Last weekend, Tony and I took a road trip up to beautiful Holland, Michigan for a European car show called Euro Hangar. We took the day off work on Friday, loaded up Tony’s R32, and headed out for an 8 hour drive.Read More »
Category: Cars
Remember, Remember the Month of November
And just like that, it’s the end of the year. Read More »
Flying (Spur) in a Bentley
Since my dad lives in Florida and flies up most holidays, he has to get a rental car to drive around. It’s always a base model economy car, like a Toyota or Hyundai. This Thanksgiving, a Bentley Flying Spur just happened to have a lack of weekend plans, so we told him this holiday he would be very thankful for his rental car. Because what better way to impress your family than driving a Bentley all around Minneapolis on Thanksgiving weekend?
Read More »
Buh bye half of 2016
6 months down. Half of the year is gone. I did a lot bit of everything in June, from rallies to birthday celebrations to beach days. See if you can follow along!
I watched so much PLL and am still miserably far behind.
Tony and I participated in the Kannonball rally, and even though it started off a little rough, we had a great time!
Tony’s parents got a puppy and it is the most precious thing. 😍
June 13th was Tony’s birthday, so we celebrated with dinner and drinks with friends!
We visited breweries, drank beer and spent lots of money on food truck food.
I spent father’s day with these dad-esque cars. Just look at those beauts.
Tony and I finally found an apartment we liked that didn’t cost an arm and a leg and are moving in July 2nd! What a great start to the second half of 2016!
First Month of Cars
As a car enthusiast, I’ve always dreamed of driving high end luxury and sports cars. Little did I know that I would accomplish this goal by the end of the first week of my internship.
During your first week at a new job, you would expect to get acquainted to the office and get settled into your new role. I would have never thought that during my first week I would drive cars that combined cost almost half a million dollars and had over 2,000 horsepower.
My first day on the job I was tasked with picking up new cars for Morrie’s Heritage Car Connection. These cars just happened to be a Maserati GranTurismo and an Aston Martin DB9, both convertibles. And then naturally, we needed to get pictures of these beautiful pieces of machinery. And who better to drive it than the new intern?
On Thursday, I was told I had to take a Heritage car home because…work. I was fine with driving anything, but had my favorites already picked out. At the top of the list was the Porsche Speedster. So guess what I got to take home on a beautiful, sunny afternoon? Read about my evening here!
Being the marketing events intern, helping out with events sometimes means driving cars around. On Saturday, I was told that I would be giving rides to guests at a Kentucky Derby party. It wasn’t until I arrived at the dealership that I realized I would be giving drives to guests in a gorgeous $176,000 Bentley convertible. Thankfully the seats massage you while you’re driving, because you better believe I was stressed out while trying to maneuver that beast down the highway. That Bentley and I are now best friends. As everyone was getting ready to head home from the party, the cars also needed to head back to their home at luxury. I figured I would drive my new best friend back, until I was offered a small black key. I didn’t even realize what I was being offered until I saw the car the key opened.
For those of you who aren’t as obsessed with cars that “wear lipstick”, this is an Aston Martin Vantage GT. It’s not slow. It’s not quiet. And it’s sure not boring. Driving back, I felt more like a rockstar than ever before.
The following week was just as exciting. Now that I knew what to expect, I figured I wouldn’t be so nervous driving these nice cars. Think again!
All cars need to be serviced, so after they’re done being taken care of at the luxury dealer, someone has to go pick them up and bring them back home. On Wednesday that car was a Ferrari F430. Thankfully I only had to drive it a few blocks, because I’m not sure my heart would have been able to handle much more of that.
Fast forward a few weeks to a day on the track. Morrie’s sponsored a track day at Brainerd International Raceway and of course I had to come. To…chaperone the cars. Or something. As a Road America fan, I love watching cars race around the track, so I was absolutely thrilled just to be in the environment. But that wasn’t the end of my day. Baby Blue and I were allowed to drive on the track as fast as our hearts desired. As soon as I got home that night, I proudly ordered up a Brainerd track sticker to add to the collection.
The following days and weeks have been a blur of driving, attending events and all the shenanigans that goes along with that. I can’t even imagine an internship that is more perfect for me than this.
New Goings On
May is a fantastic month, and I’m not just saying that because it’s the birth month of myself. There are many things happening next month, and I wanted to keep everyone in the loop! For your convenience, I have put together a blog post of FAQs I have been receiving about what the goings on are.
Q: New goings on, Lauren?
A: Yes! New job, new place to live, new cats to adopt! (See Tony, now I wrote about it, so it has to happen.)
Q: Who will you be working for?
A: Morrie’s Automotive based out of Minnetonka.
Q: What will you be doing?
A: I’m a marketing events intern, which means I’ll be helping prepare, set up and carry the events out. I’ll also help with their social media and blogs. (Check them out here and here and here.) I’ll be surrounded by beautiful vehicles while I try my hardest not to drool on them.
Q: Where will you be living?
A: For the month of May, I’ll be moving into Tony’s house in Woodbury. In June we’ll move closer to the cities. We haven’t 100% decided on where yet.
Q: Will you share a ridiculous number of pictures on Instagram to make me jealous?
A: You better believe it.
8 States in 15 Hours…And Back
Ever since I bought my first Volkswagen, I realized how tight knit the community of drivers was. But even I didn’t fully comprehend the extent of this until I bought my R32. Wookies in the Woods started as an event to honor the 2004 R32, but has since grown to include other models of the R32 and Golf R. I bought my R soon after Wookies last year, so I knew this year I had to attend. Being one half of an R32 power couple, it was a big decision deciding whether Tony and I would both take our cars or not. Since the red R was being a little sassy leading up to the event, we decided to take the blue R this year.
The event is held in the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina, right off a stretch of road known as the “tail of the dragon”, one of the greatest driving roads in the US, with 318 turns in 11 miles.
We started our 1,000 mile journey at 8PM on Tuesday, driving through Chicago at about 1AM, and it was a weird experience with nobody on the roads. After driving through numerous states and stopping to take a few naps, we finally made it to the cabin where we were staying. Since there were only 5,000 2004 R32s made, it was extremely cool to see so many of them gathered in one area. Over the next few days, we drove to waterfalls, scenic overlooks, and through the mountains. On Saturday, everyone gathered for the “sound off”, where only Rs were allowed to park and rev their engines for all to hear.
I was so excited to be part of the events and activity going on, and I can’t wait to go back next year in the new and improved red R!
Lauren Kortbein 