HemiSam

Just back from Aruba...lovely and easy trip. Really like that the flights are direct and you clear U.S. Customs in Aruba so it's a domestic flight back. The week there was great with the Rolex OP. Took it off for bed and that's about it. A fresh water rinse after ocean duty...that's all. On that note, my Maui Jim sunglasses were also perfect for a laid back holiday...effective, high quality and low maintenance. Tool shades...LOL. I ordered the following several months back as a fun watch. My older boy wore it the entire time in Aruba and fell in love. I very much like the quick change beads of rice bracelet. Very comfortable rubber strap as well. Overall, nice build quality for the money. As a pre-order, it came with the second strap at no charge if memory serves me. Love the size and the blue rubber strap. The retro lumen is growing on me, but it won't be for everyone. Maybe I'll get to wear it one day... HS

I hear you, but I find it jenky the way they go about things...which have varied over the years. Successful without a doubt and impeccable craftsmanship, but at times it feels like they could care less about what the consumer would like. HS

I agree. Rolex's business model is impressive in some regards, and obtuse in others. Baffling why not empower the customer while charging for it. HS

Watch looks very nice, Dave. Wore my OP all day in beach and sand. Can't speak enough to how comfortable it wears with the oyster bracelet and how comfortable I felt taking into the sea knowing it was going to be perfectly fine under water. Love this watch for all its simplicity, elegance and simple form / function. It's just a great all a-rounder. HS

I'm being baited...LOL! It'll be interesting to see if there's any impact on the 2016's. With the Porsche market being what it is now I doubt it. Stunning cars...2016 and the 2020's will also be fantastic. The sport buckets are great for a track car. Less so IMO for a dual use. Only other minor whine is the car does sit low. Again...great for a track car. Houston would chew it up something awful...rough roads. I'm in lust... I need another garage. HS

I see, Dave. As long as you’re comfortable using the watch for you billiards fun I certainly don’t see any harm in it. I use my OP as it is meant to be used. I tend to treat the Omega a bit more gently, especially given the alligator strap. Beautiful winder. I have one but don’t use it much. Wolf brand in a Rolex green. HS

I've got a chubby.... Yummy Aston! I guess there's no point in posting the 4-banger I drove yesterday...LOL HS

Great looking watch, Dave. Apologies for the poor recall. Which watch are you using for the cue (Grand Seiko I think)? HS

HS

I agree. Deployant buckles are much nicer and should be the standard at a certain price point. HS

Yesterday was a fun one despite the heat here in TX. A friend invited me to go to the track with him for open test and tune. He's a member at MSR south of Houston. Nice facility where I've run before...over 2 miles and between 15-20 turns....some slow and some quite fast. Can be run clockwise or counter and they were running clockwise. After the rains there was a lot of water off track, but the track had dried nicely before any runs. 30 minutes for cars and 30 minutes for bikes. Good open track program. He first took us out in his 2016 Porsche Cayman GT4 sporting Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s. Stick shift car. Naturally aspirated six cylinder. What a great drive. He pushed it but not overly hard as the car is just too darn nice to go off track with when there's standing water. Super balanced and I'd have to give the rubber a thumbs up for a street legal tire. Perhaps not the best tire, but very solid. All the nannies were shut off and the car is about as low tech as you can get. Great feedback from the road and damn was it balanced. Great power, braking, etc... What impressed me the most was how forgiving it is of road nasties while still providing great feedback. Super impressed. Sits a bit low to drive around town IMO so I'd be leary of using it as a daily or taking it up a steep driveway / curb. The MX-5 Cup car was what we really came to have fun in. This one has a couple of years on it so it's not the brand new upgraded motor, but it's a fun little ride and a true road car. This one we pushed hard, especially when a friend that had just blown a motor and replaced it with the new one came on the track for a challenge. Great fun! It's only a matter of time and money, right....LOL HS

Cool watch the MkII. I like some of the older stuff of this flavor. Only thing is it is a fairly large case. HS

I like the B&R's, but they are WAY to big for me. It's the square dimensions one needs to account for so seeing it in the metal is critical. I'd love to have a Tag Monaco, but it'd have to be an older one or the new retro one coming out...and even then it's a bit on the large side for my wrist. The Zenith is interesting. Looks nice with either the rubber strap or stainless. There's a lot going on in the face so keeping it simple for some balance would be my only suggestion. HS

Oh no....major loss!!!! Godspeed Dr.... HS

I've been wearing my Speedy a good bit since the alligator strap upgrade. Really pleased with that upgrade. HS

And they can drive. Very cool, Hop! Thanks for sharing. I received an invite from a friend today to join him on the road course this coming Saturday. If weather holds, he'll have a Cayman GT4 he'll drive there and back home. Offered it up to me for a test drive (off track...which is the only way I would take advantage of such a generous offer). I might get lucky... If so I'll post some pics. vroom vroom... HS

As much as I love the look of the Audi's, and pretty spectacular transmissions, I'm not big on the electronics' reliability. No used Audis for this camper. HS

Yesterday was a good day despite too much work stuff nagging. Managed to blow off some steam driving my car, other's Germanic offerings and then hit a pool shindig for college like antics...feeling it a bit this morning...LOL Anyhoo, I managed to find a 2012 Carrera with a stick not too far off. 40 some odd thousand on the odometer. Not much luck locating a Carrera S like I was hoping to anywhere reputable so I took what I could get. The young salesman and I went for a spin. The manager I had spoken with departed as I arrived, so me and my young victim got in it as much as the car was willing to part with. Very much a naturally aspirated power delivery from a 3.4L six cylinder and, hopefully without insulting anyone, it was a bit dull for me. It felt slow. Handled fine...pretty nicely, but just didn't move me. Manager gets back and walks up to me....big man. Shakes my hand and asks if that's my Demon in the lot...yes, sir. Tells me he just bought a Challenger Hellcat and loves it. Compliments the Demon and tells me, this is your playground. Make yourself at home and tell me if my team doesn't take good care of you. Thank you... So out come the keys to a 2018 Cayman GTS that's sitting there when I pull up in the 911. I hadn't considered one, but that's what this journey is about so off we go.... This is MUCH better. Lovely engine sounds in the cabin...the mid-engined turbocharged four banger sounds much better than I would have thought. I'm not accustomed to four cylinders and did not expect so much from a 2.5L motor. The car handled really nicely....very much closer to what I'm searching for, I think. Lots of good feedback, the option to dial it into S mode and S Plus mode with a dial on the steering wheel makes it peppier. I have always pictured in my mind's eye the 911 as THE Porsche...it being so iconic and a good bit of what I've seen and loved over the years. This Cayman has me thinking... HS

Wow...that vid flashes me back. RIP, Leon. RIP, Roky and Mssr's Daryoush and Gell-Mann... HS

MD, Appreciate all the input. I've had my nose buried deep in going straight a long while. I'd occasionally read MotorTrend article on a Porsche, Ferrari, BMW, etc... but not that much. I also read a lot about fast SUV's as I've grown fond of something with some height and size for my daily. Something has been missing, though, and I think it's rowing the gears. Fast but friendly...for example the sport buckets in the Carrera T are great for a track car but not one for going out for a spin on the weekend, etc... So no DCT for this camper...yet. I've been reading and the new motor and the M2's Competition designation came in 2019. It's the motor and carbon fibre cross brace from the M4 amongst some other bits. The M2 pictured here and the only one I've driven is a 2018. Interestingly, no change in times to speak of between the two motors despite a not insubstantial increase in power. Also, despite the size difference between the M4 and the M2, the weights and times don't reflect it so much. Also, the M2 is taller...go figure. Driving the 911's did me wrong in the head...really nice. Would like to see if I can find a 2008 - 2012 for a test drive.... HS

Fun....nice recommendation, MD! Peppy...good power to weight. More tossable than the M4 IMO. Very easy to drive...the rev matching on shifts is spoon feeding which isn't all bad. A bit snug but not terrible. The M4 is definitely more comfortable. Interestingly, they both weigh about the same so times are not as different as one would think. Felt surprisingly planted and tracked very straight for a smallish vehicle. Nowhere near the road feel of the Porsche, but that's not surprising to me or most enthusiasts I expect. I need some seat time with a 911 with some years on it and a more comparable price point to get more context. vroom vroom... HS

MD, I have not. That could be a good call. I had it in my head it would likely be too smallish for my tastes hence the M4, but after driving a couple of 911’s yesterday, I’m more open minded. I didn’t post a pic, but I drove a new 2018 Carrera S that they had on the lot with comfy sport seats...pretty much fully loaded but a PDK transmission. That was fun. That transmission will make most any driver better than they are. Fun car. Just don’t think I need another automatic. HS

Fun... The "bucket" seats, although wrapped in a nice alcantara, were a bit much. Think bucket stuck to arse in and ingress and egress requires olympic technique...LOL. Good for a track car. The door release is basically seat belt material for weight savings. Otherwise, pretty bad ass. HS

LOL. I'm not that big a guy. It's a comfort thing. It'll either work for me or it won't, but I'm used to going fast in something that has room in it. We'll see how it goes. There's a lot to like in a 911 aesthetically and performance wise. Pricing...gotten a bit frothy especially given how many were produced. TBD for me... HS

I was surprised how much I liked the newer bezel. Darker / deeper colors made it more approachable for my taste. Different strokes... HS