This Month: Collision Repair / Suspension, Alignment, Ride Control & Tires
November: Engines & Engine Rebuilding / Heavy Duty Trucks
Articles Written By James Heine:
In 1973, in search of affordable transportation, Bernardo and Ines Martinez acquired a 1972 Alfa Romeo Berlina from Bobcor Motors in Buffalo, N.Y. Today, they still own the car, but instead of hauling kids and groceries, as it once did, it serves as one of Bernardo Martinez's vintage Alfa racers. (See Part I of this story.)
In his day job, Bernardo Martinez is a vascular surgeon who specializes in endovascular and endolaparoscopic vascular surgery at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center in Toledo, Ohio.
As a surgeon trained in a field in which robotics plays an increasingly prominent role, one might expect Martinez to say he races for pleasure and relaxation.
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Over the River and Through the Woods … in an LBG (Little British Car)
By James Heine
If you are a Midwestern British car owner, it's time for a rite of spring--the annual Missouri Endurance Rally April 19-20.
Organized by the MG Club of St. Louis and open to British cars build before 1982, the rally is an around-the-clock test of classic British cars and the seat-of-the pants fortitude of their drivers and navigators.
"There's none of that electronic-controlled, computer-assisted mumbo-jumbo for us," says Robert Rushing, the rallymaster for the event, a member of the MG Club of St. Louis, and the editor of the North American MGB Register's "MGB Driver."
A veteran of long-distance rallies for British cars, Rushing says the rally, which uses a map format, is simply about the joy of driving sports cars.
Cape Girardeau, Mo.--In the world of engineering, a "Double E" is shorthand for someone who has a degree in electrical engineering. At Parks' Automotive, a reference to "Double E" might very well stand for "education" and "efficiency," two key components of a successful business for Owners Amy and Bryant Parks. Read Full Article
Springfield, Mo.--Remanufacturing is becoming sexy. That remanufacturing is becoming "sexy" is the forthright observation of John P. "Jack" Stack, president and CEO of SRC Holdings Corp.
Smithton, Ill.--In 80 years, Meckfessel Tire and Auto has come a long way from trading chickens for tires. That, of course, was in the middle of the Great Depression, just after Henry Meckfessel opened a small tire shop in Belleville, Ill. Today, Meckfessel Tire and Auto still operates from that same Belleville location, albeit in a much-expanded and modern facility.
Branson, Mo.--The Hemmings Branson Vintage Rally on June 11-15 raised more than $30,000 for Unlocking Autism and the Autism Society of America. Read Full Article
St. Louis--Ask Kurt Siems, president of Concord CARQUEST Auto Parts, to name the key ingredients of a successful retail and wholesale parts operation, and without hesitation he will cite two things. "It's inventory and people," he said. Read Full Article
Charlotte, N.C.--Ask Alan Gustafson, crew chief for Kyle Busch and the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST NASCAR Nextel Cup Chevrolet, to describe himself, and the response is a modest, "I'm a pretty ordinary guy."