The Renault Dacia
You are cordially invited to our annual Nob Hill Start of the California Mille car show at the Fairmont Hotel (Sunday, April 26).
Around seventy competition cars, ranging in year from 1925 to 1957, will gather prior to their four-day, thousand-mile back-roads tour of Northern California. The event honors Italy’s Mille Miglia, an open-road race held from 1927 until 1957, when it was finally deemed too dangerous.
Entrants come from all over the U.S., in addition to a few who venture in from overseas, to experience the beauty of rural California. At the Sunday cocktail party, hosted by the Nob Hill Association, the drivers will be in attendance (and you can be, too) for an engaging meet and greet. (Tickets $50; 415-673-0614.)
On Monday, the cars depart. The tour will spend two nights at the Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley, one in Le Rivage in Sacramento, and then finish in Sausalito.
Larry Mindel’s Poggio Restaurant will host the closing dinner, where five outstanding competitors will be awarded precious Chopard Mille Miglia watches.
An interesting twist: the selection of prizewinners will be made by the mechanics and tow truck driver who accompany the event. Their criteria will certainly include the worthiness of the car, but will also consider the sportsmanship of the driver.
The French Motoring Scene
Just as in the U.S., the auto business in Western Europe, including France, is going through hard times. As a result, there are some interesting new developments.
A few years ago, the Renault company decided there was a market in Eastern Europe for a super-low-cost, unsophisticated car. The company developed such a product and outfitted a factory in Romania to build it. Some cars found their way to the West and were favorably received.
Eventually, Renault decided to market the car, called Dacia, in the West. This is important for a few reasons: we’ll see more simple, inexpensive cars like this here, and my daughter, who lives in France, bought a Dacia.
When I visited her recently, I was curious to drive the Dacia. It’s a small, seven-seater wagon with a diesel engine, perfect for transporting her family of six. The exterior is nondescript but not ugly; the interior is drab but durable, and well assembled. It’s the cheapest station wagon on the French market and perfectly suited to this family’s needs.
By way of contrast, I was driving a rented Mercedes-Benz A-Class, a model not sold here. Mine was about the size of the Dacia, with a slightly larger engine. The finish inside and out was much nicer than the Dacia, but it should be, considering the cost is more than double.
I drove the Mercedes well over a thousand miles in France and found it to be a very able, comfortable, and satisfactory car. But when I drive a car with a brand name and price like Mercedes-Benz, I expect a memorable, special experience. You get that in a Mercedes-Benz SL500. You don’t get it in this A-Class.
As an example of how much the established order is being challenged, the resurgence of Citroen stands out. The car that caught my eye is a mid-size minivan-type car, but with great style. It’s called the Picasso and has been a big hit in France. It’s also an example of how a car in this category can have that elusive “special” quality.
Retromobile
In Paris each February, the Retromobile Show attracts visitors from around the world. Indoors, in a huge hall like our Moscone Center, at the Porte de Versailles on the south side of Paris, the show is a welcome mid-winter gathering of car clubs, memorabilia dealers, collector cars, art, and books like none other in the world.
This year, the most outlandish display—so French—was a seven-foot-long Bugatti Grand Prix child’s car, complete with a miniature, running, eight-cylinder gasoline engine. At a price of 90,000 euros, I was able to resist.
Watches
Many car collectors also appreciate fine watches. Chopard, the presenting sponsor of our California Mille, began sponsoring the Italian Mille Miglia over twenty-five years ago. They’ve had a line of Mille Miglia–themed watches ever since, and may have done more to promote the Mille Miglia than even the event organizers.
A watch exhibited at Retromobile takes the car/watch relationship even further. Bernard Richards Manufacture produces an appealing line inspired by automobile technology. One of the most costly, the Tourbillon model illustrated here, at 17,000 euros, caught my eye. You might be tempted, too.
These watches are offered as BRM brand, the initials of the company. The name, however, is certain to prompt the memory of any motoring enthusiast to recall the fabulous BRM Formula One racing car of the 1950s. In that instance, BRM stood for British Racing Motors.
End Note: Chevy Says, “Yes, We Can”
Near the train station in Saverne, France, I saw a Chevy billboard. Caption: Yes We Can. It goes on to explain that they can offer this Korean-built Chevrolet at a reduced price.
For anyone interested in driving the California Mille route as a mini-vacation, contact Martin for a copy of the route notes.
