Winter 2014
Chicagoland Section
2015 Events Schedule Fall Color Drive Recap Benz and Breakfast Recap MBCA Trip to Germany
Letter From The Editor Jason Burton
Officers President RON ROUSH 15700 S Sunset Ridge Ct Orland Park, IL 60462 ron.roush@comcast.net 708-989-8130 (h) Vice President WILLIAM KROEPLIN 1637 Natoma Ave Chicago, IL 60707-3915 bkroeplin@comcast.net 312-659-2333 (c) Treasurer KEN WELSCH 927 Shoreline Road Lake Barrington, IL 60010 mbcachicago@yahoo.com 847-344-1153 (p) Treasurer Emeritus RON JEZL 2672 Salix Circle Naperville, IL 60564 thejezls@wowway.com 630-355-0337 (h) Event Coordinator CHUCK CANDIANO CJCandiano@CandianoLaw.com 312-465-2914 (p) New Members/Event Coordinator RENEE WELSCH 927 Shoreline Road Lake Barrington, IL 60010 rrwelsch@yahoo.com 847-344-1153 (p) Event Coordinator JOE MURAUSKIS 24018 Douglas Plainfield, IL 60585 j.murauskis@att.net 815-955-4707 (p) Event Coordinator KEN MOORE kbm123@gmail.com 630-561-1117 (p)
www.mbclub.com
Event Coordinator CELESTINE GATES 01harleygirl@comcast.net Webmaster/Newsletter Editor JASON BURTON 175 E. Delaware Pl #4925 Chicago, IL 60611 jason@chicagotechnologyconsulting.com 312-224-1787 (p) Regional Director JOHN RYAN grownup@kcmbca.org 913-268-1252
I
n the pages of our slightly late to print winter newsletter are recaps of some fantastic events that occurred over the past year. Events that you hopefully took part in and, if not, then make 2015 the year to make up for it and attend LOTS of events! Julie Haas contributed an excellent story (pages 8-9) from her visit to Germany with the club. A trip I’m sure many of us have a strong desire to go on and her recap only further fuels my desire, as I’m sure it will yours. MBCA organizes these trips on a regular basis and every time I speak with someone who has taken part they have said it has far exceeded their wildest expectations. Ken Moore is beginning his third year of planning our section’s Benz and Breakfast Saturday morning events, this year with even more enthusiasm than ever. There will be three of them over the summer. Go for a hat trick and attend them all. Apart from making lots of friends you may win some of the really fantastic prizes he always picks out. Honestly, it’s some good stuff. Check out his summary of last fall’s event on pages 6 and 7. You will also read about the Fall Color Drive and Wine Tasting organized by Chuck Candiano. The effort he puts into making the events he hosts a success is beyond words. Watch for events Chuck
organizes this year and be sure to attend them. Personally I had the opportunity of attending my first MBCA driving event with the Kansas City section last year. Put it on your must do list and read about my experience on page 11. You will see a greater number of sections, including ours, hosting driving events. Take part in...I almost said one...SEVERAL driving events this year! You will have a huge grin on your face as you tell friends and club members what an awesome time you had at these events.
Presidential Thoughts apy New Year to all! As we close out the 2014 year for the Chicagoland Section of the MercedesBenz Club of America, I look back with a great degree of satisfaction and optimism. Our membership has grown, (now past 680) thanks to our member’s enthusiasm for the marque and sharing their experiences with all, and the great and thankful appreciation I have for my fellow officers and their untiring efforts. Our visibility in the automotive community locally and nationally has been well noted. Chicagoans, Terry Kawala, National President and Bill Denton, National Treasurer who’s passing has affected so many of us has made our section well admired. We have added two new members to our Officers and Events leadership, Ms. Celestine Gates, Marketing and Membership and Mr. Ken Moore, Event Coordinator for the “Benz and Breakfast” activities. Helping to open up our exposure to the National Membership is the “Chicago to Key West Road Trip and Adventure” in August 2015 organized by Renee and Ken Welsch. New members from north east Indiana joined a large number of
current members on a Fall Color Drive and Tour to Southern Michigan that visited wine vineyards, ending in a brunch at the Studebaker family mansion and tour of the Studebaker Museum in South Bend, Indiana. All organized by Chuck Candiano. We hope there will be more members from the NW Indiana area as we broaden our scope of areas of interest. These exciting and interesting venues each year offer our members a variety that we hope will appeal, educate, inform and provide much more than one expects from a car club organization. In 2015 please bring a friend and or a perspective MB owner to any of the events and activities offered. Volunteer. Get involved and make new friends and renew old friendships, as it’s the interest in the cars that bring us together, but the shared experiences of the people that make it worthwhile. Happy New Year and Safe Driving
Mercedes-benz CLUB OF AMERICA CHICAGOLAND SECTION
H
Ron Roush
Free
Motor Werks of Hoffman Estates cordially invites you to sh experience the Evolution of Car Care… r Wa
Ca
A MOTOR WERKS COMPANY
How To Look Like A Million Bucks Every Day.
Wash Werks is our new state-of-the-art luxury auto spa which cleans…AND protects your vehicle’s finish. So your vehicle always looks spectacular. Plus, Motor Werks customers get unlimited luxury car washes, six days a week if they prefer. It’s a unique wash for your vehicle that will never leave scratches and is guaranteed to keep your car looking its finest.
Motor Werks of Hoffman Estates would like you to experience the “Wash Werks” wash absolutely free! That’s a $20 retail value. No gimmicks, no obligations. Simply pull up and present this invitation. See for yourself the Evolution of Car Care at TheWashWerks.com. When you visit Wash Werks, ask about leaving a positive review for any of our Motor Werks dealerships located in Hoffman Estates to get three more “Wash Werks” washes, free! That’s a $60 retail value!
TheWashWerks.com • 847.252.4423 1051 W. Higgins • Hoffman Estates, IL 60169 | Located at our Land Rover facility
MotorWerks.com
Mercedes-Benz of Hoffman Estates
Land Rover Hoffman Estates
Infiniti of Hoffman Estates
After whom is the Mercedes car named? 1. The daughter of its buyer, Emil Jellinek 2. The famous Argentinian singer, Mercedes Sosa 3. Gottlieb Daimler’s thoroughbred horse What does the three pointed Mercedes star represent? 1. The three daughters of Mercedes’s first innovator 2. Germany, Austria, Switzerland 3. Land, Sea and Air When did Mercedes and Benz unite? 1. 1926 2. 1911 3. 1945
Email your answers to jason@chicagotechnologyconsulting.com to win a MBCA Chicagoland Section Tile.
The winner will be randomly chosen from the correct answers on March 25th.
Congratulations Ralph Sikorski won the last contest with the answer of 300SL Roadster, 2014 GLA, and W25 Silver Arrow.
2015 Events Schdeule Upcoming Events (visit www.mbclub.com for the latest details) April 11th - Tech Session - More Details Soon (Contact Joe Murauskis) May - Clean Car Drive and Visit to a Private Car Collection (Contact Ron Roush) June 6th - Benz and Breakfast @ The Arboretum of South Barrington (Contact Ken Moore) June - Drive and visit to the Russell Road Military Museum (Contact Ron Roush) July - Drive and Day at the Races @ Arlington Park (Contact Bill Kroeplin) August 1st - Benz and Breakfast @ Oak Brook Labriola Café (Contact Ken Moore) August 16th - Chicago to Key West Trip Begins August 23th - Geneva Concours (Contact Bill Kroeplin) September - Defensive Driving and Autocross (Contact Jason Burton) October - Galena Fall Tour (Contact Chuck Candiano) November - Holiday Party
Mercedes-benz CLUB OF AMERICA CHICAGOLAND SECTION
Contest - Win a MBCA Chicagoland Mug
www.mbclub.com
Written By: Ken Moore Photos By: Renee Welsch and Ken Moore
Benz and Breakfast RECAP
This was also an opportunity for us to partner with another club to meet and enjoy each other’s cars and maybe make some new friends and learn something new. A special thanks to Ken Katch and the Illinois Jaguar Club for coming out to join us and for bringing some great Jags. We hope to do more joint club events in the future. Another big thank you goes out to Tom Burgess and Becky Colbert of Iron Gate Motor Condos. They helped the club to obtain the location for the event, picked up the tab for our coffee and even provided a great raffle prize. Thanks guys, we appreciate your help and generosity! Speaking of raffle prizes, our prize winners were: Louis Krenek Mercedes-Benz coffee mug Ken Katch Mercedes-Benz coffee mug
Ian Friedenberger Mercedes-Benz Contigo travel mug Bill Grossmann Mercedes-Benz umbrella and tote bag Eve Flor Iron Gate Motor Condos revving engine cooler Of course, thanks to all who came out and participated. It’s always great to see new faces as well as familiar faces and to see your new cars or your cars reaching their next milestone. Benz & Breakfast is a laid back social event. If you’re new to the club or haven’t been to a club outing yet, this is a good opportunity to get your feet wet. There’s no fee, no registration and no commitments. We’d love to have you and we hope you’ll join us at the next one. Bring your daily driver, your project car or your garage queen. All types and manners of Mercedes Benzes are welcomed. For 2015 we’ll be bringing a Benz & Breakfast event up north as well as returning to our original location in Oakbrook at Labriola Bakery Café. Check the website or your e-mails for updates or feel free to contact me at kbm123@gmail.com. See you then! Have a great drive, Ken
Mercedes-benz CLUB OF AMERICA CHICAGOLAND SECTION
For our second Benz & Breakfast for 2014 we journeyed a little west for a change of scenery and to sample the roasted brews and tasty treats of Lavazza Espression in Naperville. The morning started off a little gloomy but that didn’t stop many folks from coming out to enjoy some good coffee and some great cars. In fact, it seemed like the SL owners formed their own sub-committee and came out in force. It was great to see so many SLs represented on a cloudy day.
Mercedes-Benz Club of America Trip to Germany By Julie M. Haas On September 20th I was one of 40 MBCA members from across the United States and Canada traveling to Stuttgart, Germany. We were greeted there by longtime MBCA member Jim O’Sullivan who would lead us on our tour as he has done so many times before with other MBCA members over the years. Our experience was very much enhanced with the knowledge and insight of our local guide, Wolfram Koerner, a retired MercedesBenz employee. Here are some of the many highlights: • Stickel Pagoda Center- where we met Joachim Stickel who specializes primarily in the restoration of Pagodas. Several vehicles were in his workshop in various states of restoration. Once restored, the vehicles are like new and can sell for well over $100,000. We saw one vehicle there that was beyond repair however. It was found after several years, sitting at the bottom of a lake. • Meilenwerk, Motorworld- situated on the grounds of what used to be an old airport that was heavily bombed by allied forces during World War II, is now a combination hotel, restaurant, conference center and a place where collector’s automobiles are on display while in storage. Some of the vehicles were on a showroom floor while others were parked in glass boxes. Marques of all different countries and eras were represented. One of my favorites was a 1954 Mercedes-Benz 220 Cabriolet A. • AMG- After a warm welcome in the AMG showroom we toured the plant where the mechanics hand build every engine. The same mechanic works on his engine from start to finish and will build on average 1 ½ engines per day. I was impressed by how carefully the mechanics worked, paying attention to every detail. There was no rushing to build the engines as fast as they could to increase production. The emphasis was on quality not quantity. When an engine is complete, the mechanic’s nameplate goes on the engine. One couple in our group brought a photo of the nameplate on their SL and got to meet the mechanic who built it! This was exciting because the mechanics usually don’t get to see the car their engine is built for as the AMG facility is in Affalterbach and the main factory is in Sindelfingen, much less meet the owner. The mechanic and the AMG owners were thrilled to meet each other. The mechanic, while modest, was beaming with pride. • Mercedes-Benz Museum- was a timeline thru history filled with priceless automobiles. Mercedes-Benz spared no expense building this modern museum and the collection inside. This museum in my opinion is on par with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. • Test track at Unterturkheim- as members of MBCA we had the opportunity to enjoy something the general public does not. We were given our choice of four different Mercedes-Benz models to ride in with a professional driver. I selected a new C 63 AMG. After traveling well over 100 mph around a banked oval track a couple of times, our driver swooped down off the track into the center where an area of the pavement is purposely kept wet with water. Around and around we spun doing doughnuts! Needless to say, I got out of the car smiling ear to ear! This was a unique, educational and fun experience and should be on the “bucket list” of every automobile enthusiast.
www.mbclub.com
Fall Color Drive and Wine Tasting By Chuck Candiano
We congregated at the Michigan State Welcome Center, just over the Michigan border from Indiana to begin our fun-filled weekend in Southwestern Michigan wine country. The weather was picture-perfect!
Members dined at the quaint Grand Mere Inn, on a bluff, overlooking Lake Michigan. Dinner concluded with most adjourning to their lodgings but several of us stayed on for after dinner drinks and spirited conversation.
From the Welcome Center, we caravanned to Redamak's in New Buffalo, MI, to lunch on their famous hamburgers. After lunch, we drove up the Red Arrow Highway and through Michigan countryside to Tabor Hill, Michigan’s largest winery. Some members toured the facilities and others contented themselves in the tasting room. Our next stop was Free Run Cellars. This smaller vineyard offers a wide range of wines and as well as excellent takes on Calvados and Grappa. We enjoyed the sampling so much that it was hard to keep the large group on schedule. Eventually, we reached Domaine Berrien Cellars. This winery’s offerings include complex Burgundy and Rhone style wines that you would not think possible from Michigan produce.
After a good night's rest, awoke to a second, pictureperfect day and began our drive to South Bend, Indiana where our destination was a private dining room at Tippecanoe Place, the former mansion of Clem Studebaker, co-founder of the Studebaker Car Company. After brunch (and several Bloody Mary’s and Mimosas), we made our way around the corner to tour The Studebaker National Museum. The self-guided tour reminded us of Studebaker’s rich past and rounded out the weekend. After everyone made their good-byes, another beautiful day and the weekend ended as it began - a long drive home in our faithful Mercedes.
Kansas City Defensive Driving & Autocross @ MCC By Jason Burton
I had the pleasure of driving from Chicago to Kansas City with our National President, Terry Kiwala, a wonderful travel companion and skilled instructor. Leaving the day before the event from downtown at 9AM our two MB convoy had light traffic most of the way. The beautiful summer drive only slightly interrupted by a couple short intense periods of rain, our ambient temp gauges slowly rising the further south we travelled. The purpose of the day was to learn in a controlled environment how to better handle situations one would encounter on the road that require quick action and to understand how your car behaves when you push it a bit farther than you would in typical daily use. After a wonderful light breakfast fueled us up, Frank and Mary Alice Cozza provided class room instruction teaching us how to best avoid accidents as well as how to adjust our cars and minds to be better defensive drivers. Then it was time to hit the course.
Bob Smith
Bob Smith Mark Moody
Metropolitan Community College has excellent facilities. We practiced maneuvers around cones learning how our cars react during hard braking and quick lane change maneuvers. A large skid pad gave the opportunity to experience our cars handling at the limit on a wet road surface. Turning traction control off the power slides the E did were impressive..all in the effort to be a better driver remember. Following these exercises we went to the autocross course. A road course with cones that create obstacles, tight turns, and twists to maneuver around as rapidly as we feel comfortable. This was a chance for to apply and refine the skills learned in the previous exercises. Thanks to excellent instructors, by the end of the day the improvement in my ability to manage emergency situations was remarkable. Oh and those few butterflies in the stomach, they left as soon as I mashed the gas for my first evasive maneuver exercise. Maybe a couple went to the passenger side of the car with my instructor Terry as I swerved to the left lane when he told me to go right, common mistake, or so he calmly told me. The day finished with an awards banquet at O’Neill’s Bar & Grill. With a little less rubber on the tires and a lot more skill and confidence the drive back to Chicago had me looking forward to the next event.
Kevin Arburn
Kevin Arburn Bob Smith
Mercedes-benz CLUB OF AMERICA CHICAGOLAND SECTION
If you want the quick summary here it is. You need to participate in at least one Defensive Driving event this year, period. Now, for the lengthier version. I had the pleasure of taking part this past summer in my first MBCA Defensive Driving and Autocross event. Was I a little nervous? Some butterflies in the stomach? Sure. The car I used was not particularly sporty, my trusty 15 year old E430 however proved quite capable.
K.R.Welsch & Associates Financial/Estate Planning “Let us plan your ESTATE & RETIREMENT FUTURE”
Kenneth R. Welsch 847.382.8144 or kwfinplan@yahoo.com
Candiano Law Office Attorneys and Counselors at Law • Personal Injury • Workers Compensation Charles J. Candiano 312-465-2914 53 West Jackson Boulevard Suite 1337 Chicago, IL 60604 CJCandiano@CandianoLaw.com
www.CandianoLaw.com Star Reflections MBCA Chicagoland Newsletter c /o Jason Burton 175 E. Delaware Pl #4925 Chicago, IL 60611