The Steering Column
From your Co-chairmen

John Schroeder's Left Hand Drive
John - flobearsmgcomcast.net

Wow, another month has gone by! We are that much closer to our next driving season.
We have one new officer this year, congratulations Russ! The rest of us are on board for another year.
Wade has taken over Driving Events this year and has scheduled a planning meeting for February 12. He is planning to add a fourth tour to the schedule, so if you have any ideas for tours or rallies, please plan to attend.
Ann and I really enjoyed the Amtrak trip to Detroit. The departure from Union Station was only forty minutes late. The snack car had to be replaced; it took two hours after we left for the diner to start serving. By that time we were well into our second flight of food. We had fruit, cheese, cold cuts, even shrimp. We also enjoyed wine and beer, and we didn't miss the snack car at all. The car show was incredible. I found several cars I would love to own. Ann said to forget the Maseratis and the Aston Martins. The Dodge Challenger and Camaro concept cars were gorgeous, but probably not going to be our next daily driver. I am afraid I will have to hope for one of the really neat 4 doors cars when we start car shopping. The hotel was really great, although Bob Schultz and Doug Clark had some plumbing issues in their room, which is the bad news. The good news is that their plumbing issues sparked some really hilarious dinnertime conversation. The ride home was equally fun and we managed to consume even more food. Many thanks to Jake and Ann for planning this great trip. Thanks to all the others who supplied our nourishment for the trips.
Regarding my B, the gas tank is ready to install and I have the parts for my other projects (I hope). The list of things to do has grown a little. In addition to the front end work, I am replacing the rubber rear suspension bushings with urethane to try reduce the left tire rubbing on the fender. It doesn't rub often, but hard left turns on the endurance rallies bring out the worst of it. I keep telling myself this year is just tweaking the car in preparation for the driving season.
We had our second Natter N Noggin at McNally's Pub in Elmhurst. We topped twenty members again and they gave us seating so we could all be together. We will stay at McNally's for the next couple of months, but as the weather warms, I would like to try some other pubs. I hear there is another great pub in LaGrange waiting for us.
We are now just five months from our departure to MG2006. We now have eleven cars signed up to join our caravan. The last I heard, there were well over six hundred cars registered. The Glenstone hotel is full, but if you want to go, there are six other hotels on the Historic Nature Trail. All are within walking distance. Let me know if you plan to register so I can add you to our email list. We are waiting for the Great Smokey Mountain Railroad to post their 2006 schedule. We will be having our first planning meetings in February.
January has had many bonus driving days. I have had the car out several times although not with the top down. I like driving the MG whether the top is up or down. It won't be long before we can put the tops down and enjoy the wind in our hair.
See you on the road! - John