AUTO'94

EUROSPORT page A21

1: .

: 1311(

Automotive Group
of Farmington Hilts

At Grand River and 10 Mile

810-471-0800 810-471-0044

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HERB'S
et
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SAME LOCATION SINCE 1970

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Northern Michigan
is a prime travel
destination for
Jewish News drivers.
Almost 40% visited
Northern Michigan
in the past 12
months.

SAVE YOUR DEDUCTIBLE
ON COLLISION*

(313) 493-0212 (810) 489-1525
Fax: (313) 493-1289

*Depending on the amount of damage

No Saab Story

Jewish News subscribers are 4.5 times
more likely than the national average
to own a Saab.

Source: 1993 Simmons-Jewish News Study

Source: 1993 Simmons Jewish News Study

bragging rights as victors in the
Grand Altas
"This is the most outrageous
thing I've ever done," said Dr.
Podolsky. "It's exciting to think
that we survived this race be-
cause the element of harm was
always there. The excitement
of the race takes over your in-
tellect and you forget about your
training and upbringing that
controls you in your daily life."
On Sept. 25, 1993, the start-
ing day of the race, cars from
1960 and earlier lined the
streets of Versailles as locals
cheered in anticipation of the
marathon.
Periodic stops were desig-
nated along the course where
participants could either stop
over for the night or pick up di-
rections for the next leg of the
route. The race took them
through France, Spain and into
Northern Africa.
Winners of the road rally
were determined by a point sys-
tem. Points were based on a va-
riety of factors like if a driver
could travel a certain distance
in a given time or how fast a car
could complete a predetermined
span.
"You found yourself doing
things you'd never do like going
120-140 mph or speeding
around hairpin turns," Dr.
Podolsky said.
As the route took the cars
through the Pyrenees Moun-
tains, a range that extends
along the border of France and
Spain, cars were navigated
along tracks created for donkeys
and carts. In the Riff Mountains
of Morocco, rocks were hurled
by citizens who became angry
when race participants were
unwilling to stop and purchase
drugs from them. In southwest
France, cars were held up as
sheep crossed the road.
"It was a laugh a minute,"
Mr. Blumenstein said. "These
roads had an enormous degree
of variety. We ran into things
like slow traffic and donkeys
and burrows crossing the road.
In any urban or semi-urban
area the streets were lined with
people because of the open mar-
kets. This made getting through
the streets arduous."
During the first night of the
race, Dr. Podolsky and his dri-
ving companion were "so lost in
the Pyrenees Mountains" that
they were ready to forget the
race and spend the night in an
isolated little inn they had
found.
"We were discouraged, tired
and wet when suddenly a car
from the race appeared," Dr.
Podolsky said. "When they re-
alized we weren't at the check-
point, the car we had been
following came and got us. We
were one hour away from our
destination."
By the second night of the
road rally, this Mercedes from

Michigan broke down in Spain
and could not be repaired quick-
ly enough for them to continue.
This got them disqualified but
because they wanted to finish
the race, they rented a car. One
third of the cars met with the
same fate and only 51 of the
original cars crossed the finish
line.
Disaster struck again later
in the race when Dr. Hodari
and Mr. Blumenstein's Jaguar
had an unexpected meeting
with a 24-ton truck. This inci-
dent took them out of con-
tention. They also rented a car
to finish the race.
`This was the biggest joke be-
cause the accident did not even
happen during the race," Mr.
Blumenstein said. "After dri-
ving around Europe at high
speeds for days, we get in an ac-
cident going 20 miles per hour."
This group of vintage racing
buffs have their eye on a 32-day
race in 1995 that begins in Lon-
don and ends in Mexico. This
event includes an airlift over the
ocean.

Non-Alcoholic
Drink Guide

A successful party doesn't have
to depend on alcohol, according
to the Automobile Club of
Michigan, whose "Great Pre-
tenders Party Guide" offers
hosts delicious and festive al-
cohol-free drink alternatives.
The alcohol-free drink book-
let contains 15 drink recipes by
Michigan residents who were
selected as finalists in "Zero-
Proof Mix-Off' contests held
earlier this year.
In addition to drink recipes,
the free booklet, which is avail-
able at all AAA Michigan
branch offices, offers food
recipes from popular Michigan
restaurants and tips for suc-
cessful party planning.

Phone & Fax
In The Car

For busy professionals, worka-
holics and.those who love tech-
nical gadgets, the '90s must
seem like a dream. The fun
started with the cellular tele-
phone and has expanded way
beyond that innocent beginning
in just a few short years.
The two basic types of cellu-
lar phones, permanently in-
stalled and portable, are still
with us. Recent advancements
have made them virtually
hands-free and operable from
the steering wheel.
Lincoln-Mercury was the
first major carmaker to employ
voice recognition. With VR, you
can "train" the phone to recog-