The 4th Annual Duel in the Dust Car Show and Tombstone roadster meet will be this November 13-15th.  RSVP on the Phoenix website to let us know if you'll be attending.  Hotels sell out fast and information can be found on the RSVP.  Saturday evenings BBQ and Tequila tasting will be $10.  RSVP  www.sky-sols.com

The day began with breakfast at a New Mexico favorite the Owl Café.  Six cars and eleven members enjoyed a hearty breakfast that would power us through a day of twisty road and beautiful vistas.  Veterans Lelo, Joe & Anne and James & Deb as well as newcomers Tony & Sandra, Jim & Tamara and Alan & his dad Mike gathered in the parking lot to meeting and greet each other.  No sooner had the cars begun to arrive many curious onlookers were gathering to ask questions and comment on how cool and fast the cars looked.  After a short meeting to discuss the route and decide positions we left for Sandi Crest with Joe & Anne in the lead.  The 14 mile climb took us to an altitude of 10,678 feet along a road packed with short straights and hairpin turns.  A sign at the bottom said "Race in Progress".  It was for a bicycle race but we took it to heart anyway!  We arrived at the top with elevated engine temps and the smell of freshly scrubbed tires lingering in the air.  The group enjoyed the unparalleled view from the crest and all of the attention the cars got.  Everyone took time to get to know each other and their cars better.  Tony's Sky was sporting and aftermarket supercharger and some great sounding pipes.  Alan's Solstice with the upsized turbo, great pipes and Stage II tune was pushing 350 horsepower; he said the aftercooler was going to need some work soon.  Joe's Sky had the newly installed cold air intake with bigger tubes and Hahn aftercooler with a MagnaFlow exhaust system that really woke it up.  Jim's Solstice was sporting Lambo doors, a larger turbo and Raptor tires he couldn't stop talking about.  Lelo's new Ruby Sky was decked out with a great looking stripe job, while James' Solstice was rolling on some new Stern wheels he had gotten through the GM Roadster Club at a discount. 

It seemed liked it had been a long time coming.  The idea was born last spring on the Silver City Run, to bring the New Mexico Roadsters to the north and tour the high country.  We thought it could happen during the summer solstice, or maybe even in July.  None of these seemed to be able to get off the ground.  We finally decided on September and the word went out far and wide.  Rich helped to really dress up the tour with the “Ticket to Telluride” idea and the RSVP page began to capture responses almost immediately. 

The respondents were from 5 western states, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico and Utah.  We scouted the route and planned the itinerary at least twice to make sure the plenty of options and prayed the leaves would be changing.  All of the work was done, now it was time for some fun!

The group assembled in Durango on a Friday night at the Steamworks Brewery.  Being Durango and Friday night the place was packed but we managed to get the entire group pretty close.  The beer was first rate and the food was excellent.  The Cajun Boil seemed to be pretty popular as Lelo, Rich, Phil, Carolena and Harry were soon elbow deep in the spicy crab, shrimp, corn and potatoes.  Introductions were made and plans for the next day were finalized before the group split for some well deserved rest.

A small contingent met in Alamagordo on Friday the 19th of October.  Sky/Solstice enthusiasts from Clovis and Ruidoso N.M. along with a couple from Goodyear AZ chose to dedicate their weekend to exploring some exciting roads in New Mexico. 

We ate a relaxing dinner and had our drivers meeting the night before we left for Cloudcroft.  Early Saturday morning, we rinsed down the previous days dust from our rides and left to find the Sun Sport Observatory. 

We drove up above the Tularosa Basin for a photo opportunity and admired the beauty of White Sands and the basin from the mountains.  On up to the Sun Spot Observatory we drove, there were deer everywhere at the observatory.  Doe, young stag and fawns abounded as we looked around with delight.   

We were given a presentation, on the study of the sun, by the observatory’s educator, Jackie.  We learned a great deal including that the route 6563 we had just arrived on was specially named as the Sunspot highway because 6563 stands for the number of angstroms in white light.

Boogity! Boogity! Boogity!!!  Let's go racin' boys!  OK, so it wasn't NASCAR and it really wasn't racing, but man was it a great time!  I'm talking about the High Performance Driving school at Southwest Motorsports Park.  I had wanted to become better acquainted with the upper perfomance reaches of my GXP in a safe environment for some time and this was it.  I brought along my son-in-law who is a racing fanatic and the chauffeur of my new grandson to share the experience in his 89 Mustang GT.  We arrived at the track just before 7:00 a.m. and were rewarded with a spectacular view of the sunrise over the Sandia Mountains.  After we signed a couple of waivers and payed the $150 one day fee for each of us, we took time to meet the gathering students and look at their machines.  The class was made up of 5 men and 2 women driving a Porsche Boxster, a Cobra replicar, a Miata, a Porsche 911 SC, a Cooper Mini, a Chrysler Conquest, a Mustang GT and my GXP.

  This card signifies that your fine roadster was discovered by one of our members.

Please consider attending one of our monthly events and introduce yourself. You will find yourself surrounded by many fascinating Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky roadster owners.

We are delighted to announce the formation of the New Mexico Roadster Chapter of the GM Roadster Car Club.

Founded in 2006, the GM Roadster Car Club is the first and largest national car club for owners of Saturn Skys and Pontiac Solstices, with chapters growing in every corner of the US.

Our local chapter has identified the following event goals:

• Monthly Rides and/or Dinner Events
• Quarterly Weekend/Overnight Rides
• Racing & Technical Events

New to the club?  Introduce yourself in our New Member Forum:

Sense of anticipation mixed with nervousness rode with us as we pulled into the Saturn of Santa Fe dealership on a bright warm New Mexico Saturday. We were greeted by Salesman Henry ‘Chip’ Christians who welcomed us inside out of the heat to enjoy cold beverages he had stocked for the event. Chip had been trying to organize such an event for almost a year, and the day had finally arrived. Chip worked with Leland Lehman of Los Alamos and James Walker of Farmington to bring it together in order to unite Sky and Solstice owners for the first ride of the newest chapter of GM Roadsters, the New Roadster Club. We were anxious to get going and waited with a sense of trepidation for the others to arrive. Chip had invited all of the owners he knew and some prospective owners to view the Skys and Solstices that might be there. As the group slowly came together, there was a feeling of instant camaraderie. Stories of how the cars were purchased, how long the wait was, what modifications had been done, trips taken, comments from people on the street and how much they enjoyed their cars circulated freely.

Many of the group took pleasure in showing their cars to the prospective owners that had arrived. Leland had no more than hit the parking lot when a gentleman asked if he would take him for a short ride in the Redline. Leland accommodated him and on their return the gent said he may trade his Viper for a Sky Redline. Others who had gathered asked questions about engine specifications, how the roof worked, how big the trunk was, miles per gallon and ride comfort. Still others just wanted to see the colors of the cars to decide what they would order. In all, eight Skys and one Solstice made up the group. The crowd was made up of Joe, Anna, Brad, Tracy and Bob from Albuquerque, Bill, Alfonso, Elsa, Tamarra, Corine, Curtis and Nancy from Santa Fe, Leland from Los Alamos and Deb and James from Farmington.

Expectation, anticipation, excitement in the air! The weekend approached to take a ride on the curviest road in America, and it was right here in Arizona all the time. I have heard tell of the Tail of the Dragon in North Carolina, but The Coronado Trail aka Devil’s Highway aka The Curviest road in America must more than rival the Tail of the Dragon. There are 106 miles of twists, dips, rises and hairpin turns before the road even begins to resemble something that is not hazardous.

For some, the weekend began on a muggy Friday afternoon. We drove to the Noftsger Hill InnB & B in Globe,  Arizona where we met up with James and Deb from New Mexico. The Noftsger is a former school, and the classrooms have been converted into bedrooms complete with chalkboards and evaporative cooling. Even the janitor’s closet is a darling room that you can stay in. Our hostess Rosalee was very considerate and served breakfast at 7:30a.m., so that we could be on our way early to meet the group coming up from Phoenix on Saturday morning.