05/20/00 Pasadena, CA, by anonS2K

On Saturday, May 20th the parking lot at Jet Propulsion Labs in Pasadena, California was inundated by 23 S2000's taking part in the largest Southern California S2000 meet to date.

Organized by Richard Ming, owners came from as far away as San Diego to meet with fellow owners and take a drive through the Angeles Crest National Forest. After a bit of mingling, all the cars lined up for a brief photo opportunity and then we were off for the Angeles Crest Highway.

The combination of 8 silver, 7 red, 6 black and 2 white S2K's drew plenty of attention as we traversed a brief stretch of freeway before heading into the national park. As we entered, a group of Corvette owners going the other way gave a wave and a honk and we returned the favor. Residents of houses along the road to the park also stopped their yard work and other chores to ogle at the procession of rare roadsters cruising slowly by.

Once onto the ACH, the group picked up the pace a bit to enjoy the twisties. While we never exceeded 7-8/10ths in the interests of safety, it was fun to see all the S2K's scything through the switchbacks and sweepers of Angeles Crest. Along the way the group made several stops to chat and use the restroom as well as take photos. At each stop, spectators gathered around to check out the vehicles and quiz owners about them.

We had quite a variety of modifications as well, especially for such a new model. A Mugen header, K&N air filter, custom wind blocker screens, updated sound systems and more were all available for viewing. Even the best cars can be improved with a little personalized tweaking.

After our second rest stop, the highway took us to about 9000 ft of elevation. What a spectacular view and there was even snow on the ground! Despite the frosty white stuff, temperatures were still broiling with the tops down and more than a few owners hit the A/C when we got stuck behind slower moving traffic. We also had a police officer follow the group for several miles, probably to see if we were exercising the full potential of our cars. Fortunately, no one was ticketed, although we did get a bit noisy accelerating from 1st gear through some tunnels.

Heading down the back side of the crest we ran across a 9th silver S2K who was late and trying to find the group. That brought our one day total to 24, tying the DFW track day group for most S2K's - of course, being in SoCal, you would have thought we'd have more, so kudos to the Texans!

The day ended at the In and Out Burger just off of Foothill Blvd. and I15. Unfortunately, the parking lot was quite crowded, so those who stayed for lunch put the tops up and went inside - the cool interior was a welcome relief from the sweltering heat.

All in all, I have to say that the S2K owners at the meeting were the friendliest group of car enthusiasts I've met in a long time. Everyone was helpful, sociable and genuinely good natured. I really look forward to the next event, hopefully at a racetrack so we can really test the cars. I also hope the word will spread about the great bunch of people we have down here in SoCal because I know there are many more owners who would really enjoy getting together.

Many thanks and congratulations go to Richard Ming for putting this all together. Thanks also to those drivers who led the way through the sinuous roads and took photos along the way. And a special thanks to all the significant others who rode along.