The Journey.
San Jose, California, was my first stop in a whistle-stop business mini-tour of our North American acquisitions. I would eventually cover almost 21,000
In only 12 days.
So early on a Tuesday at Gatwick, I boarded another one of the new generation of widebody airliner, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner for the 11-hour flight to San Jose International airport. And what a plane it is, whisper quiet with higher cabin pressures which means it feels like you are at a lower altitude than you really are. This results in a far, far more comfortable flight with fewer headaches, fatigue and dry eyes. Hooray! It also has much bigger windows with electrically dimming glass and this was a source of entertainment for me throughout the flight.
Wednesday/Thursday
I’d spent the night at the excellent but fantastically expensive San Jose Westin. Indeed I’d be spending the first four nights of this trip here and silently gave thanks that I would be claiming back the cost of the hotel stay. I headed out to the office in Silicon Valley after a delicious but rather expensive hotel breakfast. The word ‘expensive’ is one I’d be using a lot over the next few days, only the Ubers and restaurants seemed to provide good value for money.
Eight hours later, I took another Uber back to the hotel in Downtown San Jose and went to explore the fabulous ‘Christmas in the Park’, a Christmas event and display which was in the town square across the street. Some of these displays and exhibits were exquisite in detail and it was clear that a lot of work and man-hours went into making them. See the gallery below and judge for yourself. Then it was off for dinner at a lovely Mexican restaurant in San Pedro Square and it was time for a jet lag-affected sleep.
The next day, Thursday, turned out to be a rather more exciting day than I’d originally anticipated, I was supposed to be collecting the car I’d booked, a Ford Mustang convertible (the diet version, not the full-fat 500bhp model) from the nearby airport branch of the Hertz car rental company first thing in the morning.
I arrived at the Hertz check-in desk at 8 am prompt and asked (as I usually do) what other interesting cars they had available. I was stunned when the helpful lady at the desk confirmed via radio that they had a Hertz 100th Anniversary Edition Corvette Z06 on the premises! You can imagine what happened next, but it involved a lot of haranguing, pleading, threatening and negotiating, and after 45 mins of this, the manager admitted defeat and gave me the Z06 for only $330 more than the run-of-the-mill Ford Mustang I had booked!
Result!
The Hertz 100th Anniversary Edition Corvette Z06
You cannot imagine the sense of satisfaction I had as I nosed the Corvette out of the Hertz parking lot. The attendant at the exit gates said to me as he checked me and the car out: “You realise there are only 100 of these cars in existence? Maaaan! You are lucky“. “I know”, was my simple response as I blasted out of the car park. I started to get familiar with the car in the short 6-mile drive to Silicon Valley, where it stood out like a sore thumb in the office car park and elicited very strong reactions from all those who saw it.
The Corvette is a much-loved American icon for sure. I’d have felt a bit self-conscious driving such a car in ‘BumbleBee’ colours in reserved, dour Britain, but not here. It was clear that the car was the star.
I was asked several times: “Which Corvette is it? I’ve never seen one like that”. So I’d have to explain all over again that it is a specially-built Corvette Z06 to celebrate Hertz’ 100th Anniversary and that it will be around for months only before they all disappear into private collections and appreciate in value.
Work over for the day, it was time to drive the 30-odd miles to the Livermore Premium Outlet, via motorway and some challenging roads I’d found. It would give me a chance to begin to understand this car on several different types of road. The car did not disappoint and contrary to my expectations proved itself to be an acceptable, if not the most comfortable motorway cruiser. It handled the legendary California traffic jams with ease and I arrived at my destination after an hour-and-a-half as fresh as I could have hoped.
It passed its first test with aplomb.
After a disappointing hour of shopping (or should that be a prudent hour?) and dinner, it was time to head back to San Jose, only this time, the traffic jams had cleared and I could begin to stretch the cars legs. And I had lots of V8-powered company who were all too willing to encourage the enthusiastic use of the loud pedal. Chevy Camaros, Dodge Challengers and all manner of souped-up
Friday
Friday was a repeat of the previous day: Wake up at an ungodly hour because of the jet lag, gym, get dressed, eat expensive hotel breakfast, drive the short distance to work, answer 100 million questions about the car, do some work while frequently interrupting work to show colleagues the car. Work done, I headed to a different Premium Outlet, the Gilroy Premium Outlet in Gilroy, 30 miles southeast of San Jose. This time though, I’d be stopping at the fabulous Gilroy Golf course and sampling some of the roads around it.
I’m cutting short Friday’s events because I want to get to the reason I was so happy to come to California: Saturday’s drive to the Big Sur.
Saturday. To the Big Sur.
I could hardly wait to wake up, get dressed and have my customary expensive hotel breakfast and head out to the Big Sur. You see, this drive has been on my bucket list for years, to drive the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in southern California to the Big Sur via Santa Cruz, Monterey and Carmel.
The Big Sur is a rugged stretch of California’s central coast between Carmel and San Simeon. The Santa Lucia Mountains is on the east and the Pacific Ocean is on the west. You get there using a narrow, 2-lane State Route 1, known for winding turns, seaside cliffs and views of the often-misty coastline. I’d heard of the magnificent coastal views along the route, the stunning mountainous terrain, the beaches and beachcombing, wildlife and state parks. The fact it was also sparsely populated and I’d be going in the off-season were also p
So, just a little after 7 am I set the car’s sat-nav for Santa Cruz and guided the powerful Corvette onto the deserted CA-17. This 2-lane highway was a road worth driving on its own, a winding and twisting road with massive elevation changes, sometimes the big elevation changes came in the middle of a complex of corners making it a very challenging road to drive quickly.
My appetite for speed was somewhat dulled when I saw a sign saying “Speed Limits enforced by aircraft”. What the? I spent the rest of the drive to Santa Cruz scouring the sky for police planes but did not spot any.
Boring!
I reached Santa Cruz then took the CA-1 to Monterey to continue my journey south to the Big Sur.
Nicely narrated and well written.
Couldn’t stop laughing at the typical Yank overkill; “Speed Limits enforced by aircraft”! Looool.
The line that really got me though was; “I could leave the car in 3rd gear for the many corners and switchbacks…” Only a true petrol-head will understand that one. I literally was in the car.
Nice one!
Thanks Bro. I could just do that, it had so much torque everywhere, and, unlike the GT3, you do not have to rev it or constantly change gears to find speed.
“America is still in love with the V8, thank goodness for that.”
This made me chuckle! Unlike our penny pinching, tree hugging, emissions obsessed eurocrats here.
And good on them too!
hehehehhe….I stood outside the hotel in San Jose every night just to hear the rumble of the V8’s as they passed.
Well written, nice photos especially the night shots. I thought there was video footage of the drive through the hills
Thanks! There is video footage and I’ll be releasing it soon 🙂
Akin you are a wordsmith. I was on that ride with you, the quickening pulse, the sweaty palm and the silly grin. Thank you
My guy! Thank you.
Nice read, thanks for taking us through a truly amazing journey, top car for me.
Thanks Bro. Definitely a top car
I think this is the best of all your articles that I have read. The narrative made it very easy to read, and kept it interesting.
I could not stop laughing at “this car needed a totally different driving technique to the almighty Porsche. Brake in a straight line, ‘square’ the corner off as much as possible and then bludgeon the following straight with its prodigious power”. Like you had to make a significant correction to your driving! That must have been tricky?
The other impressive thing was the car breaking traction at up to 4th gear?!!?! Impressive. Very impressive.
Thanks, Tobi:) yes, I had to change my usual driving technique to get the most out of the car. It has a totally different philosophy to what I’m used to driving so I had to adjust to suit. It would not have been a fair assessment if I had used an unsuitable driving style.
Good writing Akin!
Thanks Patrick!
That was quite a read and sounded like an awesome experience, I can’t believe a road can be patrolled by aircrafts incredible. Lovely car Moreso having seen one in flesh, the pictures don’t do the car justice despite the awesome pics you took. A true beast to bebold visually. Thanks for sharing your experience???
Like it. 🙂
Thanks