Viva, etc.

After a rather tedious scheduling snafu, I checked into the fabulous (though curiously remote)Red Rock Hotel and Casino. The interior reminded me of the W Union Square Hotel in Manhattan but the view was all Vegas, baby.

As a guest of a major tire manufacturer, I paid for absolutely nothing. Not the three night stay in a posh hotel, not the extravagant meals, not the excursions and activities. Automotive Journalism is not a career choice for those would seek to become wealthy. The perks, however, can be the awesome.

Take, for example, the driving school. I took a BMW 5-Series as fast as humanly possible around the Las Vegas Speedway, and have a telemetry flash drive thingy to prove it. The Subaru WRX I took on the "dry" autocross course took a severe beating and my pride took one of its own when I veered off-course at 90mph and skidded my way back to start. The "wet" autocross course featured BMW 328i and this tire manufacturer's latest high performance tire. Was the car fun to drive? Check. Did I kick ass on the wet slalom? You betcha. Is there a noticeable difference in tires? Extremely yes.

The weekend concluded with a scenic, high-speed drive through Red Rock Canyon. Audi A4 Quattro rules, by the way. I literally had no clue I was pulling 100mph through that desert. My co-pilot, pissing himself, was monitoring my speed (he couldn't tell without watching the speedometer). Incredible scenery, lovely drive, and the car will be mine.

Swag-o-rama is the name of the game at SEMA. If you are buying your own meals and drinks, you aren't paying attention. I'm working on my assignment, plus gathering info for future stories and generally just having a blast. I was two people away from driving the Lexus IS-9 in a dyno acceleration test (so right up my alley)and had to scoot out of line to make another appointment. Was skedded to take some Lexus cars out on a small road track set up outside the Convention Center but, after the fabulous weekend at Las Vegas Speedway, all I could say was, "meh."

Up tonight is a party in honor of Hot Wheels 40th anniversary and a free dinner at Smith & Wollensky's.

It's good to be the auto journo.

More tomorrow, nobody reading my blog!