[twcom]

So Cal Smarties to meet up with the Smartball 2021 group. The location I have picked is the Automobile Driving Museum in El Segundo, near LAX. The meet-up date will be Saturday, May 8th, and a meet-up time around 11:00am will allow for the Smartball participants to get some rest. The museum is free with an optional suggested donation and docent tours should be available. Go over to Google and check out their website and see what the museum is all about. Now, I need a person count. I spoke to the museum director and she will even provide recognition on May 8th for your group so let me know ASAP. If this is a go, I would suggest getting overnight accomodations in the El Segundo area. There is plenty of free parking either on the museum property or on the street in front of the museum. El Segundo is not too far from Redondo Beach and will put near the 105 & 405 freeways. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. The museum opens at 10:00am and should be open all day. Feel free to browse on your own.

Respond to the Poll.*

 

[Bob Ricewasser]

View attachment 66171


So Cal Smarties to meet up with the Smartball 2021 group. The location I have picked is the Automobile Driving Museum in El Segundo, near LAX. The meet-up date will be Saturday, May 8th, and a meet-up time around 11:00am will allow for the Smartball participants to get some rest. The museum is free with an optional suggested donation and docent tours should be available. Go over to Google and check out their website and see what the museum is all about. Now, I need a person count. I spoke to the museum director and she will even provide recognition on May 8th for your group so let me know ASAP. If this is a go, I would suggest getting overnight accomodations in the El Segundo area. There is plenty of free parking either on the museum property or on the street in front of the museum. El Segundo is not too far from Redondo Beach and will put near the 105 & 405 freeways. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. The museum opens at 10:00am and should be open all day. Feel free to browse on your own.

Respond to the Poll.*

Remember, we will meet-up at the museum at 11:00am. If this doesn't work for the two people who have RSVP'd so far, please let me know. The museum is a 45 minute drive for me and other So Cal Smartie members will be traveling some distance to attend this event. This is why time coordination is important and I hope other Smartball participants will rsvp. We will be giving away some So Cal Smarties swag and I need to advise the museum as to what is happening & to have them recognize Smartball 2021.

 

[Bob Ricewasser]

33 So Cal Smartie members have rsvp'd to meet-up with you, so I hope that doesn't drastically change with the new location. I have updated the So Cal Smarties website and contacted those who have rsvp'd so I should have some updates. We want to make this a grand event and this location should enhance that experience. I will also be happy to tell you about where the best canyon carving experiences are in the Los Angeles area. We have a number of great mountain roads with some fantastic views and vistas. Our smart cars to very well in the twisties but mastering paddle or manual shifting is a must to keep the engine rpm's up above 3k in a 451. 453's don't require as much shifting but remember there are also some steep downgrades where engine braking is advised.

 

[jwight]

As mentioned earlier, let me know if you are going to be on I-70 near Dayton and I'll attempt to join you. If there are any cars planning on caravanning together, GMRS radios are a great help.

 

[Jo e Lefors]

As of April 30, 2021 0730 pdt
Looks like only 2 are participating in the full run from New York to California.

 

[smark]

Did you make reservations, at the museum. Is it just a walk in?

 

[Scooba Steve]

Just wondering. How did this go?

 

[Bob Ricewasser]

Just wondering. How did this go?

Only Al Thompson (Twincom) showed up at the museum around noon. I understand that there was another car but I think they decided to take a break and spend some time in Las Vegas and missed the meetup designation and time. So Al Thompson was the winner.
It was great meeting Al and talking with him about his cross country adventures traveling cross country. He was able to acquire a new exhaust system and some other items at Smartmadness and had his new exhaust installed for his trip home as his previous exhaust system had disintegrated.

 

[twcom]

Just wondering. How did this go?

I drove solo, in my 2014 Passion, made it well in to New Mexico in 26 hours. At that point I got sleepy. I pushed on because the 40 hour to Redondo Beach time was still in reach. But from that point could not drive more than 150 miles with out pulling over for a nap. So it took 30 hours to drive the rest of the way. It was a great drive, 13 stops for gas. My Smart had Zero problems with the run. The SoCal Smarties were a Great Host.

My Smart was more than capable of making it in 40 hours and would have with a second driver. Believing that I don't have a real interest in doing it with a second driver. As for me the driving is the thing. So I do plan to take My Smart out west again in May of 2022. A more leisurely pace of diving, in daylight hours, as at night there is nothing to see. I need to put my Smart's tire tracks on the ground of the North West States plus Colorado.