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If you're a petrolhead - read automobile enthusiast - like me, you probably have attended a Cars and Coffee event or at least heard of them. [The picture at right is a Vietnam-era veteran at the Cars and Camo event we held last year at the USS Iowa battleship in San Pedro, California.] I've been to a bunch of them - always a fun time - but no one could tell me how or where they began. Enter Tom Smith, owner of iDriveSocal and his podcast. Listen - or read - how Barry Meguiar and Ford Motor Company got it started and kept it alive until it became an integral part of southern California's car culture and then spread globally. Read on - https://www.idrivesocal.com/history-of-cars-coffee/ You can just see the nose of our DVEN/Rally4Vets Boxster in the right side of the frame. #carsandcoffee #meguiars #carsandcamo #dven #rally4vets #veterans #USSIowa

I got lucky and snagged an entry to the industry/media day here at the LA Auto Show. I've walked the entire show and there are many great vehicles and technology on offer. Road & Track recently wrote a piece on Porsche's all-electric Boxster. My hopes were high but it wasn't among the cars in their pavilion. That said, the Porsche collection didn't disappoint. Check out the 911 Dakar. [Just a mere $220k]. The most exotic car was the Hyperion XP-1 which reportedly jumps from zero to 60 in 2.2 seconds and can travel 1,000 miles on one hydrogen fuel load. The price tag? Somewhere between $2-3m according to Wikipedia. There were a bunch of EVs. I'll bet they predominate at next year's show. I've posted a collection of pictures below. It was a very fun day and I'm blocking the date on my calendar for next year.

I dropped by the LA Car Show today hoping to see the Boxster EV Road & Track wrote about. No such luck. However; the 911 Dakar was there in all its glory. Here's what Road & Track had to say: The age of the factory Safari car is finally upon us. After years of home-brew creations and aftermarket tuning shops offering to turn your 911 into a world-beating Safari car, Porsche has stepped up and built an off-road 911 of its own. Dubbed the 911 Dakar, it checks all of the boxes of a great off-roading sports car, including a raised ride height, fender flares, all-terrain tires, and even an optional roof basket. Porsche officially uncovered the new model Wednesday night and it’s available for order as of this story going to press. The rest of the R & T article is here - https://bit.ly/Porsche911DakarLACarShow

Today is the day America remembers and honors America's citizen soldiers. Since the Revolutionary War ended, 646,596 American troops have died in battle and more than 539,000 died from other, non-combat related causes. Today, slightly over 18,000,000 Americans are veterans. Just 18% of America's population has served in our armed forces. But they have come from every socio-economic class and racial group. We owe each of them a debt of gratitude for preserving our democratic way of life and the opportunities we enjoy daily. We can repay their sacrifices by respecting and abiding by the results of our democratic processes. Democracy is absolutely dependent on accepting the will of the majority, regardless of how slim, and peacefully transferring political power. History clearly shows that swings back and forth between liberal and conservative views and government have made America the most successful country in history. America's Veterans, Thank You.

You probably know all about YouTube handles (they've been coming for awhile) but the Rally4Vet team is excited because we're going to begin putting some fun content on our channel. Are you ready? Our handle is youtube.com/@rally4vets. Pretty cool. Right? If you're not familiar with Youtube handles - click the following link and get the gouge straight from the geeks at "The Tube" - https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/11585688?hl=en Here's a picture from the 2022 DVEN/Rally4Vets Top Dog Championships last month at Summit Point Motorsports Park. More to come. Oh, BTW, that's a Space Force driver with a medal around his neck. Space Force does exist!

OGRacing was founded in 1990 with the intent of "Making Racers Safer." Started from the back of the Bill Love's pick-up truck, OG-Racing has grown to become one of the largest distributors of Motorsports Gear in the country. The company sells online and has a 12,000 square foot showroom and warehouse in Sterling, Virginia. 98% of orders are shipped same-day. Rally4Vets is proud to have OGRacing as a partner. We have some fun plans in development so bookmark our website.

Cars and Coffee events are everywhere and they're a great venue for car enthusiasts - OK, gear heads - to meet, see some of the world's most interesting cars and, in some cases, some rather fantastic and creative engineering. Our veteran charity - the Disabled Veteran Empowerment Network (DVEN) - has launched the Cars & Camo series to highlight veteran issues. We held the first event at the USS Iowa battleship in San Pedro, California and had a great turnout that included a bunch of beautiful Austin Healey 3000's, a Vietnam-era M151 jeep with a complete set of equipment, including radios, M60 machine gun, flak jackets. The works! Oh yes, and a WW ll M20 armored car that was featured in the 1960s TV series "The Rat Patrol." Click the image below for event video. Category winners walked away with tickets either to the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles or to tour the USS Iowa battleship. Join us on Facebook - Rally4Vets | Cars & Camo And Instagram - Rally4Vets

Post Number One My name is Robert Hess. I'm the founder of DVEN and the Rally4Vets program. I'm going to use this blog series to chronicle my racing and rallying adventures in support of our disabled veteran community while have #funwithcars, as the SCCA slogan says. Fast driving came my way during my first Army tour in Germany in the late 1960's. I was a single, junior captain and the new Porsche 911s and the German autobahn with no speed limits beckoned. And did they. My first 911 was a 1967 911L (German model) purchased from a German army chaplain. I soon found out he sold it because of problems with the value lifters and 6 months later I owned a gold 1969 911E with 500 kilometers on the odometer that I would give a lot to have kept! But, let's jump forward to 2018, when I met Dean Case at the LA Auto Show. The year Mazda released the Cup Car racer. I didn't feel like popping for $60k to buy one and get into road racing, but Car Max had a nice 2010 NC Miata that I used for autocross and some SCCA track nights. That car now lives in Virginia with my daughter and represents DVEN/Rally4Vets on our East Coast awareness events. It looks a lot like the NA Miata on the cover. Autocross was fun - and still is. My next step was SCCA track nights and then the SCCA national time trial series. We use the NA Miata on the track and, to that end, we made a few modifications: Hard Dog roll bar Feal 441 coilovers Shock tower brace (I used the wrong one, but that's another story) Racing Beat front control arm brace Racing Beat sway bars front and rear Cat-back RoadstrSport 3 exhaust SuperPro full suspension bushing kit Competition engine/differential mount StopTech disks and pads Falken Azensis that I like a lot. The car drives really well on there track and it's the car we use with guests and celebrities. B2 (it's nickname - I'll share the story if someone asks) is running strong on the original engine and transmission - 234,291 miles and counts. Well done @Mazda! I created the Top Dog Championships as a way for veterans and veteran-supporters to experience driving the track as part of the world's only inter-Service military motorsports competition. Just how sweet is that? OK. Post #1 is complete. Going forward, this will be a collection of automotive-related events and information that interest me. I'm open to guest blogging! Ciao!