Thrilling Auto-X Action!

I had to share.

The Jaguar Clubs Of North America hold three competitive events nationwide, Concours (bleagh), Rally, and Slalom. The latter is frankly the ONLY reason I pay my JCNA dues every year. I’d rather have a root canal than actually *compete* in Concours. I love TSD rallying, but only one of the three JCNA clubs around here (the Canadian XK Register) actually bothers to do real rallys. But Slalom (the world JCNA uses for auto-cross) is a ton of fun.

The concept is simple: Identical course and timing gear throughout North America. Distinct classes for the various models. The playing field therefore is VERY level and driver skill is the real test, and you can compare yours against everyone on the continent. They have a non-Jaguar class too, which is comprised usually of sports and muscle cars and it is cool to see both shows up, and what does well. I had what I thought was a most unusual Slalom participant posted here before, but the one above literally takes the prize.

Of all the tools to bring to an autocross, a BMW Isetta is not on the top of the list. Note the stellar handling! 😉

I hope to bring my TDI Jetta to a slalom this year and set the bar for a Bio-Fueled vehicle.

Car Photo Of The Day: A pair of Alfas

alfas

My “I want it now” post of the other day has me fixated on Alfa Romeos at the moment. I’ve always heard that every true “car guy” gets one at some point in their lives… and now I’m seeing them everywhere it seems. I watched the two “Godfather” movies a few weeks ago, and there were a couple of Alfas in there too!

Here is a pair presented at the Amelia Island Concours a few years back. I suggest that if you are a car guy, that a trip to Amelia in March for the car show is worth it… one of those things you just have to do at least once in your life.

I want it… NOW!

Lust.

Those Europeans get all the good toys. See that car up there? That is an Alfa Romeo Spider. Not only is it cool, and awesome, and worthy of lust, it is also available with a 2 liter “JTDM” TurboDiesel engine. That’s right, an open-topped, two seater, oil-burning, sports car.

If Alfa brought this to America I’d be their first customer.

I’ve been thinking of an essay about Diesel, and sports cars. Stay tuned for more.

Car Photo Of The Day: Springtime!

springtime

OK, it is not quite spring here yet, but there is something in the air (well… OK it is thick fog, but a guy can hope, right?)

The above photo was taken on the New England 1000 a few years back. We were chasing an Alfa in northern Vermont, just after crossing the Canada-US border on a transit stage.

Sorry about the lack of posts of late… getting back from vacation of course just means more work. I also just now upgraded my WP installation after somebody managed to create an admin-level user in WP through some flaw at 7:26 this morning. I was notified instantly and disabled their account… but still. grrr.