IMPA Test Day? Drive a bunch of cars around a racetrack day

IMPA stands for International Motor Press Association.  It's a club I belong to along with other reprobates and auto pr folks.  We have monthly meetings with good speakers from the industry and we have a couple of test days out of the city.  These are days when we go to Bear Mountain (In the spring) and the Monticello Raceway (In the fall) and the auto companies bring their latest models, line them up along the road and leave the keys in them.  We jump into the cars and high-tail it around the track and on the roads. 

Nissan 350 Z

These are a few of the cars I drove.   I drove the Rolls-Royce Phantom II Series.  Oleg Satanaovsky, the man in charge of the car rode along with me.  Tthe monroney (sales sheet) of the Phantom is a great read.  My favorite line is the one that lists the cost for the pen set you can get for the glove box.  It costs $5,575.00.  Oleg explained to me that in the middle east where Rolls sells a lot of cars, five grand isn't a lot for a pen.  People can't express their wealth in their dress, so they buy $100,000 pens and watches.  Makes sense to me!  Anyway, here are a few more things you can equip your vehicle with:  a humidor in the glove box for $4,050 (a steal!), a drinks cabinet for individual rear seats for $11,000 (don't be caught without one), picnic tables with glass and pen holder for $1,525 (well if you've already got the pen, hey!).  Just different and interesting, isn't it?

Sweet.  Yellow.  Camaro,

Love this car.

The hotel is next door to the Nevele and four of us autobabes tried to break in but we were caught by security.  Well, we weren't exactly undercover driving up to the gate in a Bentley and jumping the gate.  The Nevele is so ugly,  Remember those awful ads?  The security guard told us the place is going to become a casino,  Yuck.

I drove the Camaro and the Nissan 350Z.  I love those cars.  They're way too much fun to drive.  I want them in my five-car garage--another lifetime. 
By the way, the term high-tail comes from animals who raise their tails when fleeing.  If we'd just robbed a bank and we were driving the Camaro or the 350Z we would have to high-tail it out of town.  Likewise at Test Day some of us high-tail it around the track.  We wouldn't have to high-tail it out of town if we'd robbed the bank and we were driving the Phantom because no one would suspect us because we have an $11,000 drinks cabinet in the back seat.  Speaking of high-tailing, I got my wrist band pulled when I drove too fast around a corner and went off the track.  One gets their wristband removed if they appear to be driving wrecklessly.  I've never had my wristband pulled.  I was, I have to admit, pleased with myself in a way.  GirlDriver, USA and all.  I got it back because the wife of the guy who monitors the track was in the car with me.  She said, "Just look contrite."  I said, "That's harder than it sounds.  I haven't been to confession for a long, long time.