Memorial Weekend
This past Memorial Day weekend my friends and I decided to have a bit of a German car celebration. So I snagged the keys to a new Audi S5 and headed out to Grand Rapids first thing Saturday morning.
We all met up at my friend Tyler's house for a quick wash down.
The narrow driveway was soon stacked with E36's.
Mitch has spent countless hours getting his M3 to where it is now, packing nearly 700hp.
He didn't care for me taking photos of the interior since it's a work in progress, but it's always cool to be able to look back and see how far things have come.
All spiffed up it was time to hit the road.
It's always great rolling in a group with your friends, especially on a beautiful sunny day.
With Michigan roads it's rather rare to see cars this low out on the streets.
No airbags here, Mitch and Emily are ridding coilovers.
Of course the E30 is still in stock form but that wasn't going to stop Derek from having a blast.
Emily's M3 rocking her new wheel setup. We were successfully avoided potholes and being pulled over.
Then the unthinkable happened.
Mitch's M3 blew a fuel line. The gasoline made contact with the exhaust manifold and without a fire extinguisher, there was nothing anyone could do.
photo credit: Derek Street
Had this happened at speed it could have been a much different story. I'm truly thankful everyone was safe but it does serve as a very real reminder of the dangers that lurk. I think it's time we all upgrade our cars with some fire extinguishers.
photo credit: Derek Street
The local fire department arrived on the scene quick, but not quick enough.
It's heart wrenching to see all those hours go up in flame, but we are extremely thankful this happened on the side of the road and no one was hurt.
We cleared out so the tow and fire trucks could do their work while we waited for our friend.
Derek pondering what he should do with his Allroad (soon to be Noroad)
Emily should have done this lawn a favor and gone weed clipper status.
Alas our friends arrived, minus one car.
It's always great to see the progression of technology and style over the years.
And to see people's personal styles revealed in their cars.
Only able to sit still for so long, we hit the road again in search of food.
After lunch everyone went their own way. Tyler and I decided to make a coffee run in his VW Van.
The key here is to always park on an incline.
A lot of German love but the 220 Diesel was the car that won my heart this weekend.
It's so simple and yet so elegant.
And it will probably outlast us all.
It was sad to see Mitch's car go today, but we all know he'll soon have a new project sitting in this driveway.
There's a lot of car love at this house.
And with that I made my way home in the S5.