SOUTHBAY
CHARITIES SINCE 1967
REFLECTIONS
NEWSLETTER
An official
publication of the
Palo Alto
Concours dé Elegance
Volume 3,
Number 1,
September
1999
MAGAZINE ARTICLES
See What Happens When You
Talk to the Weather Gods!
It's Party Time!
in the Patrons Pavilion
Concours de Caring
Gently Used Cars for Sale
Choices, Choices ...
at the Food Pavilions
The Big Game Car Show
at Stanford on November 20, 1999
32nd Annual Palo Alto Concours
Trophy & Class Winners
June 20, 1999
THE DRIVE
by Pat Shasby
Member - Jaguar Associate Group
When I received a call from Gil Gilfix asking if the Jaguar Associate Group would be interested in organizing a driving tour for the entrants in the 1999 Palo Alto Concours I was, to say the least, surprised. But Gil is a powerful persuader so I gathered all the local AAA maps and started looking to find a route that met parameters that Gil set forth for the event.
I concluded that a route, new to our JAG club members and yet not tough on the older cars was needed. So, after lengthy scrutiny of all my maps, I set out to record the selected route and formulated some questions to keep participants alert looking for answers along the way.
The initial part of the tour was uneventful but, on the way back down Page Mill Road from the top of the Santa Cruz Mountains, a concern arose. The brakes on my car were operating well but perhaps several of the entrants show cars might not be capable of handling the demands of the steep, twisty road.
The next day I called Gil and invited him to drive the route with me. After the first part of the route which took us up over the Santa Cruz mountains, Gil concluded as I did, that it might be too
47 cars set out on the Drive - with great appreciation expressed by their owners for the opportunity to drive their cars in a manner for which they were intended. There were Jaguars of various vintages and some spectacular marques involved such as Packard, Ferrari, Porsche, Triumph, Austin-Healey, Ford and others. It must be reported that the AAA transporter Gil arranged to follow the cars along the route wasn't needed at all. As a Jaguar owner, I suspect that his motive was to assist any Jaguars that felt sick along the way. A few years ago that probably would have been the case because Jaguar reliability was very suspect. But since Ford assumed control of Jaguar things have changed dramatically. It was ironic the only car on the Drive that did need assistance was a Ford Pantera.
It was a fun run enjoyed by all participants ending with a champagne toast at the finish. Next year, if Gil decides to repeat the exercise, the number of show cars who join the drive will increase and ÒThe DriveÓ will then become a spectacular event anticipated and enjoyed by the public.