So this past week, I went to an industry trade show in Las Vegas. While in Vegas, I took the opportunity to meet a fellow X head who lives in the area.
Greg is someone that I only knew from the internet. I meet him and many other amazing X heads on the XANA website. Here we provide information on how to keep the X's on the road, and generally keep the culture alive. In true Fiat fashion, the day we were supposed to meet, Greg was having some electrical issues. Yes, at this time you are rolling your eyes and saying the age old, "Fix it again tomorrow" quip that became synonymous with Fiat's presence in North America during the 7o's and 80s. However, it being a Fiat, it was easy to fix, and Greg meet me at the Wynn hotel.
One of Vegas's newest and luxurious hotels
When Greg drove up, I meet him at the front valet area. I watched as gorgeous cars pulled up and left their impressions with the attendant gallery. Without fan fare, valets quickly would take the luxury and sports cars alike and reconcile them to the blackness of the underground garage. I recall seeing a SL500 Mercedes with a woman wearing more diamonds than the mines in S. Africa. Yawn. Valets took the keys, and drove them away. When Greg pulled up with his 78 X1/9, literally, the activity of people coming and going stopped in an instant. Truly, it felt like a scene from Magnolia, where Tom Cruise meets his appointed life guide and the world stops in silence while a time out is taken. The unique sound of Greg's 1300 cc engine was likely something that none of the frozen participants had ever heard. Suddenly the gallery of the entrance came back to life and the valets quickly buzzed over the Golden X1/9 that Greg calls, "Solo X."
I was a bit nervous because in saying my hellos to Greg I didn't know if the valets would quickly rush us to park or pull out. No worries, I barely got the handshake out of the way when the valet bees started firing questions at Greg. "What kind of car is this?" Where is it from?" And the obvious, "How much is it worth?"
At the valet roundel
Greg's car commanded this attention. His own efforts have pulled together a car that not only represents that best of Fiat's design choices in the X, but the overcoming of their mechanical shortcomings. We had all the time in the world to answer the questions, and I in doing so, I could feel the stares of other drivers impatiently expecting the valet's performance to be returned.
I hoped in the car, and Greg pulled out to Las Vegas Blvd, for a quick run. The smell of the car's Italian interior was pleasingly overwhelming. Mixing in, was the smell of the upgraded Weber carburetor that Greg uses in conjunction with a European model 1300 cc head. While our initial drive was short, I was long in the smile and glees I could feel from being in a Fiat again.
During a lunch we talked about his car, and the XANA forum. What I most remember is just how much of a genuine guy Greg is. While being complimentary to the other forum members he downplayed his own unique contributions to the X1/9 community. Ending the lunch brought us to the Ferrari dealership that is located inside of the Wynn hotel. My previous stay at the Wynn provided me with a close up view of the dealership, but at this time I'm discouraged to report that viewing the cars requires a $10 fee. It is not the $10 that bothers me, but the lack of regard that this gesture shows to the automotive public as a whole. In true fashion, attending the Gift shop required only that you have a strong heart to stand up to the price tags on common items that now wear the Ferrari logo.
I was actually surprised that the facility was making no use of the latest information on 7 time world champion Micheal Schumacher's retirement from Formula 1 racing. While the announcement was recently made at the Monza race near the heart of Ferrari country, it was a complete surprise to the Tifosi fans who buy the trinkets, and drapings that bear the Prancing Horse logo. With the impact of Micheal's legacy in the Formula 1 community, you would think that a farewell tour would be the way to treat the fans to one last chance to observe the current master of Ferrari's racing success.
While I admired the 2001 formula 1 spec engine that is available for a paltry $650,000 USD, I couldn't help but feel that money, does not always buy class. I truly think that the legions of Scuderia Ferrari deserve more than a $10 entrance fee, and worse, the departure of the man that has brought them their current glory.
Since Greg and I passed on the dealership viewing, it was back to the Solo X for a Q&A, and drool session.
Yes, I'm really drooling
Shortly after that shot, Greg tossed me the keys and said the most beautiful words that one man can say to another, "You want to drive?" More drool ensued.
I took it easy on Solo X. I'm sure Greg would have liked a little bit of action in the drive. After all, an artists likes when the work is admired. But Greg's car has actually been driven by the X communities very own Steve Hoelscher. Steve is one of the most successful SCCA autocrossers in the nation. But more importantly, to us regulars of XANA, Steve is a guy who goes way out of his way to insure that the breed lives on. Figuring that Steve had given Greg the ride of a lifetime, I chose to just admire the sights and sounds of the car. For all I know, I could have been driving on the moon, I don't remember what I saw, only what I touched, heard, and smelled. If you haven't driven a Fiat, "Yeah, its like that."
While my time with Greg was short, our new friendship is long on mutual respect and community. When I got on the 15 South to come back home to Los Angeles, I was touched by my time in Solo X. I just wish that my Mercedes had been an X. Shortly after arriving back in town, I got word from Greg that he and another X head, Tony, had some ideas about how to get my own car back on the road. Community, I hope reading that word tells you what its like to be a fellow X head.
Stay out of the Ice Plants.
