April 2014

Golden Empire Region

Porsche Club of America

The Grapevine Newsletter

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Hear it through the Grapevine

Featured Stories Pages

A Very Special Thank You from our MARE family 8

Porsche announces Boxster and Cayman GTS 10

Porsche to Replace Engines that caused GT3 Fires 24

Top Gear’s James May on Vintage Porsches 30

Social Outings & Members Page

GEM Social Meeting Dinners 4

Meet new members, Jeff and Tracy Allen 4

Another Exciting Drive to Beautiful Parkfield 6

Event Calendars & Schedules

Our GEM Event Calendar 16

California Festival of Speed 2014 Preview 18

Registration is open for Porsche Parade in Monterey 28

Members Project Pages

My Vintage 911 Targa Finally come Home 26

Out of Town Events

Autocross at Shafter’s Minter Field 11

Autocross at Santa Maria Airport 10

Concours in the Canyon, Cal Inland 13

Buttonwillow Raceway Driver’s Ed Meet 25

Miscellaneous Out of Town Events 31

Our cover photo

this month come

from a MARE photo

shoot.

Pictured here we

have Dave and Voni

Bratcher standing beside their gorgeous

yellow 911. Also standing with them,

looking pretty in pink is young MARE volun-

teer Kaitlyn Coburn.

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Porsche Club of America

Golden Empire Region

Board Members and Chair Persons

Social Coordinator

Tammy Harris

Webmaster

Anton Khatsanovich

Newsletter Editor

Michael Thomas

gemgrapevine@gmail.com

Autocross Co-Chairs

Greg Fullmer and

Charles Rook

Safety Chair &

Insurance Coordinator

Mike McGregor

Membership Co-Chairs &

Communication Co-Chairs

Loren Stumbaugh and

Anna Stumbaugh

PCA Membership While our cars are very exclusive, our club is not.

Did you know that you can add a family member

or other interested person as an affiliate member,

at no additional cost? The family or affiliate mem-

ber must also be 18 years of age or older.

For all of the details contact our Membership

Chair:

Loren Stumbaugh

Porsche Club of America

Golden Empire Region

Membership Chairman

Loren7025@gmail.com

(661) 747-4416

Please join us online at our newly remodeled

Website and on our Facebook Group page:

http://gem.pca.org/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/

PCA.GoldenEmpireRegion/

And please send any Newsletter comments

or content contributions to :

gemgrapevine@gmail.com

Secretary

Spencer Harris

President

Omar Olivas

Vice President

Linn Christopher

Treasurer

Betsy Wadman

Past President

Pat Wadman

Secretary

Spencer Harris

President

Omar Olivas

Vice President

Linn Christopher

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A Good Time was had by all at the March Social Meeting

at Tony’s Pizza on Coffee Rd. What’s Tammy up to now?

Turns out that the owner of Tony’s drives a Porsche

Panamera himself. Did anyone get that man a PCA app?

The third Tuesday evening of each month is all about good friends and good food. Everyone is invited to come

out and join us, member or not. Come be part of the Porsche lifestyle with us each month. Our next Social

Meeting for the Month of April, will be Tuesday the 15th, 6:30 pm at the Chef’s Choice, Noodle Bar, in

Downtown Bakersfield. Check for other dates and locations online at GEM.PCA.ORG

Stopping for grub in Tehachapi on their maiden club run Jeff and Tracy on Highway 58 in the Carrizo Plains

The Golden Empire Region PCA Introduces New Members

GEM Monthly Social Meetings

GEM is excited to introduce new members, Jeff and Tracy Allen. The Allens drive this

beautiful deep blue Boxster. They have accompanied us on two driving tours already. And

I’m happy to report that Tracy has no problem with motion sickness when driving

“spiritedly” through the curves. Welcome Jeff and Tracy, it’s great to have you with us !!

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Not even pouring rain can keep determined Porsche owner’s away from here

The first month of each year Southern California holds it’s multi-day affairs for everything Porsche.

Starting off Saturday morning with the L.A. Literature Show at the the LAX Hilton. This venue has an

incredible selection of Porsche parts, souvenirs, and course Porsche related brochures and manuals.

The following Sunday is the All Porsche Swap meet at Anaheim's Phoenix Club. It too offered an

amazing selection of all things Porsche. Many of the dealers and items from the Lit Show were here

as well. However, a lot of the larger items such as Porsche engines, transmissions, and even cars

themselves were for sale at this event. Pelican Parts and Stoddgard parts were on hand with huge

selections of Porsche parts for cars new and old. I went home with an owner’s manual and a new

Porsche hood crest for my newly acquired 1971 911 Targa! Next year I’m bringing a shopping cart :)

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Moving and Shaking in Parkfield, CA

GEM enjoyed a great Hwy 58 drive and joins the Central Coast Region for a wonderful Parkfield BBQ

Thanks you California Central Coast Region for your hospitality !!

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Another Spirited Driving Tour through the Carizzo Plains

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The Golden Empire Region receives a very heartfelt

Thank You from our Friends at M.A.R.E.

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The torn paper comes from the Signature of one of M.A.R.E.’s horse’s paws :)

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The two most powerful and fastest mid-

engine sports models from Porsche are

ready and raring to go: with uprated en-

gines and excellent PASM chassis the Box-

ster GTS and Cayman GTS set new bench-

marks for sportiness in their segment. The

independent front and a modified rear end,

blackened bi-xenon headlights - with the

Porsche Dynamic Light System (PDLS) as

standard - and exterior lettering in silky

black gloss are subtle yet unmistakable fea-

tures of the new top models. The name says

it all: at Porsche "GTS" stands for Gran Tur-

ismo Sport and has promised outstanding

Porsche performance ever since the legend-

ary 904 Carrera GTS dating back to 1963.

With the new two-seaters Porsche is renew-

ing its commitment to authentic sports cars

for both the racetrack and everyday use.

The six-cylinder boxer engines fitted in the

new top models are based on the 3.4-litre

engines from the Boxster S and Cayman S

respectively. Thanks to optimised fine tun-

ing they now deliver an additional 15 hp (11

kW). This means that the Boxster GTS now

has an output of 330 hp (243 kW), whilst

the Cayman GTS delivers 340 hp (250 kW).

The torque has also increased by ten new-

ton metres in each model. What's more, the

Sport Chrono package is a standard feature

in both mid-engine sports cars. This means

that in conjunction with the optional Dop-

pelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) and the active

Sport Plus button, the Boxster GTS sprints

from 0-100 km/h in 4.7 seconds, whilst the

Cayman GTS is even a tenth of a second

faster. Both vehicles therefore set new ref-

erence values.

As regards the maximum speed - measured

with the standard manual six-speed trans-

mission - the Boxster is the first of the new

premium roadsters to top the 280 km/h

mark, achieving a speed of 281 km/h. At 285

km/h the sports coupé is even faster. The

new top models are the first mid-engine

two-seaters from Porsche to be certified

according to the Euro 6 standard, and with

this measuring method they achieve an

overall fuel consumption with PDK of 8.2

l/100 km (9.0 l/100 km with manual trans-

mission).

The Boxster GTS and Cayman GTS combine

top driving dynamics with the typical Por-

sche spread with undiminished ride comfort

and exclusive features. For example, the

combination of PASM and the Sport Chrono

package as standard enables the driver to

switch between progressive sportiness on

the one hand and long-distance comfort on

the other hand at the press of a button. The

tyres measuring 235/35 at the front and

265/35 at the rear on 20-inch Carrera S-

wheels provide the perfect setup for both.

Both two-seaters come with sports seats

and leather interiors as standard. Like other

GTS models from Porsche they are refined

with Alcantara elements.

With the new models Porsche is now ex-

tending the GTS principle to the Boxster and

Cayman. Like the Cayenne GTS and

Panamera GTS, these are extremely sporty

top models that stand for superior driving

dynamics in their segment. The combination

of letters originates from the 904 Carrera

GTS, a race car dating back to 1963 that

could also be registered for use on public

roads. In the 1980s and 1990s the 924 GTS

and 928 GTS cultivated this principle. It was

reborn in 2007 in the form of the Cayenne

GTS, and was subsequently also implement-

ed in the 911 series and the Panamera.

The new models will be launched from May

2014.

In Germany, the the Boxster GTS costs

€69,949 ($97,289) while the Cayman GTS

makes you €73,757 ($102,586) lighter. Don't

worry though, cars are much cheaper in

America. In fact, while Porsche doesn't have

the info on their website, they do have it in

the configurator. The Boxster GTS starts at

$74,495 and the Cayman GTS is $76,195.

Not too bad.

Porsche Announces the new Cayman GTS and Boxster GTS

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Porsche has released some new details about their Los Angeles Experience Center

Currently under construction, the 53-acre site is located in Carson,

California and will enable visitors to hit the track in everything from

a Boxster to a 911. As Porsche North America CEO Detlev von Plat-

en toldAutomotive News, “It will be a high-performance training

center, where enthusiasts can experience and drive the car in all

the conditions you normally couldn’t get in the real world."

The track will have a modular design which will enable the compa-

ny to create a variety of courses ranging from 0.5 to 2.0 miles. The

company will also allow visitors to drive their own car on the track

and then compare it to a Porsche.

Besides the track, the complex will have a Human Performance

Center that offers "customized programs to maximize personal fit-

ness and wellness for race car drivers and endurance athletes."

There will also be a family-friendly cafe, an upscale restaurant and

a conference center that can be used for business or motorsport

events.

The facility will also be the home to Porsche Motorsport North

America and have a factory-backed maintenance and restora-

tion area.

The Los Angeles Experience Center is expected to open in late

2014.

PCNA will bring a preview of The Los Angeles Experience Center to Festival of Speed April 5&6

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Get ready for Southern California’s

biggest Porsche Event of 2014 !

Registration is now open.

It can be done online

MotorSportReg.com

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April 2014

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 5 Fontana, CA

Festival of Speed

6 Fontana, Ca

Festival of Speed

7 8 9 10 11

Long Beach Grand

Prix Weekend

12 Breakfast

Long Beach Grand

Prix Weekend

13 Cal-Inland

Concours

Long Beach Grand

14 15 Social Meeting

and Dinner at the

Noodle Factory in

Downtown Bako

16 17 18 19 Bakersfield

Breakfast and

Drive to Parkfield

For BBQ

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Autocross

in Santa Maria on

Airport Runway

27 28 29 30

May 2014

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3

4

GEM Autocross at

Minter Field

5 6 7 8 9 Buttonwillow

Drive’s Education

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11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Wild Flowers

and Picnic

Porsche and LA

Yacht Club Event

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

25 26 27 28 29 30 31

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June 2014

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 White Glove

Porsche Concours

in Dana Point

2 3 4 5 6 7 San Luis Obispo

Drivers Ralley

8 San Luis Obispo

Concours d’

Elelgannce

9 10 11 12 13 14

15

Porsche Parade

Monterey Calif

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Porsche Parade

Monterey Calif

17

Porsche Parade

Monterey Calif

18

Porsche Parade

Monterey Calif

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Porsche Parade

Monterey Calif

20

Porsche Parade

Monterey Calif

21

Porsche Parade

Monterey Calif

22

Porsche Parade

Monterey Calif

23 24 25 26 27 28 Drive to

Murphy’s Auto

Museum

29 30

July 2014

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10 11 Whale Watching in

Santa Barbara

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

20 Los Angeles

Porsche Concours

at Museum Flying

in Santa Monica

21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30 31

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Get ready for Southern California’s biggest

Porsche Event of 2014 !

Registration is now open.

It can be done online

MotorSportReg.com

Visit the Auto Club Speedway Website

Visit PCA Zone8 / Festival of Speed Website

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The Largest Porsche Event in the Southwest

April 4-6, 2014 9 AM - 5 PM

Auto Club Speedway 9300 Cherry Avenue, Fontana, CA 92335

Sponsors & Vendors: Look here to see why you won't want to miss this!

The California Festival of Speed is the Porsche enthusiasts dream weekend. Club Race, Time Trial, Swap meet, Porsche Corral, Porsche For Sale Platz, Porsche Timeline Display, Vendor Row, Concours, Taste of Autocross, Parade Laps, Friends, Fun and all things Porsche. Need I say more? This event has race cars, show cars, it can even have your car! See the cars, meet the drivers and experience the excitement!

Enter an event, or just come for the experience!!

Free Admission Just show up and enjoy the fun! Don't forget to bring your Porsche and $10 Parking fee!

Stay the Weekend Take advantage of our discounted hotel rates!

Click Arrow to Preview last years event

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Josh Barnett of Total 911 Maga-

zine reports that the pair of en-

gine failures that caused two

brand new Porsche 991 GT3s to

ignite were the result of a prob-

lem with a piston connecting rod

bolt. Speaking to Total 911,

Porsche GB Product Affairs Man-

ager, Nick Perry, explained that

“the broken connecting rod bolt

caused damage to the crank-

case” of the burnt out GT3s.

After a ‘stop driving’ notice was

issued by Porsche four weeks

ago, Zuffenhausen has been flat

out in an attempt to diagnose

the cause of the two cata-

strophic failures. Just last

week, we reported that there

had been little further news from

Porsche regarding the issue.

However, today’s news (which

991 GT3 owners will be receiving

in letter form imminently) signals

the major breakthrough that all

785 owners have been hoping

for during the past month.

Porsche have not confirmed if

the two bolt failures happened

at the big- or small-end of the

conrod but, rather than replace

the offending items, Stuttgart

will now embark on the process

of replacing the engines in every

991 GT3 produced so far.

Perry did not want to put a time-

scale on this process as many of

the 100-odd GT3s delivered so

far in the UK will need to be

recovered to an OPC, and the

engines need to be built and

transited from Germany, before

the motor switch can be per-

formed.

The new engines, which will fea-

ture an improved connecting rod

bolt, will also feature on any new

991 GT3 rolling off the produc-

tion line as of today.

Porsche responds to the 991 GTS fire issue

with new engines for all 785 GTSs sold

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It’s a pretty special day for your news-

letter editor. This little ‘71 Targa has

drifted from one garage to another for

the last 5 years. But today she has final-

ly come home to mine. George and the

Boyz at German Dreams have done a

wonderful job of bringing her back to

life. A good wash and a little elbow

grease on her original Tangerine/23

paint has this little Porsche jewel shining

once again.

Pretty baby and a delight to drive

Your Newsletter Editor’s 1971 911t Targa is finally home !

She shines up pretty well, and makes my driveway look Good !!

The way she sat the day found her, parked for 5 years

The story begins several years ago when a family from the

coast moved into my community. Oddly enough it wasn't the

Porsche that first caught my eye. It was the white ’88 560SL

Mercedes parked in his garage next to it.

I’ve always been a fan to the majestic SL styling that Mercedes

produced years ago. And as some of you may know, I finally

found and bought an old

1975 450SL. Which I have

put more money into

than I will ever see re-

turned :(

She’s now an excellent

driver with a freshly

refurbished interior. It’s for sale now, Hint Hint !!

After I retired in December I thought it would nice to have an-

other vintage car project to occupy some newly found time.

While riding my bicycle throughout the community I became

more interested in the small tangerine colored 911 parked next

to the white Mercedes in this man’s garage.

At a Golden Ox breakfast meeting one Saturday morning in early

January, Loren commented that someone had suggested to him

the vintage 911s were going to be the next Porsche models to

see a run up in value after the 356 value explosion.

Ken Kenan who was sitting there made a comment to me.

“Mike, you need to focus. Stop collecting these old Mercedes

and get another Porsche now that you’re retired.”

That little ‘throw away’ comment that Ken made was all the in-

spiration I needed to walk up my neighbor’s door, ring the door

bell, and ask if he was interested in selling his Porsche.

He through out a price, I looked over the car, and arranged for a

repurchase inspection at German Dreams, with sales contingent

on the outcome of the inspection.

Thank you Loren and Ken, you two were the catalysis for this purchase

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The previous owner standing in the doorway watching her leave Her first direct sunlight in over 5 years

Off to German Dreams. Please guys, tell me she’s healthy Outside of George and Eddie’s German Dreams shop

Funny story here. Told wife I was buying another Porsche. A

vintage air-cooled this time. She asked how much did you

pay? I said Seventeen, but showed her how much they are

selling for nicely restored, upwards of $30K. Her comment

was Oh, that will be a nice retirement project.

A couple of days later I stated that I wish I was a better nego-

tiator, I may have been able to pick this up for a couple grand

less. “A couple grand less, she asked? I thought you paid

$1,700 for the car.” I said umm no, rather sheepishly. It was

$17,000. OMG, wrong thing to say! “You paid $17,000 for an

old car that doesn’t even run? What’s wrong with you?”

Well, there really IS a lot wrong with me, but buying this car is

not one of them. After she returned to plant Earth I, with

the help of several others convinced her the car really was

well bought, with lots of upside potential in value.

Hope their right :))

The little 2.2 engine pulls strong. Lots more power than I

anticipated. The car has sat for 5 years with fuel in system.

Lots of varnish that had to be cleaned out. Fuel pump and

filter replaced. 5 speed, but pulls 8O mph in 4th with ease

The interior turns out to be in much better condition that I original

thought. A good wash and vacuum inside made her look fresh.

The headliner on the Targa top needs to be replaced. However,

the outside of the Targa top shined up nicely. There’s a crack in

the dash. And some new carpet is in the works. Wished I shined

up this well when I turned 43 years old …...

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Monterey is the site of our 59th Porsche Parade, to be held this June 15 through 21, 2014. This is PCA’s annual extrava-

ganza of competitive and social events. Only minutes away from the beautiful Pacific Ocean, we’ll be treated to drives on

the famous Pacific Coastal Highway, to some of California’s legendary vineyards, and through the hills and valleys of

northern California. Of course, Parade has a long history of friendly competition and that will continue this year with the

always challenging Concours d’Elegance, TSD rally, autocross, and the tech-quiz.

Registration

Registration will open on April 1st (new date!), and there will be a link to register on pca.org and parade2014.pca.org.

This Parade will be very popular, but we will accept ALL entries. We can accommodate all entrants for each of the ban-

quets and all competitive events, as well as most activities. Tours on some days will sell out, however.

Registration for Porsche Parade is finally open Sign up soon for the driving events, they fill up quickly. Lodging in the Monterey/Salinas area is

filling up quickly as well. If your considering on attending start planning now!

Click on graphic below for full information on details and scheduling. Or review the March issue

of the Grapevine for the complete schedule.

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Top Gear’s James May on the Vintage Porsche 911

For the first time in my life as a motoring journalist, I'd like to dis-pense some genuine and heartfelt consumer advice. Here it comes: buy yourself an old 911.

Regular readers will know that I've spent much of the last year driving a selection of supercars. I'm now ready to record my con-clusion to the exercise, and it's this. They're all a bit of a waste of money, really. Buy an old 911 instead.

In all honesty, I'd rather have the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, which I thought was one of the finest cars I'd ever driven. But it costs £213,000, and you could save two hundred of them by buying an old 911. Even a new 911 Carrera 2S will set you back about £75k once you've paid for all the bits that should have come with the car in the first place, so, rather than doing without the options, why not do without the car and spend the saving on an old one instead?

This is in no way a preamble to some tiresome rant about how cars were better in the olden days. All old cars are terrible, which is why they're not made any more, but the exception is the 911. The basic premise of the 911 is an idea that goes back to before the war anyway, so in that sense they're all old.

I'm on my second old 911, both of them 3.2 Carrera coupes from the Eighties. This is the one I'd go for, because it's the one I've got and I know what I'm talking about. It's also one of the cheaper and most plentiful versions out there, thanks to the explosion of 911 enthusiasm during the yuppie era, so there are loads around. Mine cost £15,300 with 48,000 miles on the clock, a complete service history, and in perfect condition save for a stone chip in the bonnet. It's the best thing I've ever bought.

The first thing to check when considering a 3.2 911 is: does the roof come off? If it does, it's one of the cabrio versions, and they're for pussies. Having satisfied yourself that the roof is made of proper metal, make all the checks you would on any car - does it actually belong to the bloke selling it? Do the documents exist and match up? Is it in fact just a Beetle with a Porsche badge stuck on? Actually, it is, but you know what I mean.

Now the bodywork. All post-'75 cars were galvanised, but that's no guarantee against rot. Weak areas are around the headlights, the trailing edges of the front wings, inside the door pillars and around the rear windows. Underneath, the ‘kidney bowl' around the rear wheel arches gets a bit of a beating, and replacing it is a sort of rib-expander surgery job, and expensive.

While you're poking around, check for crash damage, since 911s have always been easy to crash and have often been owned by people who were likely to. Look for uneven welding - the original

stuff is always excellent, because it was done by Germans - and signs of replacement panels or indeed of another 911 of different provenance lurking within the one you think you're buying. Body repairs on 911s can be pretty expensive, largely because the pan-els are pricey.

The engine, on the other hand, is easy to maintain and very ro-bust. I have met owners who have covered a quarter of a million miles without a rebuild, so don't be put off by 100,000+ on the clock. Providing the oil has been changed regularly, it will be fine. Even a little smoking is not too much to worry about. Air-cooled 911 engines make some terrifying gurgling and chuffing noises, but this is normal. Clatters, on the other hand, spell trouble.

Any pre-'95 car will be fitted with the ancient and notoriously cussed 915 gearbox. Changing down into first will normally need some extra clutchwork and, when cold, second might not seem to be there at all. This is as it should be, but any kerrang noises dur-ing fast shifts are bad news. Richard Hammond's ‘favourite gearchange' is fourth to fifth in a 915 box.

The interior will probably be pretty good, whereas that of a con-temporary Ferrari will probably be in the footwell by now. Things like the door bins can become a bit warped and saggy, but all these bits are available for a reasonable price and it all screws together with the toolkit you got for £4.99 with 20 litres of diesel. Make sure everything works. It usually does.

I don't believe you need to spend more than £15,000 on a very good 2.3-litre 911. It is the most characterful and engaging car for the cash and probably for twice as much.

This is the only bit of car buying advice I will ever dispense. I'm

usually hopeless at it. But this is so easy, even I got it right.

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Upcoming Activities Out of Town

San Luis Concours, Sunday, June 8

Madonna Inn, San Luis Obispo, CA with Corral Parking

San Luis Rally on the Beautiful Central Coast, June 7

A brisk timed drive of about 100 miles of breathtaking scenery on the

San Luis Obispo County's most challenging and fun to drive roads.

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