I think it is at least a year old but this is the first I've seen of it .

Randy

I was back east for a few weeks and was just wondering it there were any planned get together for the " hill " ? There have been some really nice summer evenings lately.

Randy

I had to come and reply to this thread. I'm only about 100 pages in, so I apologize if I repeat anything that's already been said.

I wasn't born until a couple years after the action died out, but I grew up right off of Mulholland, first on Berry Dr., right between Laurel Canyon and Wrightwood, and then near Lake Hollywood, just across the bridge at the Cahuenga Pass from Mul. As a kid we always took Mul to the west side, and my dad used to do some pretty spirited drive in a V6 Fiero and then a Miata. (He's still at it at 66, in an '07 S2000.) Had I not wrecked that very Miata the week before my license test, into a retaining wall on the road around the reservoir, Mulholland would've been one of the first places I took it.

Instead, I ended up with a piece of crap 190E, which I flogged to death running Mul, but not before I saved up enough working at Kragen to buy a 240SX, as was the trend at the time. I met a few local friends, and we had our own share of runs up there. This would've been around '03-04. Somewhere in the dark reaches of the internet exists an incredibly embarassing "movie" about racing we made and shot on Mulholland for my friend's senior Spanish class!

Even as a 18 year old, it quickly became apparent that Mulholland was just way too dangerous and too heavily policed, so we all migrated to GMR, and found a world very much like that described in this thread. So many stories here have parallels in my experiences in the canyons. Hearing people talk about waking up at night thinking of the hill resonates with me like crazy. Anybody else get those feelings when they walk outside on a spring or fall evening and the temperature is just perfect?

I wrecked that 240 being an idiot on the 110 a few months later, and eventually replaced it with this '02 WRX. I bought it at Big Valley on Van Nuys, and how do you guys think I got home? This was shot only a few hours after I left with the car! I drove up one of the dirt roads off of Mul before taking the photo, since the WRX was a rally car, after all!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8422/7...c71cd5f2_z.jpg
WRX On Mulholland by maximstensel, on Flickr

That car got most of its action at GMR as well, and some of the people who've mentioned running there probably recognize it. I was one of the fast guys for a few months, until the R-compounds and built Lancer Evos and M3s started showing up.

Has anybody mentioned Chasing the Touge here? It's a documentary done about five years ago, and it follows several groups of canyon runners around the country. (Touge is Japanese for "mountain pass", by the way.) One segment is at GMR, and focuses on the local equivalent of Charley, a rally-driving WRX owner who went for weed instead of beer but was still the fastest around for years, and another follows a bunch of Mini guys who run Mul Highway. It's worth a watch.

I'm in Sacramento now, and my canyon days feel like they're way back in the past even though it's only been a few years, but I'm moving back to LA at the end of the year. These days, I'm driving a Mazda2, which I highly recommend as a low-profile, super-fun canyon-able car. It's one of those cars that you can absolutely wail on in the hills, and feel like you're halfway through Le Mans, but you're not actually going fast enough to get in too much trouble. I bought mine less than a week after driving a friend's 2 on GMR, I was that impressed by it. Think original Golf GTI and you're not too far off from what it's like. I've also got a more pelican-related 325IS coupe, but it's still at my parents' house, and seems to decay faster than I can fix things. Once I'm in the neighborhood, I'm gonna get it straightened out and get it into the hills.

What I really dream of, though, is the same thing that became the weapon of choice for you guys, a vintage 911. I covered Rennsport Reunion last year, and went from somebody who was pretty blase about Porsches to a huge 911 fan in the course of the weekend. Not only are the cars amazing, the Porsche community is totally awesome. I really wonder, if I built a serious '70s or '80s 911, and threw modern R-comps on it, how it would fare against the modern cars that dominate canyon running these days. As a part-time motorsports blog intern and a college student, though, I'm not going to be owning one any time soon.

Anyway, whatever car I've got working, I hope I can join you guys on the hill one of these days. I'd love to meet the faces behind the stories, check out some awesome cars, and just do some driving on an awesome road with some people who sound like their attitude towards the drive is a lot like mine.

Meetings
 

We havn't met on Mul for some time now. Life gets busy.
In the old days it was different. You could be hanging out alone and still have fun as a spectator from watching fast racing going on. And if you were with the gang, they were mostly friends you knew from school, work or Mul.

Times have changed. There's not much to watch/see, and if you are caught racing now...it wont be good. (so be careful)
Mulholland is busy with traffic, even late into the evening.

Idiots now drive on Mulholland. Hey, we crossed the center line but we didn't make 3 point turns in the middle of blind hair pin turns. I see this almost every day now and it scares the heck out of me.
It's more dangerous now to be on the road with dumb turkeys in their SUVs than to share the road with Crazy Racers. I'm not kidding.

However this thread made possible a small reprieve. Both with a certain Carrera running again and with Mulholland meetings recurriing for a while.

Most importantly alot of good history being discussed here from all eras.

Thank you Derek for your timely start and for naming the last group of usual suspects. The MIRRC

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1343060463.jpg

I've been on a temporary hold to complete the second book about Mulholland due to unforseen setbacks but it is conceptually done and just requires a few more interviews and relevant photographs for completion. We have the title, all new chapters, new size, color and format. Incredible time lines have been developed to add to interest. Every page is different from The Mulholland Experience book. Stay tuned.

Thanks for the response . I am well aware that the "race track " is no longer a place for " spirited " driving . I was thinking more along the lines of the get togethers a few of you veterans used to do as were depicted in this thread a couple of years ago . I would have enjoyed just hanging out and hearing you all exchange past memories .

Keep on pushing the book toward the end, I am sure the interest is still there and add me to the pre sale list :)

Randy

Its funny you mention the Chasing the Touge movie . I am the old guy in the dark grey mini in the film:) I had no idea how far that little film would reach or how long it would be around but its going on about 8 years old now .

Randy

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1343086026.jpg

Has it really been that long now? I saw your Mini a few pages back and wondered if you were one of the guys in the movie. My WRX has a couple really brief cameos in it, only for a few seconds though. (I think it's parked in all of them, too...)

I did a little back checking and we shot that in early 05. Time does fly !

Randy

Thought you guys might be amused that an article in Octane magazine this month mentioned King of the Mountain. Unfortunately, it also said that "street racing never looked so boring"! This was in a comparison article between the 356, MGA, and Alfa Giulietta, by the way. At least the Porsche basically won.

Speaking of KotM, I'm still working my way through the thread, and seeing mention of a Griffith Park road where much of the movie was actually shot. Where exactly is this road? I'm just wondering if it's something I've ever driven on.

Wow, I can't believe it's been that long. I think the GMR parts must've been shot later, since I'm almost certain I was there for some of the filming, and I didn't get my car until late June.

Pike's Peak or bust
 

The first fully paved Pike's Peak Hillclimb happens in five days (delayed due to fires in the area). How many MIR veterans will be there to set records ? More specifically, how many silver Porsches will be there ?SmileWavy

Wish I could be there. I'm at the Monterey Historics instead, though, and with media credentials, so I can't really complain!

Pike's Peak
 

Since being a boy I have heard of Pike's Peak and seen articles with crazy photos of guys blasting uphill on that difficult dirt roadway. Not sure of the politics why they finally paved it. I bet some of you know the answer to that.

I'm sure it is still exhilerating but I loved it being a sliding dangerous dirt road.

Here is some news from the recent trials.

Rounding a treacherous corner known as Devil’s Playground in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado on Sunday, driver Jeremy Foley lost control of his race car as it went flying off the side of a steep cliff.
Foley and his driving partner, Yuri Kouznetsov, were helpless as the 500-horsepower Mitsubishi Evolution 8 somersaulted more than a dozen times on its way down the mountain. The scene was captured in a hair-raising video taken by a camera mounted inside the car and by a spectator, who posted the clip to YouTube. The duo survived with relatively minor injuries.

Kouznetsov and Foley spoke with Savannah Guthrie on TODAY Thursday about the moment they lost control as nearby spectators gasped in horror. In the 90-year history of America’s second-oldest auto race up the 14,115-foot mountain in the Rockies, only two drivers have died competing

“A lot went through my mind,’’ Foley told Guthrie. “My first thought careening off the cliff was, ‘This is it. This was game over.’’’

“The last few moments is pretty much a lot of what you remember,’’ Kouznetsov said. “Then it’s pretty much a big washing machine of pain and violence, and then just coming back to it in a daze.’’

When the car finally lurched to a rest, the only significant injury was Kouznetsov’s dislocated shoulder, which he had in a sling during the interview with Guthrie.

“I’m feeling good, surprisingly,’’ he said. “You saw the wreck. I’m really just glad to come out with just this and a couple bruises.”

Foley remained conscious during the entire ordeal, absorbing every impact. Kouznetsov briefly lost consciousness

“I remember everything to the point where we actually landed backwards in the car in that rut that actually thankfully slowed us down,’’ Kouznetsov said. “The moment where I dislocated my shoulder, I felt that, and pulled my arms in, grabbed the belts and tried to ride it out. The thing that goes through your head is just ‘Please stop, please stop.’’’

Foley has been driving race cars for eight years, but this was his first time in the Pikes Peak event, which requires drivers to navigate 156 turns up the mountain in less than 10 minutes. In last year’s race, a car went over the side at the Devil’s Playground turn at mile 16.

“There was a moment where the tires did not grip, and you can even hear it in the audio where they start to squeal,’’ Foley said. “As a race car driver, you know that feeling and sensation that the car’s not doing what you want it to do.’’

As the car flipped, Foley felt remorse for putting Kouznetsov in danger.

“That was my first concern,’’ Foley said. “His life was a responsibility of mine, and I felt extremely guilty and saddened to know I may have caused him some harm.’’

Foley said he's not a religious man, but he appealed to a higher power as they hurtled down the mountain.

“I prayed before the race, and I prayed during the ordeal that it would come to a halt,’’ Foley said.

The Mitsubishi was equipped with a roll cage that the two men credit along with their helmets for helping to save their lives. Kouznetsov’s white helmet, streaked and cracked, was on display during the interview with Guthrie.

“The helmet here was worn by Yuri and you can see there are multiple cracks on the helmet, indicating he had suffered some severe impacts,’’ Foley said. “Luckily my helmet was less marked up, but it shows that those safety devices did keep us both alive.’’

The two now have a permanent reminder of the harrowing moment, thanks to the video footage, but both plan on getting back in a race car.

“It’s definitely difficult because of the video,’’ Foley said. “It’s never enjoyable (to watch). I think we both want to get back in the car. We’re both probably a little hesitant to do it tomorrow, but with time, we’ll both certainly be racing in the future.’’

For the video, see below

Race car co-driver: Plunge off cliff 'a washing machine of pain' - TODAY News - TODAY.com

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zEUrEPPABbY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EpQtPhRDDs4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Paul Dallenbach in good condition after Pikes Peak crash caught on video - Autoweek

The Dallenbach one is bad too.

Personally, I like the pavement. It is more like European speed hillclimbs now.

935
 

Jeff sent me this. Really interesting story about a certain 935
Enjoy.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/X5yr3UdovjA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

That was awesome!

This one is pretty rad too...

http://youtu.be/51VJgvZ7Hxg

It's been awfully quiet around here for a while. Too quiet to be honest... reminds me of a dark, damp and foggy night on Mulholland Drive. Not a creature was stirring not even an RSR. The year is almost up and a long year it's been or so it seems.

This article reminded me it's good to be an outlaw, an outlier, or just plain different. Anything can be beat. It just takes will and perseverance.

Mulholland of the Future
<O:p</O:p
Freeway Drones for a Futuristic Highway Patrol
IT'S a future far from Ponch and Jon, the Los Angeles-based motorcycle officers of "CHiPs," a TV series that rose to popularity in the 1970s. In this take on the California Highway Patrol of 2025, patrol cars and motorcycles would be replaced by computerized drones; chips take over CHiPs.

<O:pHere, the highway patrol vehicles of the future will be mostly self-driving, if you accept the solutions offered by the entries in this year's Design Challenge, an annual competition organized in conjunction with the Los Angeles auto show. For the last nine years, the Design Challenge has invited automakers' advanced design studios to dream up proposals for sci-fi automotive futures tied to specific themes, including cars that weighed less than 1,000 pounds or that were destined for Hollywood roles. This year's competition asked designers to envision the highway patrol car of 2025.

<O:pBy coincidence or destiny, designers at several companies came up with concepts for robotic, autonomously driven vehicles on ground, water and air. These future police cruisers -- usually presented as story boards rather than actual vehicles -- recall today's Predator and Global Hawk drones, stars of the anti-insurgency efforts. They may give new meaning to those signs that read "Speed limit enforced by aircraft."

In the future, as the organizers outlined it, "the vehicle should empower highway patrol officers to meet new demands and effectively both 'protect and serve' the public while considering not just enforcement needs but emission concerns, population growth and transportation infrastructure." The world of 2025, the participants seem to agree, will be a place where traffic has grown exponentially, infrastructure has deteriorated, environmental constraints have increased -- and highway patrol budgets have been reduced.

<O:pAs envisioned by Honda R&D Americas' advanced design studio in Pasadena, Calif., the future Honda CHP Drone Squad includes four-wheel Auto-Drones, like cars, and two-wheel Moto-Drones, like motorcycles. The proposal offers a future where the Auto-Drone functions as something of a command vehicle -- manned or unmanned -- that deploys Moto-Drones, even while on the move. The Moto-Drones could be rigged for a variety of different response or rescue tasks. While such vehicles might be decades from reality, the flexibility of this strategy could offer companies that built both types of vehicles an advantage in securing government contracts.

<O:pAt the BMW DesignworksUSA studio in Newbury Park, Calif., designers dreamed up the E-Patrol (Human-Drone Pursuit Vehicle). In this arrangement, the officer and drone would work in harmony, like today's officers and their K-9 partners. The BMW drone team would be able to deploy a flying drone, which resembles a high-tech Jet Ski cruise missile, or one of a pair of unicyclelike robotic vehicles to chase lawbreakers. And if the suspect doesn't pull over? In the E-Patrol vision, the BMW designers say, their drone would disable the vehicle with an electromagnetic impulse.

The Subaru Highway Automated Response Concept vehicles, developed by Subaru Research and Development in Japan and designed specifically for Hawaii, are powered by renewable energy -- and they have aquatic capability. "The cutting-edge SHARC patrol vehicles will provide an innovative, affordable and environmentally conscious solution for 24-hour highway monitoring," the designers say.

The Volt Squad, dreamed up at General Motors' Advanced Design Center in North Hollywood, Calif., is a set of future patrol vehicles that would take advantage of the propulsion system engineered for the Chevrolet Volt. The squad is composed of three different types of vehicles that still contain human officers. Each type is specially designed to observe, pursue or engage -- the last term left menacingly undefined.

"F" em all !!!
An autonomous machine may not know fear but it has limits. Those limits are programmed by a human somewhere. In that programming somewhere is the human. Without the human a machine in the end is just a machine. It will wear out and break eventually.
</O:p

I read thru this thread but didn't see any mention of John's first car, the little orange Honda Civic that crashed by Carl's junior (left rear rim snaped), or Timo's Vega, or Harold’s gray Mustang. Didn't he get a Maverick after that? It's been so long I've forgotten. The first time I saw John in the Civic he had he's girlfriend with him, if I remember right is was 1973 or '74, before TVL. I think it was '74 cause I used to work nights at the Los Angeles Playboy Club and would take runs thru Mulholland on the way home.

Anyway, nice thread, it brought a tear to my eye, I didn't think anybody remembered those days. I was part of the first ACR before TVL showed up.

I remember now, Harold had the Maverick first and then the Mustang.

BTW, is anyone still around from the original ACR ?
Did some of the original guys start up ACR again in the late '70's ?