATTRACTIONS!

‘ROUND THE BENZ

Colorado ConcoursDate: 5 Jun 2016Location: 5900 S. Santa Fe DrCost: $9 online, $10 at gateContact: Terry Armstrong, (303) 691-9339

Paint Mines DriveDate: 25 Jun 2016Location: Castle Rock SafewayCost: TBDContact: Bob Mashburn, (303) 988-2710; [email protected]

Mile High Section EventsFor more information, visit the MHS website at http://www.milehighmbca.org

Section Elections - 11 October 2016Pikes Peak Section elec-tions are coming up soon and it’s time to think about the direction the club is go-ing. The Pikes Peak Section Board of Directors decides the types of events the Sec-tion holds and the frequency of those events, and pro-vides for the detailed man-agement of those events.

This year, we’ve got three board members up for reelection. There

is also an open seat on our board. If you are interested in getting involved with the day-to-day management of the Section and if you’ve got time to devote to plan-ning and directing one event per year, we’re looking for you. If you are interested in serving your Section, please contact Charlie Bennett at [email protected] or 719-576-9737.

Georgetown Loop Fun Run - 15 October2016

Breakfast & Fun Run - 17 September 2016Do you have an idea for a Fun Run? An interesting place to visit? We’d like to hear about it if you do. Members of your Board of Directors regularly come up with fun drives and interesting places to go. Sometimes we hit a home run and other times, not so much. After so many years,

though, the creative juices get a little sluggish and we could use an infusion of new ideas.

Our September Fun Run is Sat-urday, 17 September. Show up for breakfast at The Egg & I and then let’s see who has the best idea for some driving fun!

On Saturday, 15 October, you are in for a treat. After our monthly breakfast, Henry and Sylvia Russell have planned a road trip to Georgetown, CO where we will board the George-town Loop Railroad® for the ultimate fun run.

The Georgetown Loop Rail-road® was one of Colorado’s

first visitor attractions. Com-pleted in 1884, this spectacular stretch of three-foot narrow gauge railroad was considered an engineering marvel for its time.

They’re still working on the de-tails so save the date and stay tuned for more details in upcom-ing newsletters.

“...the George-

town Loop

Railroad for

the ultimate

fun run.”

‘ROUND THE BENZ

MESA VERDE & 4 CORNERS REGIONAL EVENTSeptember 9, 10, 11, 2016

Please reserve your place. Make your $35 per person event fee check payable to MBCA, Mile-High Section and mail it along with this form to:

Michael Davison, 7324 East Fremont Drive, Centennial, CO 80112 For more information email Michael at [email protected]

Names ____________________________________________________________

Phone ____________________________ Email ___________________________ Mailing address ______________________________________________________ MBCA Section____________________________________

Number attending _____________ x $35 = _____________ (Due by August 5, 2016)

Please note if you want the detailed instructions sent as a PDF, MS-Word file or via U.S. Mail. This promises to be an interesting and fun event. Please joint us. Thank you.

‘ROUND THE BENZ

Der MarktplatzWanted. C36 or C43 sedan. 300SEL 6.3 sedan. Call Pete at 719-599-7100 or email [email protected]

Running Board Trade. I have a 2012 ML 350 that needs running boards. I’m looking for someone with a 3rd generation

ML who has running boards but really wants rocker panel covers. Let’s trade. It’s not a hard job to do

and we’ll each save over $1000. Contact Dave Car-penter at 719-532-0257 or [email protected]

Roof Box Cargo Carrier. Price reduced! $300 cash only or make an offer. Contact John or Hilda at 548-8322 or [email protected]

Mercedes CD Changer – 6 disk, $80, 002 820 5989, with frame-holder and velcro cover. Call Har-vey at 331-1212.

This just in from the latest edition of the MBCA e-newsletter, Click, a quick wrap-up of news, dis-counts & special events:

Announcing StarFest® 2016! Wednesday August 3rd- Saturday August 6th, 2016. The Minuteman Section invites you to New England for 2016 StarFest®! StarFest® 2016 will take place in Connecticut’s “Quiet Corner” with lush green valleys and picturesque hilltop farms, it’s also know as the Antique Capital of Connecticut. From the seashore near the host hotel, to the lush greenery near the host track, the two are linked by a short trip on I-395. Spectacular scenery and iconic New England towns await your discovery. Regis-tration for StarFest® is open now. For more informa-tion, visit MBCA.org.

2016 Germany Tour. September 19, 2016. Trav-

elers will enjoy guided tours of the Carl Benz Museum in Ladenburg; the Daimler Workshop in Bad Cannstatt; AMG facilities in Affalterbach; the Mercedes-Benz Museum and Brand Center in Un-terturkheim; the Technical Museum in Sinsheim; the Bad Cannstatt Engine Assembly Plant; the Classic Center in Fellbach and the Sindelfingen assembly plant that covers more ground than the entire princi-pality of Monaco. This trip is $2,500 U.S. per person

plus airfare. For more information please contact Jim O’Sullivan at 843.671.2079 or [email protected]

Legends of the Autobahn - Friday, Aug 19, 2016. Legends of the Autobahn® is a celebration of the world’s pre-eminent German vehicle brands: Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW. Participants are invited to revel in the prowess and grace of German automotive engineering, catch sneak-peeks of new vehicle releases, and savor the rare models

each marque will have on display. For more infor-mation visit: http://www.legendsoftheautobahn.org/

‘ROUND THE BENZ

Paved Peaks & Passes UpdateThe Paved Peaks & Passes program is up and running. Our teams are still working on completing Phases I and II; but Phase III, Parks & ‘Marks (P&M) is ready to go.

We have created a list of 43 possible sites across Colorado. They are all either parks or landmarks (hence the term ‘Marks!). Participants will visit 35 of them to complete their passports.

You’ll be driving all around our area from Trinidad to the south, to Limon in the east,

to Loveland in the north, and to Red Cliff in the west. We’ve concentrated on loca-

tions we have not visited before, as we continue to explore our beautiful state of Colorado. You’ll be happy to know that for this phase, we’ve includ-ed some locations in and around our home stomp-ing grounds of Colorado Springs.

For more information or to sign up for a passport, contact Judy at ben-

[email protected] or give her a call at 719-576-9737.

4 New Electric Cars by Viknesh Vijayenthiran

Earlier in the year we learned Mercedes-Benz was working on at least four new elec-tric cars. The four cars were said to include two sedans and two SUVs.

According to Autocar, the cars won’t be standalone models but versions of exist-ing Mercedes models with tweaks done to

the styling to ensure they stand out. Based on comments made by outgoing Mercedes R&D boss Thomas Weber, the British pub-lication reports that the C-Class, S-Class, GLA and GLC will form the basis of the cars.

Fellow Daimler subsidiary Accumotive will supply the batteries. Daimler recently an-nounced plans to expand the site where

Accumotive manufactures batteries, likely in preparation for the new cars. Accumotive also supplies batteries for Mercedes’ home energy storage system.

Mercedes will utilize a next-generation lithium-ion battery type for the new electric cars and the minimum range target for a

single charge will be in excess of 250 miles.

It’s not clear yet when the first of the cars will be launched but all four should be in the Mercedes lineup by the end of 2020. Prior to the first be-ing launched,

we’ll see fellow Daimler brand Smart launch electric versions of its latest ForTwo and ForFour city cars.

Note, Mercedes also plans to introduce a vehicle powered by a hydrogen fuel cell stack. This one is expected to be based on the GLC and debut at the 2017 Frankfurt Auto Show.

“Participants

will visit 35

of them....”

‘ROUND THE BENZ

The Pikes Peak Section had a marathon beverage day. We made numerous stops at local hostelries in north El Paso County. It was a perfect day for hitting the open road with tops down and windows open.

Twenty-three Section members gathered for breakfast before heading out to our first stop, Black Forest Meadery. We visited Adam at the home farm where Frick and Frack, the turkeys, welcomed us with lots of gobbles and then followed us around for the entire visit. We met the entire menagerie - sheep, turkeys, chickens, rams, geese, and ducks. We were treated to an unexpected exhibition of turkeys behaving badly along the way. Only the Pikes Peak Section could have arranged that!

Then it was on to the tasting room in Black Forest where we sampled 4 different flavors of mead. From there, we traveled to Ser-rano’s Coffee Co in Palmer Lake, where Carl answered all our questions about what makes a good cup of coffee. We got to sample average coffee before he brewed 2 types of gourmet coffee. What a difference! I think he sold out of individual brewers and electric kettles.

Back in the cars for the trip to 3 Hun-dred Days Distillery and a moonshine

extravaganza. We sampled 2 flavors each - the Margarita Moon was a hit. Mike walked us through the pro-cess of making legal moonshine and answered all our questions. His entire opera-tion is awesome.

Stop #4 was Ice Cave Hard Cider in Monu-ment where we enjoyed more samples - getting to choose our favorites from a wide assortment of flavors. Stop #5 was Catriona Cellars where we sampled wine, took a tour of the winery and enjoyed a late lunch. Woody, our host, took us through the entire production process, proudly showing off his entire operation. It was spotless and the wine was delightful, as was the food. The final stop, for the diehards, was Pikes Peak Brewing for corn hole and beer.

It was a perfectly wonderful, top-notch day. Many thanks to Dan and Cheryl Kerbs for putting it together and making it happen. It was worth the wait! Check out all the pic-tures on our Facebook page at MBCA Pikes Peak Section.

Monument Trifecta+++ Recap

‘ROUND THE BENZ

“...banned

from selling

convertibles

equipped

with its

innovative

Airscarf....”

Dear driver in front of me that’s constantly tapping your brakes to adjust your speed... you do not need to do that. We’ve all been there, right?

Simply let off your throttle pedal and let the engine do some of the work for you. You’ll save some of the useful life of your brake pads, see better fuel economy, and (most importantly) not agitate your fellow motor-ists.

Your engine works as a delightful tool to not just speed your car up but also slow it down.

When you lift off the throttle in a gasoline-drinking car, you’re closing the throttle body. This lets air into your engine during the intake stroke of the combustion process. When the throttle body is closed, the air can’t get in when your engine is completing its combustion process, so it’s now slowing you down and acting as a brake.

A similar event happens in diesel vehicles as well. Instead of creating a vacuum from the closed throttle body, however, the diesel engine utilizes backpressure as its means of engine braking.

Engine Braking by Jeff Glucker

Mercedes-Benz has been banned from selling convertibles and roadsters equipped with its innovative Airscarf system in its home market of Germany over a decades-old patent dispute.

The German Federal Court of Justice says Mercedes’ dealerships must disable the system on new cars being sold in Germany. It isn’t clear just how the automaker’s retail outlets will have to disconnect the system, and if that could be imme-diately reversed. The good news is that the patent rights on Airscarf expire at the end of this year, so the system can be reactivated then by dealers.

Mercedes will face a $283,000 fine from the German govern-ment if it does not disable the feature, which has a roughly 66 percent take rate in Germany, according to Automotive News. When switched on, the Airscarf system blows warm air through the front seat head-

rests to warm driver and passenger necks in colder weather.

The hefty decision comes as a result of a dispute between Mercedes parent company Daimler and a patent agency. Mercedes first introduced Airscarf in 1998, but inventor Ludwig Schatzinger patented it himself in

1996. Schatzinger isn’t directly involved in the lawsuit and has remained mum on the subject.

The ruling does not apply to Mercedes models sold outside of Germany, how-ever.

Germans Turn Off Air Scarf by Andrew Ganz

‘ROUND THE BENZ

7 June 2016Board Meeting - 6:00 p.m.Andrew Nelson 719-634-7522

18 June 2016Breakfast & Springs Rally - 9:00 a.m.Andrew Nelson 719-634-7522

5 July 2016Board Meeting - 6:00 p.m.Andrew Nelson 719-634-7522

9 July 2016Joint Section Picnic - TBDMile High Section 303-949-7673

16 July 2016Breakfast & P&M Drive - 9:00 a.m.Judy Bennett 719-576-9737

2 August 2016Board Meeting - 6:00 p.m.Andrew Nelson 719-634-7522

20 August 2016Breakfast & President’s Rally - 9:00 a.m.Andrew Nelson 719-634-7522

27 August 2016Dinner & A Movie Dan Kerbs 719-594-6017

6 September 2016Board Meeting - 6:00 p.m.Andrew Nelson 719-634-7522

17 September 2016Breakfast & Fun Run - 9:00 a.m.Andrew Nelson 719-634-7522

Calendar of Upcoming Events

The Pikes Peak Section Board of Directors meets the First Tuesday of Each Month at Mercedes-Benz of Colorado Springs, 730 Automotive Drive. Meetings start at 6:00 p.m.

All Section members are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Return Service Requested

On the Web at www.mbca.org/pikes_

peak/

To:

‘ROUND THE BENZ

‘Round the BenzEditor

4335 Penhurst Place

Colorado Springs, CO 80906

MBCA Pikes Peak Section

Happy Flag Day!

june 2016 'round the benz

Documents