Letter from Europe : Celebrating Suzie; RIP Terry Page; Pebble’s Concours d’ Elegance; Quail Inn; Base Models Or Not?

Andrew Frankl
European Bureau Chief
The Auto Channel  

Apologies for my long absence which was due to the worst possible reason. Since September I have been looking after Suzie-my wife- as she was slowly losing her battle with cancer. We conquered it back in 2003  but this time we’ve lost the battle.

A  beautiful lady  with whom I reconnected after 40 years. She came to the races in Britain, Australia, Japan, Italy, France and Monaco to mention but a few. Helping in the commentary box was one thing but driving go-karts and going down n a bob sled in St Moritz was something else.

After the predictable  Mercs and Bimmers she loved nothing more than to jump into my red Ferrari 328 GTS for a quick dash to the South of France.

Truth be told it was a very long, wonderful honeymoon over several years.

 In the Bay Area my motoring career continued with the help of the late, great Terry Page. A wonderful man without an enemy in the World . Starting from his kitchen table when he sadly left us Terry left behind a very fine, highly professional company with over 130 employees.

Through Terry’s good offices I have been driving test cars in California for over 20 years-anything from Jaguars to Mustangs and from the Nissan Leaf several Volkswagens which proved to be solid and reliable. My stepson Alan bought a new wagon with a stick shift for something like 20 thousand dollars and loves it.

I loved this year’s Pebble’s Concours d’ Elegance 2017. A wonderful event with some of the most beautiful cars in the World. Some regulars turn up with their rugs, picnics and settle down for a wonderful time. They see the cars, see famous drivers such as Jackie Stewart and of course see some amazing hats. Fashion is a bit like the Kentucky Derby or Ascot in England. I did not do a detailed market research but would suggest that most of spectators were over 45 years old. Similar at Friday’s Quail extravaganza where people pay 600 dollars a head to look at more or less the same cars but get fed as well. Good food and unlimited alcohol from very fine vineyards.

It is sold out every year months in advance, a bit like Wimbledon-if you can afford it you should do it at least once. Less crowded than Pebble and that is one of the things you pay for.

For me of course the highlight of the weekend was the display of 70 Ferrari cars celebrating the company’s 70th anniversary. Having known Michael Schumacher throughout his racing career to see his 1996 F1 car was a very special treat indeed. Regarding Michael the word on his health is not good, I don’t think we will ever see him again. Yes, he is still alive but that is about it.

Coming back to Pebble for a second there was only one, most unfortunate episode. As the winning cars were slowly making their way up to the finishing line a Rolls-Royce started to smoke like a chimney. At a guess I would say it was a broken piston. The white smoke it created was wafting across the field leaving people reaching for the Claritin. It should have been stopped there and then-clearly it wasn’t going to win any awards.

So in the end first prize went to a 1929 Mercedes –Benz, a fine automobile.

I was of course hoping for a Ferrari but as the saying goes-maybe next year.

The most entertaining moment of the entire weekend was old friend Stuart from Page One trying to drive a very expensive, exclusive Mercedes AMG racing car on to the display stand on improvised wooden planks. Phew, that was close but he got there in the end.

In conclusion if you are true enthusiasts you should try and get to Pebble and Quail once. Suggest you start saving now!

On the new car front I’ve just said good-bye to Infiniti’s excellent QX60. My only problem is the price. Unfortunately Nissan have taken a page from the Mercedes songbook. The basic retail price is a very reasonably 43 thousand dollars. The one I had for test came in at a truly staggering 58 thousand dollars.

The question is-do I need premium speakers? Do I need lane guidance? Do I need a second and third row  moon roof? Or do I order the base model? 

After all the overall vehicle safety issued by the Government gives the QX five stars. None of extras-15 thousand dollars worth make any contribution to safety. All the extras are nice to have but if your budget does not stretch to nearly 60 grand buy the base model.

In the meantime the family Prius is running like clockwork, thanks partly to the excellent local dealer-Toyota of Marin.