The Star of the Ozarks - Mercedes

MBCA Ozark Section Newsletter
Local Events
Regional Events
Articles of Interest
July/August 2008
The Star of the Ozarks
JULY EVENT
PLEASE NOTE:
There will be no scheduled Club event for July.
Too hot to drive and other situations have
gotten in the way. See you in August.
2008 Election of Officers
Ozark Section MBCA leadership is important to
make the Section a vibrant and interesting club.
Vern Sutter 479-855-6854, has been appointed as
the 2008 nominating committee chairman. Kathy
Retzlaff and George Williams are on the committee.
All officers are to be elected this year. That includes
President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer.
Also to be elected is one Director for a 3-year term.
Members interested in helping lead the Section
should make their desires known to the Committee
by September 1.
Opportunities to become a leader in a fun and
interesting club don’t come along very often.
Officers and directors meet quarterly for planning
meetings. These meetings are interesting and not
boring.
Contact any of the above to put your name in the
hat.
Special Note:
Your newsletter is coming as an email in a PDF
format for those with email addresses. Notify
the newsletter editor if you would be unable to
receive it by email or in that format or prefer not
to.
Those who opt out will still receive the newsletter
via USPS mail.
Notify Vern Sutter at benzz99@cox.net or call
479-855-6854.
You may also access the Star of the Ozarks
Newsletter by going to www.mbca.org/ozark/
and click on the tab marked “NEWSLETTER”.
AUGUST EVENT
Date: Saturday, August 16
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Retirement – Can’t Afford It????
In today’s economy with high gasoline prices and
the dollar buying less and less, the “r” word can
muster feelings of confusion and despair for people
who are approaching the golden years. At 4:00 p.m.
on August 16, 2008, the Ozark section of the
Mercedes Benz Club of America will meet at the
Prairie Creek Steak and Seafood Restaurant
located at 14340 East Highway 12 in Rogers,
Arkansas. Before dinner, certified financial planner
Damon Stringer will serve as guest speaker. He
received his B. S. degree from Southern Arkansas
University in Magnolia and attended Kaplan
University, where he completed financial planning
courses to obtain his Certified Financial Planning
designation. He holds the series 7, 63, and 65
ratings, which allow him to discuss and offer health,
life, and disability insurance, estate planning, and
advice for all aspects of the stock market. In the
eight years following graduation, he was a certified
financial manager and a wealth management
advisor for Merrill Lynch. At present, he is
affiliated with LPL Financial and attends to the
needs of his clients from his in-home office.
Plan to attend this event and hear Damon briefly
discuss trusts / controlling assets and taxes, cash
flow analysis / spouse survival cash flow,
investment options / stocks, variable
annuities, equities, and, of course, the economy.
There will be a question-and-answer period
following his presentation, so bring an appetite and
some questions for Damon. This is an informational
event only.
Please contact Jim Deitz at 479.756.2149 or
jimbeckydeitz@sbcglobal.net if you plan to attend.
Page 2
July/August 2008
The Star of the Ozarks
Who’s Who
Welcome New Members
Ozark Section MBCA, Inc.
P.O. Box 5732
Bella Vista, AR 72714
William Thead, Muskogee, OK
Officers
President
Robin Retzlaff
Vice-President
Monika Mc Curdy
Secretary
David Jones
Treasurer
Jim Deitz
Regional
Director
Charles L. Boyd
479.248.1442
rkretzlaff@cox.net
479.925.2170
monikamccurdy@yahoo.com
479.756.6943
joneshafer@earthlink.net
479.756.2149
jimbeckydeitz@sbcglobal.net
580.255.4040
cl.boyd@sbcglobal.net
Directors and Committee Chairs
Membership Chair
Porfirio Guterriz
Events Chair
Newsletter Editor
Monika McCurdy
Vern Sutter
Advertising Chair
Vern Sutter
Technical Chair
Roger Shuler
Director
Director
Director
Kathy Retzlaff
Joel Menold
Vern Sutter
479-876-1645
479.925.2170
479.855.6854
benzz99@earthlink.com
479.855.6854
benzz99@earthlink.com
479.521.8383
479.248.1442
479-756-6798
479.855.6854
MBCA Ozark Section Newsletter – published every two months, is the official
newsletter of the Ozark Section of the Mercedes-Benz Club or America.
Opinions – Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily
those of either MBCA or the Ozark Section. Neither MBCA nor the Ozark
Section endorses products or services but may, as part of our informational
activities, allow them to be cited in articles and notices.
Trademarks – The trade names and trademarks “Mercedes-Benz”,
“Mercedes”, and the three-pointed start in a circle are owned by DBAG and
are authorized for use by its licensees which include MBCA, exclusively.
Reprints – Reprints of any original material herein is permissible with the
proper attribution (source, including date of issue).
Advertising – We welcome advertisers whose subject matter is relevant to
MBCA or of interest to members of the Ozark Section. Advertising runs for
one year (six issues) starting with the March /April issue. MBCA members
may place a classified ad for free providing that that ad is Mercedes specific.
No inference should be made that products or services advertised herein have
the approval of the editors of MBCA/Ozark Section
Articles and Submissions – Copy should be typed and emailed to the editor
by the 10th of the month prior to the next issue. Example, submissions for the
July/August issue should arrive to the editor by June 10th. The editor reserves
the right to edit any material; submissions of any materials constitutes
permission to edit and publish that material. No authentication is implied by
the editor of MBCA..
New members and prospective members are always
welcome at our events. Members – Bring a guest.
Special Note:
The color pages inserted in the newsletter are
courtesy of Robin Retzlaff. Ed.
For Sale
20 years of the Star Magazine – 1982 to 2002. $20
plus shipping or you pick up in Bella Vista, AR.
Vern Sutter, Ph 479-855-6854, email
benzz99@cox.net.
George Murphy Regional Technical Seminar
Where: Embassy Suites DFW South
4650 W. Airport Freeway
Irving, Texas 75062
(972) 790-0093
When: August 23, 2008
Time: 9:00 AM - 5:00 P.M.
Cost: $20.00 pre-registered
$30.00 at the door
Mail checks to: DK Spawr
3101 Russell Road
Arlington, TX 76001
Coffee, juice and assorted pastries will be served.
Members will be on their own for lunch either at
the hotel or nearby restaurants.
After the meeting members can continue to visit
and socialize by having dinner at the hotel.
Members are responsible for their own checks.
For members coming from out of town you can
make room reservations by calling Michele DeWitt,
Catering Manager at (972) 790-7144. She can
reserve your room for $107.00 per night. The front
desk will not be aware of this discount. We did not
block off any rooms.
Hyatt Cheek
Event Coordinator
hyattcheek@att.net
MBCA Ozark Section Newsletter
Local Events
Regional Events
Articles of Interest
July/August 2008
The Star of the Ozarks
Schedule of Events
Ozark Section MBCA
Date
July, 2008
August 16
Event
No Event
Dinner /Speaker
Sep. 6
Sep. 27
Cystic Fibrosis
Walk-a-thon
Rod & Custom
Show
Weinfest
Oct. 11
Costume Party
Sep. 20
Location
Contact
Phone
Prairie Creek
Steakhouse,
Rogers, AR
Bentonville, AR
Jim Dietz
479-7562149
Jim Dietz
479-7562149
Tontitown, AR
Rob Retzlaff
479-248-1442
Wiederkehr Winery
Altus, AR
Rogers, AR
Joel Menold
479-756-6798
Ken & Monika
McCurdy
479-925-2170
Regional (South Central)
National
Sep. 26-Oct. 1,
2008
StarFest 2008
San Francisco, CA
Clip this page and put it on your refrigerator.
Richard Simonds
650-592-7613
“It’s Gonna Be Grand!!!”
The weekend of May 16th was
absolutely perfect for our Regional
Event in Grove, OK. It was co-hosted
by the Eastern Oklahoma Section and
the Ozark Section. We had a very
large turnout for this event with
members attending from Texas,
Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas.
Our Friday night reception was a lot of
fun as all the members were treated to
a very nice casual dinner as they
arrived. The weather was so nice that
we were able to sit outside, eat, relax
and enjoy our beautiful surroundings at Grand Lake. Saturday morning we split into two
groups. One group visited Har-Ber Village and the other went to Darryl Starbird’s
National Rod and Custom Car Museum.
At noon we met for lunch at the
Rhinegarten Restaurant in Grove, OK, for
a wonderful meal. There were sixty some
members for lunch. Following lunch,
Dave Jones and Ruth Shafer started the
cars off on a road rally that took us to
George Washington Carver State Park. It
was a very pretty park and a beautiful
drive to it. Saturday evening we gathered
at the Roadhouse Restaurant for our
evening banquet and the awards
presentations. David and Ruth did a
fabulous job putting the road rally together and presenting the awards that evening.
Sunday found us at Afton Station and
the Packard Museum in Afton,
Oklahoma located on Route 66. We
were served a super brunch while we
walked around one of the most beautiful
collections of Packard automobiles that I
have ever seen! This event took a lot of
work and planning and it turned out to
be an event that will be remembered by
all the section members who attended as
a lot of fun, food and Mercedes Benz!
The Newbern Garden Tour
June 14th and 15th found the Ozark Section on an overnight trip to Little Rock, AR. After
getting checked in to the Holiday Inn Presidential Center, we departed for the Newbern
residence. David and Carolyn Newbern
graciously put together this event for
our section. We enjoyed seeing the
beauty of Carolyn’s hard work and
knowledge of gardening on their
property while enjoying drinks and
snacks as we visited. The grounds
around their house were full of flowers
and plants that only a master gardener
like Carolyn could tell us about. Some
of the members took a walking tour of
Knoop Park which was very close to
the Newbern’s house for a view of the
Arkansas River. Following our social hour, we made our way to the “Brave New
Restaurant” where we had reservations.
The service and the meal were first class
as we dined while overlooking the
Arkansas River. Sunday, Carolyn took us
on a guided tour in the MacArthur Park
Historic District following the Museum
Art and Heritage Trail Map. There are
many pretty gardens that are being kept up
by volunteers like Carolyn to keep the
downtown area beautiful. We also saw
many old houses that have been either
kept up or restored to a high level. Thanks
go out to David and Carolyn for showing
us a wonderful time!
Page 4
July/August 2008
The Star of the Ozarks
UREA IN DIESELS
VW's diesel Jetta is just now arriving at
dealerships. All they get right away is a single,
identical, DSG-equipped Jetta sedan as an
advance demo , but the engine will also appear
in the Jetta wagon [this fall], the Tiguan [fall of
'09], and probably the next-gen Golf/Rabbit
[middle of 2010]. This engine does NOT use
urea, but uses a catalyst and particulate trap
that "burns" off the contents periodically. This
system is not robust enough for the larger
displacement diesels they will put in the
Touareg, which WILL indeed use urea.
Honda is the only Asian brand that has
committed to a diesel here [more on that later].
They have made a big point of NOT needing
urea, and using a special catalyst that will allow
50 state sales.
Consensus is that we will see their new 4 cyl
diesel first in the Acura TSX, and then in the
Accord. I agree, these are unlikely to be
anything but model year 2010 cars. After that,
who knows - maybe the CRV. The Pilot and
Ridgeline are supposed to get a V6 diesel that
uses the same technology - no urea.
Toyota has said absolutely zip about any diesel
plans for our market - they are heavily
committed to hybrids, and just aren't motivated
to do anything in the US about diesel.
Subaru is rumored to have a diesel version of
their boxer engine ready to go in the EU by
early next year, and the USA for the 2010
model year. Emissions technology there is
unknown.
BMW and Mercedes will use urea across the
board. For us, that translates for the 2009
models as the GL, R, and ML, all of which will
have urea tanks. The 2009 E320 diesel will only
be sold in non-CA-emissions states, because
there is no place to put the urea tank in the
W211. When the new E gets here in 2010, it too
will use urea, and this new body has been
designed with the tank in mind. Audi and VW
will do some with, some without. The 4 cyl
diesels from the VW group seem to be able to
meet both the EU and USA regs with just the
catalyst and trap; their V6s will have to use
urea. The indiscriminate use of the phrase
"Bluetec" or "Blue" to describe some engines
that require urea, and some that don't, has
managed to confuse everybody - the German
manufacturers have created this confusion, so
the customer can be forgiven for wondering
what's what.
As an aside, VW's original plan was to have the
Jetta 4 cyl diesels on the road in our market
months ago. During durability testing, they
discovered that some of the biggest refiners in
the US market [Exxon-Mobil] were producing
diesel fuel that did NOT meet the ULSD
standard, but was being pumped with the ULSD
label [BP and Shell all tested fine, but Exxon
was frequently out of spec]. This resulted in the
particulate trap having to be burned/purged far
more often than they had planned, and the
resulting stress on the exhaust system played
havoc with the durability test. They had to beef
up the exhaust system to handle the possibility
that 15 ppm fuel was actually closer to 50 ppm
in the real world of the neighborhood pump.
Once that was done, the test had to be rerun
from the beginning, and Jetta diesel sedans will
thus not be arriving at dealers much before the
end of this month.
So no, urea is not universal with the Germans,
but is universal with MB and BMW. And I am
patiently waiting for Mercedes to get us the
new-gen twin-turbo 4 cyl that was just
announced, into the C for our market [and the
GLK, and maybe, gasp, the E as well?]. I've
been told that may happen for the 2010 model
year. It will use urea - my source thinks there is
room for the tank in the engine bay of the C, at
least for the 4 cyl, but that hasn't been
confirmed.
Finally, for whatever reason, BMW keeps
pushing back the USA intro of the 6 cyl diesel in
the 3er and X5 - first it was late summer, then
fall, now "December of 2008" - no indication of
show-stopping problems, but no explanation,
either.
__________________
John Robison
Vancouver WA
Page 5
July/August 2008
The Star of the Ozarks
READY, SET, GO TO STARFEST 2008
StarFest 2008, hosted by San Francisco Bay Area
Section with Sacramento Section, is ready and set for
September 26-October 1. Be part of the excitement at
the world-famous venues, and hear from the best
speakers that MBUSA has to offer.
Ernest Lieb, CEO of MBUSA, has confirmed that he
will be our final banquet speaker on Wednesday,
October 1, at Thunderhill Raceway Park. Michael
Kunz, Manager of Mercedes-Benz Classic Center
USA, and Nate Lander, a member of his staff and an
MBCA Educational Foundation scholarship recipient at
McPherson College, will be our concours banquet
speakers on Saturday, September 27, at the Holiday
Inn Golden Gateway in San Francisco. We are excited
to have their commitments to MBCA and StarFest! We
have been assured that their comments are “not to be
missed.”
Following the Welcome Reception at the Holiday Inn
Golden Gateway in San Francisco on Friday,
September 26, The Great Lawn at Treasure Island will
be the site of the Concours d’Elegance on Saturday,
September 27. Treasure Island, originally built to host
the 1939 World’s Fair, sits in the middle of San
Francisco Bay. The blue waters of the bay and the San
Francisco city skyline provide the backdrop to what will
be one of the most memorable Concours in StarFest
history. The Concours awards will be presented at the
banquet that evening.
On Sunday, September 28, the rally-drive will take us
across the Golden Gate Bridge to the North Bay, Wine
Country, and the Central Valley, ending in Willows,
California (location of the track events). This will be a
highly scenic drive through some of the most beautiful
and famous Northern California countryside—through
several wine appellations, past a sleeping volcano, and
into California’s vast agricultural heartland. You can
compete in the rally or just take the drive.
On Monday September 29 through Wednesday,
October 1, Thunderhill Raceway Park in Willows will be
the site for all the track events and final banquet. The
track events and rally awards will be presented at the
final banquet on Wednesday, October 1. Other
activities planned for these days include Leadership
Development
and
Membership
Development
workshops and day excursions.
Track events include:
Defensive Driving School—Learn how to control
your car for maximum safety on the road
Autocross—Learn about and practice vehicle
control and how your Mercedes-Benz responds
Accelerations Runs—Practice how to get the most
straight-line performance from your vehicle
Time Trials—Practice vehicle driving techniques
with an instructor. When you are ready, drive your
Mercedes-Benz on the track to improve your
driving skills on the road. This is not racing!
This is your opportunity to show your beautiful
Mercedes-Benz in the Concours d’Elegance, to
improve your driving skills in the schools and track
events, to share your passion for your Mercedes-Benz
vehicles with others who appreciate them, and to build
life-long friendships with other enthusiasts.
Quite a few club members have said that the
Defensive Driving School and Track Events saved their
lives because they learned how to control their
Mercedes-Benz when conditions were unsafe.
Defensive Driving School stresses control—of
acceleration, steering, and braking. You’ll learn
emergency moves and evasive maneuvers—what you
can do with your car and what your car can do.
Increased driver awareness and confidence in coping
with emergency situations are life-saving skills.
Register now at www.mbca.org/StarFest2008, or you
may contact our StarFest Registrar, Sue Morrison, at
1-330-673-7885
(Eastern
Time
Zone)
or
Slm2teach@aol.com for a Registration Packet. To get
the discount registration rates, you must register by
August 28 (after that, rates go up).
Host hotels will be the Holiday Inn Golden Gateway in
San Francisco on Friday and Saturday, September 2627. In Willows, there are three motels with blocks of
rooms reserved (headquarters hotel will be the Golden
Pheasant Inn). Hotel reservation information is on the
StarFest web site.
Page 6
July/August 2008
The Star of the Ozarks
Ozark Section MBCA, Inc.
P.O. Box 5732
Bella Vista, AR 72714-0732
Change of Address?
Contact:
Mercedes-Benz Club of America
800.637.2360
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Make check payable to MBCA; U.S. funds only please.
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Membership dues include six issues of The Star magazine
yearly. Send application to address below.
Or use our toll-free number to enroll by phone:
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