After a long 5-hour wait (while the Nordschleife was closed off and on for wreck clearing), I finally got to take the M out for four of the (arguably) most challenging laps in the world.  Without a doubt, I can say that today was the most fun, scary and difficult time I’ve ever had in a car (unless you count the times that I’ve ridden in one of Josh’s most-unreliable 240s).  Forza Motorsport and Gran Turismo does not do this track justice.  You MUST come drive it yourself to experience the full horror that 22 euros a lap can buy you.

Three interesting observations from today:

1) The M is much more capable than I will EVER be able to take advantage of.

2) In the right hands, a Ford panel van can dust almost everyone on the track.

3) Janna was a trooper and rode shotgun for two laps… until I had to let her out because of car sickness.

Sorry, no pics from the track (getting caught will get you banned), but a couple of gems from the trip up.

Who needs the Nurburgring when you have the speed limit-free Autobahn?  Like I said, life is good…

No trip to the Ring would be complete without a trip to the BMW M Test Center.  Ah, my baby has come home…

So on with the show, actually, the Frankfurt Auto Show to be exact.  It’s supposedly one of the biggest, if not THE biggest auto show in the world.  I thought the Seoul Motor Show was big, but that was chump change compared to the one in Frankfurt.  So big, in fact, that they only hold it every other year.  In a word, it was GINORMOUS.  It must have been a half mile walk from one end of the convention area to the other.  The larger German brands like BMW, VW and Mercedes-Benz had their own convention halls (out of 10-12) just for their own cars and sub brands (Audi, Rolls Royce, etc.).

Don’t believe, you say?  You’re exaggerating, you say?  Well how about big enough to have your own driving track INSIDE a convention hall (like BMW did)?  Check it:

Now for the eye candy… introducing BMW’s concept car:

Or how about the latest paint craze.. CHROME!

One of the original Mini Coopers, look how small and cute it is!

They even had an area built to show off the capabilities of four-wheel drive vehicles.  It was like an amusement park ride, complete with a hill climb:

… and swinging draw bridge thingy:

One of the most impressive displays was from Mansory.  At first I thought it was odd that they had their area blocked off to prevent spectators from looking at all their black cars, but then upon further inspection I realized all the cars had been re-skinned in full carbon fiber.  Yes, the picture below is of a full carbon fiber Aston Martin.  The craziest thing is the cost of these Mansory tuned vehicles.  In the latest Euro Tuner magazine they have an article about a Mansory tuned Bugatti Veyron (one of the fastest street cars on Earth) that sells for $3 million!!  That’s $1 million over the stock price of a Veyron.  Crazy…

Of course, no blog post of mine would be complete without mention of food.  I present to you a big ol’ pita filled with MEAT.

How big?  Almost as big as Janna’s FACE!!

(If you’d like the full-resolution photo, just drop me a line through the contact link in the menu above.)

The whole crew, plus the generous Hartge staff:

The “Polos Only” Club:

Action shots from the road:

A nice Hartge backdrop:

A couple of Hartge’s beauties:

In any case, by popular demand, the long awaited unveiling of my original edition 1994 Daewoo Cielo in Crinkle Chip-Flake White!!

Now I’m not one to pour salt on the wound, but if that picture above isn’t making you jealous enough, then check out the video below.  And yes, I also pull off power slides and Knight Rider turbo boost jumps in my Cielo.  Hey, “Don’t hate, APPRECIATE!!”

Never been to a car show?  This is what the crowd looks like (note the red to green arrow ratio):

It’s also amazing to see the amount of equipment these guys bring to the show.  Check this guy out (face blurred for his protection).  That ladder he’s standing on was brought by him (note the shoulder strap attached to it), and by many other stalkers photographers too (great idea by the way, I’m just mad I didn’t think of it first… just kidding).  Note the out-of-control dual-flash setup.  I think the model even thought this guy was over the top, after he took about 30 shots of her in rapid succession (blinding the poor girl), she shook her finger at him and said no more.  He walked away dejected with his head down and the ladder under his arm (poor guy).

Ah, even I couldn’t avoid it (so ashamed)!  It was like group-think/mob mentality.  When in Rome, do as the Romans do, right?  Cars, what cars? 

It’s too bad there were so many people milling about, it made for some awfully distracting backgrounds for photos.  At least the models were kind enough to pose in the midst of all the madness.

Anyway, I promised Errol that I’d do my best to find and buy the car that’s near and dear to his heart… the Hyundai Sonata.  (Ask him youself if you’re wondering why.)  While I haven’t bought a car yet, the good news is that Hyundai Sonatas are EVERYWHERE here.  Check out this fine specimen I spotted in my hotel parking lot:

And then I got bored and shot a tree trunk…

Here are a couple from an National Auto Sport Association sponsored event at Infineon Raceway in Vallejo (August). The driver of the Silver WRX is my brother Errol, pretty impressive skills from the drivers if you ask me.