Cars

Old Guys in GTIs Club

Old Guys in GTIs Club

Saturday morning before starting out on the Mt. Hood drive, I headed over to Stomping Grounds to get my usual Salted Caramel Latte. My timing was great; there was a car backing out of the spot right in front of the door. As I got out, I noticed in a spot a couple slots away was a Black GTI. Same black wheels, same black color. What are the odds?

As I walk into the place, I notice a table right there with a couple of old guys, AKA my peers, drinking coffee and chatting. Two steps later the fellow facing me and the outside says, “Nice car, what year?” I instantly clock that he must be the other black GTI owner and say, “2020, thanks. What year is yours?” “2024,” he replies, “the last year with a manual. It is the S trim, meaning no sunroof and the Clark plaid seats.” “I searched for that spec specifically. Had to be manual with the plaid seats,” I tell him. The rest of the conversation revolves around wanting one back in the early 80s when they first came out. So he asks, “How old are you?” “Seventy, you?” I say. “76,” he says.

By now my latte is ready, so I grab it and give him a wave on the way out. I’d like to think that maybe if he was alone I would have asked if I could have sat with him and chatted some more. Probably not, but while ruminating on the missed connection, I came up with the idea of a club for old guys in GTIs. I spent 30 minutes on ChatGPT trying to get the right image, and this is the best I could do.

2 Black Cars, But For How Long

Two Black Cars

On a post 2 weeks ago I asked people to talk me out of wrapping the NB Miata in green. I said I was going to get a sample of the green vinyl, and boy was my mock-up nowhere near the color I got. I said it looked chrome in my rendition, and that was correct. I got one comment on Instagram, a no. I got one text, and it was also a no. And me laying that sample on the car and my own comment to myself was no.

So, I think the Miata will stay black. I mean, I do like it black; it just goes against my philosophy that small cars should be brightly colored so they catch attention despite their size. So maybe I should wrap the black Golf GTI in that green or maybe another color. Here are a set of my wicked ugly mock-ups:

Some internet sleuthing helped me find this image of a GTI wrapped in that Avery color, click on it and you’ll be taken to the Instagram post with more angles.

Gloss Dark Green GTI

I think I’m liking this.

I’m Thinking Of Taking Up Golf

Back when I was stationed in Meridian, MS, in the early 80s, I was the 2nd shift supervisor for the Avionics Shop. I befriended the supervisor that was in charge of all of AIMD (Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department), and one day he asked if I golfed. I, of course, replied, “Does miniature golf count?”

He was an avid golfer, and the fellow who he used to play with, the Hydraulics Shop supervisor, had rotated out, and he needed someone to replace him. I said, “That sounds like fun, but I don’t have any clubs.” This was not a problem; he still had his first starter set of clubs gathering dust in his garage, and he offered to sell them to me for $25. I went out and bought a golf glove and a dozen balls.

The base had its own 9-hole course that was free for those of us stationed there. The two of us would play a quick round on Wednesdays after lunch and finish up in time to get to work at 3:30. We played for the spring and summer, and then he got promoted and moved to 1st shift. By the end of it I got so I only lost one ball per 9 holes, and it really was fun, but after that the clubs just sat in the closet. When I shipped out the following year, I donated them to Goodwill.

And if you think this post is about me taking up golf, you are sorely mistaken. Look at the photo at the top. It’s not of golf clubs…

Concours de Maryhill

Looking West—the Columbia River From the Maryhill Museum


 
Today was an outing with the Miata Club to drive around 100 miles east to the town of Maryhill, WA, for a car show. Not to be in it, but to enjoy it as a spectator. Most car shows separate the entrants into eras or types or manufacturers, but this one was set up so that as the cars came in, that was how they were lined up. And if you could think of any kind of car, it was probably here.

I bailed kind of early and made a stop at a Roadside America attraction, the Maryhill Stonehenge, just down the street from where the car show was before getting on I-84 to head home.

Maryhill Stonehenge

Hammond, LA – Day 11: Sport, Off-Road, Touring

R.I.P. Edition of SORT
As of Monday, April 28, 2025 at 2:00 PM Central Time:

Sport Off-Road Touring
2006 Honda S2000 1999 Jeep Cherokee 2001 BMW 325i
This is the last SORT. I have missed the last two weeks because of travel and I didn’t realize I missed them until today. Three weeks ago I was a day late on Tuesday. I have been doing this since August of 2020 and I’m tired of trying to find different ways of getting creative with the picks, the well has run dry. Before that I did a Track/Daily/Crush version, also using Bring A Trailer, for a little over a year. That’s nearly 6 years total of Mondays looking at and judging cars. I like cars but I need a break (pun intended.) SORT might return someday or maybe I’ll go back to the Track/Daily/Crush version.

Here is what 3 weeks ago’s cars sold for, or bid to (if the reserve was not met):
Sport: 2006 BMW M3 Coupe Sold for USD $44,060 on 4/10/25
Off-Road: 1994 Land Rover Defender 90 Bid to USD $36,750 on 4/10/25
Touring: 2015 Maserati GranTurismo Sport Sold for USD $34,222 on 4/10/25

Sport, Off-Road, Touring

Special Tuesday Edition of SORT
As of Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at 9:00 PM pacific time:

Sport Off-Road Touring
2006 BMW
M3 Coupe		 1994 Land Rover
Defender 90		 2015 Maserati GranTurismo Sport
Not really special, it is just that I totally spaced on the fact that yesterday was Monday. An after the long drive back from Klamath Falls I just wanted to go to bed. It was not any longer in distance, but I did manage to avoid traveling on any of I-5 to get home, so more time was involved. I also killed an hour or so at the High Desert Museum south of Bend.

Here is what last week’s cars sold for, or bid to (if the reserve was not met):
Sport: 2013 Chevrolet Corvette Sold for USD $61,000 on 4/4/25
Off-Road: 2019 Chevrolet Colorado Bid to USD $22,500 on 4/2/25
Touring: 2021 Chevrolet Express Sold for USD $45,000 on 04/05/25

Sport, Off-Road, Touring

See The USA Edition of SORT
As of Monday, March 31, 2025 at 8:00 PM pacific time:

Sport Off-Road Touring
2013 Chevrolet Corvette 2019 Chevrolet Colorado 2021 Chevrolet Express
Last week was all Porsche and this week it is all Chevrolet. The Chevys couldn’t be all the same model as the Porsche, but what the hey I would have if I could have.

Here is what last week’s cars sold for, or bid to (if the reserve was not met):
Sport: 2024 Porsche 911 GT3 RS Bid to USD $425,000 on 3/28/25
Off-Road: 1982 Porsche 911SC Sold for USD $130,000 on 3/26/25
Touring: 2006 Porsche 911 Carrera Sold for USD $50,500 on 3/25/25