Al N.

My Saturday breakfast. http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20061104_182312_Breakfast.jpg

Steve-I am looking at the available libations list now. They have a Stag's Leap Cab at the top of the list (pricey though!). FYI, despite it being a dry county, through some loophole that has to do with having a tennis court (I kid you not), they can sell beer and wine. If you need anything harder, you'll have to bring it in. I can see a real use for a little armagnac in the wee hours, served out of your "mobile" bar, of course.

X-post from RECON Thread. A report from our Nov. 4 visit to TotD. My initial and lasting impression is that the Tapoco Lodge is PERFECT for our needs. We can park lots of cars there, in the main lot and also up the access road to the cabins and quonset hut/theater. We were able to ask the owners lots of questions and get a lot of guidance on how we want to structure meals and meets and menus. Right now, we're thinking about having 3 official group meals...Friday Dinner (burgers and portable foods so you can walk around and check cars out), Saturday buffet breakfast (including eggs and such), then Saturday dinner again (perhaps a pig roast, so it's more festive). For Sat lunch and Sunday meals, you're on your own (some folks are leaving early Sunday anyhow). We're still discussing how to bill registrants for the meals — I personally prefer to not have to shell out for every little thing, instead paying a flat rate that includes all the stuff, including gratuties, etc. I don't know about the rest of you, but I want to just enjoy the time with everyone and not have to keep reaching for my wallet. Please post your thoughts on this matter here. Another idea that came up on the visit was the notion of having movie screenings at night in their large quonset hut, a large building with vaulted ceiling that seats up to 150. Stuff like "The Prisoner", "Rendezvous", "Le Mans", "Grand Prix", etc. Al Navarro2006-11-04 13:56:35

Today was our real "work" day down here, where we had a lot of ground to cover, literally and figuratively. Gosh, where to start... For starters, I woke up this morning at 5:30 with a pounding headache. Since I only drink non-alcoholic "near beer" (2 last night with dinner) these days, I guess I had a "near-hangover". It must be the lack of sleep. We started the day with a drive over the Cherohala Skyway to rendezvous with Marcy and Bill P, two Seveners from nearby Knoxville. We had breakfast at a little gas station/food place in Tellico Plains, which is at the other end of the Skyway from Robbinsville. Marcy and Bill are such great people, very warm — and of course, with their share of funny Seven stories (have we all run out of gas at sometime or another?). Marcy had early on volunteered to be our local presence and that will prove invaluable as planning and organizing continues. Thanks again Marcy and Bill! After breakfast, we drove back on the Skyway, which is much more of my kind of road compared to the Dragon. Longer faster sweepers and INCREDIBLE VIEWS. Mazda couldn't help himself from verbally identifying just how much faster we might (might) be able to take various corners and straights in Sevens. As the driver at the time, it was very amusing for me. We continued to Deal's Gap, where we stopped at the motorcycle hotel there, formerly known as "The Crossroads of Time" for bathrooms and a quick snack. We ran into the Porsches from Pelican Parts and another PCA chapter and chatted up our own meet. We planned to make one run at the Dragon, then hustle back to Tapoco for our meeting. This time, I let Mazda drive. My car. And I'll go ahead and say that it was both a fun and scary experience. Mazda is a great driver, by the way (those numerous auto-xs are serving him well)...he can heel toe with the best. Unfortunately, I think there were a few "technical errors" with the video on that run that render it unable to upload to YouTube, Mazda. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/wink5.gif LMAO, another story we can save that for 7-7-7 roundtable! Let's just say you can call me the "human accelerometer". I think Mazda is posting the pix, and I'm doing the vids, so look for posts from Mazda for pix. My initial and lasting impression is that the Tapoco Lodge is PERFECT for our needs. We can park lots of cars there, in the main lot and also up the access road to the cabins and quonset hut/theater. We were able to ask the owners lots of questions and get a lot of guidance on how we want to structure meals and meets and menus. Right now, we're thinking about having 3 official group meals...Friday Dinner (burgers and portable foods so you can walk around and check cars out), Saturday buffet breakfast (including eggs and such), then Saturday dinner again (perhaps a pig roast, so it's more festive). For Sat lunch and Sunday meals, you're on your own (some folks are leaving early Sunday anyhow). We're still discussing how to bill registrants for the meals — I personally prefer to not have to shell out for every little thing, instead paying a flat rate that includes all the stuff, including gratuties, etc. I don't know about the rest of you, but I want to just enjoy the time with everyone and not have to keep reaching for my wallet. Please post your thoughts on this matter over on the official meet thread: http://www.usa7s.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=137 Another idea that came up on the visit was the notion of having movie screenings at night in their large quonset hut, a large building with vaulted ceiling that seats up to 150. Stuff like "The Prisoner", "Rendezvous", "Le Mans", "Grand Prix", etc. (I'm working on getting better quality YouTube vids, btw. Have patience.) Tonight we have dinner with Darryl "Killboy" Cannon, the dean of Dragon photographers. Al Navarro2006-11-04 13:53:06

Alright, the non-accident video is giving me issues on the upload now so I may as well give my first impressions of the Dragon. I happened to be driving the leg of the trip that took us over the Dragon and into Robbinsville, NC — where I'm writing this from our hotel (how many Microtels have a Porsche GT3 parked out front?). And after getting over the shock of seeing an accident within minutes of getting here, we settled into a good rhythm after a Suburban pulled over to let us through. Mazda did his best Nicky Grist routine via the GPS mapping his laptop (he'd call out left or right, with notes on how tight each turn was) while I merely held on for dear life. Without giving you too many blow-by-blows, here's what I think so far: • First, we were right to pick this location for a meet. It's beautiful and not overly commercialized (yet) and the roads (the Dragon is only one of many) are simply built for Sevens. • Speaking of which, I really missed my Seven on this drive. The TT occassionally got bungled up in the wrong gear or wrong part of its powerband (not driver error, of course!). I know the Seven would not only corner harder, but also be able to explode out of turns. Not to mention handle the many transitions on the Dragon with aplomb. • At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Sevens are built for roads like the Dragon and its neighbors. I am confident that the bikers/locals will be impressed and that our group will represent the LSiS concept well. • It's really easy to be tempted to go over the double yellow. Don't. The sport bikes are counting on you. • The Dragon is almost too twisty...throwing to many curves at you in too short a time. I actually got nausea — AND I WAS DRIVING!!! I have to say I prefer other roads in the area already, including the one over to Ron and Nancy Johnson's house. The Johnsons had Mazda and I over for dinner — we got to see a preview copy of their 4th Edition of their Dragon video. Really good stuff. The food was amazing too. And of course, our hosts were great. They shared lots of great ideas and caveats with Mazda and I. WIth luck, they'll be able to speak at one of our group events next July. THANK YOU RON AND NANCY! More when I have the energy. Must get some sleep before we drive Cherohala Skyway tomorrow. Al Navarro2006-11-04 12:39:10

Just the first of a few YouTube clips. The crash (not ours, thankfully). FWIW, the only reason you'll hear me debating whether to stop or not is because there really isn't a shoulder and the accident happened right after a turn. As you'll see, we stopped and even gave the driver a ride back to her house (unlike the truck in front of us, who was giving the poor girl a lecture by the time I got to the scene). I can't embed YouTube vids in forum posts, alas. So here's the link: Revised link for better quality (I hope). Also, a pic of the car in the woods. She was lucky. http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20061104_201200_Femme_Accident.jpgAl Navarro2006-11-04 20:12:24

Al here. Taking over the computer while Mazda does some time in the driver's seat. It's been a really smooth trip so far - thanks again to Steve for finding a place not far off 81 to meet us. The foliage has really been beautiful down here in Virginia. Most of the leaves have already fallen in my part of NJ. Looking forward to arriving at the Dragon. We've already discussed a few topics in transit. UPDATE, WITH PUMPKIN PANCAKES http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20061107_072301_Pancakes.jpgAl Navarro2006-11-07 07:23:04

Del-I hope you won't be too much of a lurker, as I think your experience would be invaluable to any attempts at codification/standardization of a class. At the very least, check your Private Messages to see if anyone has reached out to you directly. Thanks again for visiting.-Al

Holy crap...Del Long is among us. I've read about you. Welcome to the forum Del.-Al

Thanks for the links, Gert. And word on pricing and sourcing? Not to mention details of the installation process?

Paul-Nice ride with nice upgrades. I'd love to know why you're selling (and no, I'm not in the market for one right now). Also, do you happen to know the guy who posts on Jalopnik.com with the handle allenparkpete? He's very smart and I think may work in the auto industry (to be as vague as I can).

Wow. There's been a surge of forum members as well as registrants for 7-7-7. Thanks again all. A few weeks back, I had a discussion with the primary host hotel to see what the max capacity (for cars, not guests...we hit that a long time ago) is and the figure I was given was 80. Mazda and I are headed down this weekend and will confirm this. But, seeing as we are at 71 already, I think that it will be prudent to start the waiting list at the 80th car, so we have guaranteed space for 77.7 LSiS vehicles (there's only one non-LSiS signed up as of today). We'll be sure to keep the folks on the waiting list in the loop for everything going forward and then, at least 2 months before the event, have a "are you really in?" deadine for the first 77.7 to sign up — if there are people who withdraw (expected and totally fine as long as you let us know in advance instead of bailing the weekend before), then we'll offer spaces to the people on the waiting list in order of registering. Al Navarro2006-11-01 09:56:14

Thanks and welcome to the all the new folks. I was just on the phone with a fellow sevener I've only "met" here on the forums and it was great to speak with someone with the same "addiction" to Seven formula. Great to have you all here to add to the mix of cars and opinions regarding them. Oh, and BTW, from where are all the new folks finding out about USA7s.com?Al Navarro2006-10-31 07:57:24

Skip-Great to see you here. Since I'm one of Rex's customers too, I think we're officially related or something. Best of luck with your health. Looking forward to meeting you.-Al Navarro

Tom-that's too bad, timing wise. Mazda and I are headed down to Tail of the Dragon for a planning/recon trip. We've lined up a bunch of meetings and things, otherwise I'd take you up on the offer!-Al

Ouch, that hurts! (But the truth generally does. doesn't it!) http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/wink5.gif Tom, you must not have read my recent blog post entitled "A mint car vs. a loved car..." Next year I promise to try an auto-x, even if I have to wait until 7-7-7! http://gardenstatesevens.org/wordpress/?p=66Al Navarro2006-10-30 12:19:17

I don't auto-x or race, but this thread has been a good read so far. Can we loop any of the racers from the west coast and texas in if they haven't been contacted already?

Kitcat-I drove my Superlight in torrential rain once for about 9 hours. And I don't even have a full roof or doors. It was an near religious experience experience from which I am still recovering.-Al http://gardenstatesevens.org/wordpress/?p=28Al Navarro2006-10-30 12:34:59

FWIW, a guy from my area who seemed very much in your situation ended up buying an Elise because his wife gave it the nod in terms of safety.

Mark B. is from OH, right? Find him and go for a ride in his SV. I'm obviously biased, but here's my take on Elises: A) Don't fool yourself that they are any more reliable or don't have build issues. A friend with one tells me about all sorts of "recall" repairs he's had done. Nice. B) I personally (and apologies to all who have an Elise, especially those I've met in person) find them to be too soft and not "hairshirt" enough. They're too "easy" a choice, IMHO. Like the Boxster was 10 years ago...I'd much rather have a mint 1969 911 than a Boxster. A recent post on Jalopnik.com (and not by me, I might add) said "A Lotus 7 or one of its diaspora is simply one of the manliest purchases you can make." http://www.jalopnik.com/http://www.jalopnik.com/cars/clips/whither-koenigsegg-caterham-unofficially-breaks-top-gear-lap-record-208378.php Not that I need someone else's approval on my car (well, except for my wife's!)... C) A Seven is a step off the planned obsolescence cycle that all car manufacters sell, a phenomenon to which I am particularly prone. You know how it goes, you buy an Elise, then they come out with the Exige, and so on. Sure, there are the new CSR (don't like/don't need the widebody platform) and Westfield 2000s, but Sevens (and Westfield XIs) are pretty much timeless. They come from the factory obsolete, so it's not like a new model can sway me that much. Just my 200 cents.

Here's one of the UK's more famous Seveners. Click on the links "Rebuild Diary" and "SPA" to see his crash and the damage. http://www.jackals-forge.com/lotus/

Here's my POV on safety... In any severe accident, like getting T-boned or sliding into a tree or rolling over, no car short of a Volvo or Benz (especially the older ones) is going to really save your hide every time. And that includes the Audi TT that I run as a daily driver and my wife's Honda Pilot. It's just a fact. So you can't really worry about those anymore than you do in your daily driver. It's the small incidents, like a mild rear ender or other "fender benders" that are worrying in a Seven. I drive with my kids in the car occasionally, so went the extra step for putting in an ATL fuel cell in my car. And down the road, I will probably go to the full cage that many racers run (although it will cut down on that true open air feeling a bit). I'm with everyone else in regard to being more alert in the Seven as well as the "active" safety factor.

Little stuff (like a hose clamp blowing off here and there) happened within my first year and the temp gauge is still in and out, but my dealer built Caterham Superlight's been pretty solid in year 2 so far.

Laura tells me my remote mic and camera toggle arrived in the mail. And the new EVO. Woo-hoo.

Forget "in the cockpit", try "in the driver's and passenger's eyes"! http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/cryin.gif In all seriousness, it's amazing the amount of gravel that ends up in the passenger seat when I drive solo.