PWNER - gerryvz

[gerryvz]

From what I have seen, the good folks in the People's Republic of California (run by Comrade Jerry Brown) get 91 octane "Super" fuel.

In the Northwest (otherwise known as California North), they get 92 octane "Super" fuel.

We, down here in the Republic of Texas, the land of little regulation and lots of freedom [and guns and real brake cleaner], we get 93 octane "Super" fuel.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[Stevester 500E]

Does the butt dyno sense the difference?

From what I have seen, the good folks in the People's Republic of California (run by Comrade Jerry Brown) get 91 octane "Super" fuel.

In the Northwest (otherwise known as California North), they get 92 octane "Super" fuel.

We, down here in the Republic of Texas, the land of little regulation and lots of freedom [and guns and real brake cleaner], we get 93 octane "Super" fuel.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[gerryvz]

Does the butt dyno sense the difference?

Yes. It's a good 10 HP difference in power generation between California gas and Texas gas.

Remember....

 

[Maui]

From what I have seen, the good folks in the People's Republic of California (run by Comrade Jerry Brown) get 91 octane "Super" fuel.

In the Northwest (otherwise known as California North), they get 92 octane "Super" fuel.

We, down here in the Republic of Texas, the land of little regulation and lots of freedom [and guns and real brake cleaner], we get 93 octane "Super" fuel.

Cheers,
Gerry

We're way beyond north California up here in Oregon. We are now known as the Socialist Republic of Oregon. We're lucky we even have gasoline and not forced to ride bicycles or walk. I'v lived here for 33 years and I've watched it go from a great place to smoldering piece of crap.

[video]https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=portlandia+clips&view=detail&mid=B568122948082EAE47E6B568122948082EAE47E6&FORM=VIRE[/video]
[video=youtube;V3nMnr8ZirI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3nMnr8ZirI[/video]

 

[JC220]

Driving to Dallas yesterday, I stopped in Centerville to fill up.

I've seen gas at Chevron stations here in Dallas for even less than $2.00 a gallon for Super

I need one of those pumps near me!!

Current like for like price here for 3.8L (US gallon!) is $6.11

 

[gerryvz]

Currently I am paying around USD $2.59 for that same gallon of 93 octane fuel (about $0.60 higher than the low point in that photo).


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[gerryvz]

I'v lived here for 33 years and I've watched it go from a great place to smoldering piece of crap.

I lived there from 1985-1990 (college, OSU, Corvallis) and then from late 1995-2008 (Portland). Wow did things change dramatically in those years. And it's accelerated in the ~9 years since I left.

Having lived in Washington, California and Oregon, I can and will never again live on the West Coast. That said, it's also not likely that I'll live in Texas for more than 5 more years either. But that's based on other considerations, as Texas has treated me very well in the nearly 9 years I've been here.


For Maui
[youtube]TZt-pOc3moc[/youtube]

 

[Stevester 500E]

Having lived in Washington, California and Oregon, I can and will never again live on the West Coast. That said, it's also not likely that I'll live in Texas for more than 5 more years either. But that's based on other considerations, as Texas has treated me very well in the nearly 9 years I've been here.

Did California treat you well?

 

[gerryvz]

Did California treat you well?

I was in Silicon Valley for around 4 years back in the early-mid 1990s. At that time, California treated me well.

Ever since I left, I have been back in California on almost a bi-monthly basis. I guess that's because I've worked the bulk of my career for three Silicon Valley-based companies....

 

[gsxr]

We're way beyond north California up here in Oregon. We are now known as the Socialist Republic of Oregon. We're lucky we even have gasoline and not forced to ride bicycles or walk. I'v lived here for 33 years and I've watched it go from a great place to smoldering piece of crap.

Speaking of which...

http://frank151.com/each-state-perfectly-described-by-one-photograph/38/

 

[gerryvz]

GVZ Euro Tour 2017 commenced yesterday. We have a brand-spankin'-new Range Rover Evoque convertible (red color; photos soon) and drove yesterday from Munich to Bolzano, Italy, in the South Tyrol region.

Today we continue south to Maranello to visit Museo Ferrari and then on to Florence, where we will be for the next few days.

A few views of Bolzano and the surrounding hills (covered with vineyards) from our hotel, as we prepare to hit the road.

. . .

Current location:



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[Maui]

A europe road trip is definitely on my bucket list.

 

[TerryA]

A europe road trip is definitely on my bucket list.

Been there done that. You would love it. Probably running your own business? puts a kink in planning but even 2 weeks is enough to get your feet wet. Don't wait until your to old to enjoy it. Europe requires lots is stamina because you will be walking everywhere even with a car. It's not for "Sissies". The older I get the more time it takes to recover from a rough day of enjoying the sites. Driving is a challenge with signage and the nutty Italian drivers. Germany and France not so bad.

In Sept - Oct of 2013 my wife a I spent 5 days in Rome walking and the next 40 day touring thru Italy and Austria with a 2 day stop in Munich. I rented Ford Focus Estate Wagon. A 6 speed diesel which was a lot of fun to drive. It's tough living out of luggage that long but you get into a rythem after a while but I'm ready to do it again maybe in Spain the next time.

I still envy Gerry because he gets to drive great cars not rentals. He also speaks German and does it with friends. We on the other hand knew no one, speak only English but you make a lot of friends as you go.

I would bet Gerry is somewhere in the Bremmer Pass headed towards Italy and Maranello and the Ferrari Factory. I know I really enjoyed both the pass and the factory museum tour.

Ken, Don't Wait - Just Do It!!

Anyway gotta go the 24 hour Le Manns race is starting on Fox1.

 

[Ricardo]

Agree with TerryA, dont delay...
I bracketed a trip to SE Asia with 5 days on way out and back in Germany and was enough of a taste to get the bug. Munich, Stuttgart, Berlin, Dresdin... some tourist stuff, Porsche & BMW factory/museum tours (timing was off for MB factory tour).
Rentals only unfortunately, but was fun to see see average speed from Munich to Berlin well above US speeds
Can't wait to go back (and yes tougher now that I work for someone else )

 

[doolar]

And if you have the chance, come to Scandinavia! This is where the Germans go for their vacation... Most people speak English really well (no dubbing on TV, and early English studies in school).

In mainland Europe, I'd go for the French coasts, German cities, the Alps, and of course Italy.

And the Autobahn, of course. It's always fun to have a car coming up fast in your rear view mirror, move back to the right lane, glance down at your speedo showing 250 km/h as the car from behind swoosh past you And it's all legal!!

 

[gerryvz]

Made it to Florence, with the stop at Maranello to the Ferrari HQ along the way. Plenty of top-down motoring with the Range Rover. Today was about 90-91F.

We have an apartment in the old town Florence, just a few blocks from the Duomo (cathedral).

Here's a quick snap from Ferrari....



Current location:

 

[gerryvz]

Laura & I are renting an apartment in central (Old Town) Florence for the next couple of days. It's a very old building, but the apartment is quite modern.


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[gerryvz]

A couple of nice days in Florence, an old and very walkable city. Visited a couple of museums and many sights, and are plenty of good Italian food. Probably too much!! Here are a few highlights & random/fun sights that we saw over the weekend...

. . . . . .


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[gerryvz]

On Monday, we wrapped up our last day of sightseeing & shopping in Florence and drove to the town of Portovenere, which is the end of the Italian Riviera on the Mediterranean. Plenty of top-down driving in the Range Rover on a hot 34C day.

We stopped along the way in the city of Pisa, where we saw the famous "Leaning Tower" which was very beautiful (but also a bit touristy).


We arrived in Portovenere about 7:30 PM and checked into our hotel. It's a picturesque little town on the coast with a small, protected harbor.

Here's the view from our hotel window.


If you're interested to know where Portovenere is, below are a couple of map captures that show it.


Today (Tuesday) and for the next couple of days, we'll explore the beautiful Cinque Terre just north of us. The Cinque Terre are 5 picturesque small towns built into the rocky coastline of the Italian Riviera. You can't get to them by car -- only by boat, train or walking in.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinque_Terre

http://www.thousandwonders.net/Parco+Nazionale+delle+Cinque+Terre

 

[gerryvz]

We had a great couple of days in Portovenere and thoroughly enjoyed the time at Cinque Terre. We took the local train and visited three of the five villages on the rocky coastline, on Tuesday.

Wednesday (yesterday) we chartered a boat to ourselves, and did a tour of all five towns from the water. Here are a few views of each one, from the Mediterranean side.

First of all, our town of Portovenere, which is not one of the Cinque Terre towns:
.

Next are the five towns, starting with the southern-most one called Riomaggiore.

. . . . .

And lastly, coming back down to Portovenere, here's a water view of the hotel we stayed at.

.

After lunching in Portovenere, we said good-bye and drove up past Milan to Lugano, Switzerland where we bedded down for the night. Lugano is on the large Lake Lugano and is just inside Switzerland.

We ate dinner outside last night at a delicious restaurant in the Lugano town square; it was about 84F and quite humid (much like Houston).

Here are a few views of Lugano and Lake Lugano as seen when we walked along the lake-shore last night before dinner.

. .

If you're interested, here's where Lake Lugano is located.


Just getting up now. We'll continue our trek back to Munich and turn in the rental Range Rover and exchange it for the 1970 280SL Pagoda that we'll be driving on the Alpentour -- my 12th Alpentour in 14 years.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[Eno]

Beautiful sights, almost looks like Lake Como in Milan. Enjoy your vacation.


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[gerryvz]

Lake Lugano is very close to Lake Como -- maybe 30-40 minutes' drive. Como is better, but Lugano is no slouch. Part of Lake Lugano is in Italy but most of it is in Switzerland.


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[gerryvz]

Preparing to head southward with the Pagoda & the 6.3......



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[gerryvz]

A few views from today's driving. We drove over six mountain passes, all of them 5,000 feet or higher.

Tonight and tomorrow night we are in San Martino, Italy, in the South Tyrol region (Dolomites).



The last photo is a view from our hotel.

 

[nocfn]

Be careful back thru Switzerland.. "spate-of-beaver-attacks-puts-swimmers-on-high-alert-in-switzerland'

 

[TerryA]

Only Louis would bring up a "Beaver Attack" ha!

Just take a couple of 2x4s for food or weapons.

 

[gerryvz]

I visited my soon-to-be new house in Annapolis today. Bill Sutton joined me for an hour or so to give it his once-over & thoughts.

I think I’m going to like it, and the neighbors. The house directly across the street had a red C124 E320 and a red E24 635CSi “Landshark” sitting in the driveway....

Klink, I can sense you’re drooling.....stop it!

 

[gerryvz]

Hey folks, just wanted to give a little personal update on what's happening with me.

After 9+ years living in the suburbs of Houston, Texas, having moved here in late August of 2008 (and starting the 500Eboard at the end of November of that year, not long after moving to Texas), I've now purchased a brand-new home in Annapolis, Maryland, and will be moving there during the second and third weeks of October.

I'm excited about the move and it's the beginning of a new chapter in my life. I've never lived on the East Coast before, so having seasons will be interesting, and also more limited times of the year for driving/enjoying my special cars. That said, I'm up to the challenge and ready to roll.

My new home was just finished in August, and sits on an acre of land just across the bridge (the "Naval Academy Bridge" as they call it) from the US Naval Academy -- literally a three-minute (~1.5-mile) drive from my driveway to the back gate of the Academy, and only an additional 3-4 minutes driving AROUND the Academy to historic/colonial downtown Annapolis. Annapolis happens to be the state capital of Maryland, as well. I feel lucky to be able to get a home with such a GREAT location close-in to downtown Annapolis, yet with so much land.

I look forward to being able to connect with all of the Northern Virginia/Wash DC/Annapolis/MD E500E folks -- I've met just about everyone at the 2015 East Coast Gathering and since at a couple of GTGs in DC and MD.

It's going to be an adventure to move, just as it was when I came here from Portland, OR to Houston. I'll be driving at least two of my cars through to MD -- most likely the G-wagen and the E500, and will ship the SEC as I have not yet completed the rear-axle rebuild work (which I am documenting).

Nothing with the 500Eboard is going to change at all, in terms of my relocation. The forum is healthy from a technical standpoint, and in good hands. The migration to XenForo is still in the works. XenForo is now on Beta #3 of its long-awaited version 2.0, and I'm going to target that as the migration point. It's a major upgrade in terms of functionality and features. I have maintained an active license for the XenForo software, but my life happenings over the past 1.5 years have gotten in the way of making real progress on the migration other than the test migrations that I did back in 2015. My commitment to running the forum remains as strong as ever, however.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[clarkz71]

Good to here you have a New Home in such a great location.

I have never been to the Naval Academy, though I have been to West Point.
I may have to come visit............ Vader

 

[Glen]

Looks like you have enough ceiling height in the garage for a lift [emoji3]

 

[gerryvz]

I have never been to the Naval Academy, though I have been to West Point.
I may have to come visit............ Vader

It's a good tour, and they have a great museum on campus. Open to the public. My grandfather attended the Naval Academy, class of 1926. My mom and I donated one of his midshipmens' uniforms and some other personal effects of his from his days in Annapolis, to the museum.

Vader, I hope you made it through Irma OK. I was thinking about you and posted a good thought about you here on the forum when the storm was happening. Let's connect off-line -- still haven't forgotten our earlier exchange and would like to pick up where we left off.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[gerryvz]

Looks like you have enough ceiling height in the garage for a lift [emoji3]

The garage has a very high ceiling, yes. However, we are planning to actually EXPAND the garage so that it holds more cars and a shop ... and will add a swimming pool in the back yard. We plan to continue consulting with forum member Bill Sutton on this, as he's a very very talented residential architect.

 

[clarkz71]

Vader, I hope you made it through Irma OK.
I was thinking about you and posted a good thought about you here on the forum when the storm was happening.
Let's connect off-line -- still haven't forgotten our earlier exchange and would like to pick up where we left off.

Cheers,
Gerry

Thanks Gerry. No power for 5 days but Condo is fine, (steel reinforced concrete)

Car was safe in underground garage here. The other thing we're good.
No problem, I know what's you've been dealing with.

 

[RicardoD]

The garage has a very high ceiling, yes. However, we are planning to actually EXPAND the garage so that it holds more cars and a shop .

Who cares about the gorgeous residential part of house, great location, and beautiful surroundings, future posts must only deal with garage expansion and lift install. Wishing you all the best on your move.

 

[Melville]

Once you get settled we'll have to start planning the next East Coast GTG...

 

[gerryvz]

Once you get settled we'll have to start planning the next East Coast GTG...

Spring 2018 perhaps.....sounds good to me !! Still wear the shirts I got at the 2015 gathering !

 

[nocfn]

Lovely home, location and will look great on a Christmas card! But I agree with Ricardo, we need man candy of epoxy floors, urinals with a finished shop, beer tap 4k televisions and at least 2 lifts.

 

[samiam44]

Congrads on Annapolis- pretty city area. MD is a very strongly Democratic state. Pretty big change from Texas..

 

[Maui]

Congrats and hoping the best for you. Thanks again for making this the best forum on the planet.

 

[alabbasi]

Congratulations on the move. You're going to need a beater car for the winter (excuse to buy another car) so that your beautiful southern / west coast cars don't salty roads.

 

[gerryvz]

Congrads on Annapolis- pretty city area. MD is a very strongly Democratic state. Pretty big change from Texas..

You are correct that MD is pretty strongly Democratic, but ONLY the counties immediately surrounding Washington DC & Baltimore -- Primarily Montgomery, Prince George, Howard and Baltimore counties. The rest of the state (including Anne Arundel County, where Annapolis is) is, like many states, more centrist and Republican in their politics.

Not too different than Texas, actually. In Texas, the big cities and surrounding counties tend to be more Democratic leaning, and the rest of everything is more Republican. It's just that most all of the populace in Maryland lives in and between Washington DC and Baltimore.

 

[portiadog1]

Gerry, congrats on the move and picking such a great location. Looking forward to making it to an east coast GTG sometime and meeting you and other members of the board.

 

[M104-AMG]

Welcome to the East coast! I can't believe I've been in Florida since 2003. Glad you're not in Montgomery County. The residential housing codes are unbelievable . . .

G/L with move!

neil

 

[gerryvz]

A quick update -- have prioritized some maintenance on my G-wagen recently, so the rear axle has been back-burnered and I'll have to complete the job in Maryland after I move.

In any case, the maintenance I did on the G-wagen, at 120K miles, was as follows:

• A/C system revamp -- new compressor, drier, seals, refrigerant (R134a), and PAG oil. The A/C had a very bad refrigerant leak due to a failing compressor that developed in summer 2016. It was pretty miserable not having good A/C, particularly because the A/C was quite good before the leak developed.
• New engine and transmission mounts. These are specific to the M104 as used with the G-wagen, and exceedingly expensive, as you can imagine. Transfer case mounts are OK for now, but I will probably do them in the future. It's not a horrible job.
• New serpentine belt, belt tensioner, and pulley. Tensioner and pulley were worn and in need of replacement. These are pretty standard late M104 items.
• New coolant expansion tank to replace the yellowed original tank. Again, a G-wagen-specific part, although it looks very similar to the tank used in the R107.
• Fluid change - brake fluid and power steering fluid, to prepare the G-wagen for the trip to the East Coast.

 

[gerryvz]

It's been a busy couple of weeks, including all of last week in San Francisco for a business trip (Oracle OpenWorld conference) and a few days visiting my mom in Seattle. Packers are coming tomorrow (Wednesday) and moving van loads up on Thursday, and initial travel from Houston up to Maryland is happening Thursday-Sunday. The Lexus and the 560SEC are getting shipped to Maryland via Passport Transport, which I expect pickup for soon.

I'll be back in Houston on Monday night (after signing for the house next Monday and getting the keys) and then here for a few last days next week (have to move out of my downtown Houston office & tie up a few loose ends) before driving the E500 on a road trip to Maryland. Hoping that I can visit Jono and check out his new shop (and make a mid-trip pit stop/safety check for the E500 there) and visit a few sights along the way.

Moving is never easy, but looking forward to a fresh start in the new home. And looking forward to getting together with you DC/NoVA/MD guys in the near future!

See y'all on the other side soon! I'll post some photos of my adventures from the two road trips.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[samiam44]

"I'll be back in Houston on Monday night (after signing for the house next Monday and getting the keys) and then here for a few last days next week (have to move out of my downtown Houston office & tie up a few loose ends) before driving the E500 on a road trip to Maryland. Hoping that I can visit Jono and check out his new shop (and make a mid-trip pit stop/safety check for the E500 there) and visit a few sights along the way.

Good luck on the trip!

Beautiful time to travel. Lots of prettiness between Houston and DC. Jono's a must- you can catch part of the blueridge parkway.

Did you get MB or Nipendenso PAG46 for the G-wagon? My best local source seems to be the chrysler dealer.

 

[nocfn]

We will miss you here in Houston, all your former peeps at the last MBCA event were sorry to see you leave. Best Wishes on the move, at least you got to experience the "cold front" for the first time this year. (for those who do not know, that's when the temp at midnight is higher than it is the next day at noon)

 

[gsxr]

The Lexus and the 560SEC are getting shipped to Maryland via Passport Transport ... before driving the E500 on a road trip to Maryland.

So, is the getting left behind, all alone in TX?

 

[nocfn]

naaa its in my garage being parted as we speak

 

[nocfn]