Toronto St. Patrick's Day Parade 2012

Toronto held its 25th annual St. Patrick's Day Parade on Sunday in the record heat, under clear blue skies, drawing approximately 300,000 cheering spectators.

I'm not sure how the decision came to be, but sitting in the staging area with seven other DeLoreans, my buddy Ken told me I was lead car. "We're saving the gold one until the end," he said. "It'll be the pot o' gold!"

And so, sometime after noon, I rolled forward out of the St. George Street staging area and onto Bloor with a pack of DeLoreans behind me. "DeLoreans! Attack formation!" I yelled. The sun glinted off our stainless panels and the crowds stared in awe. They took photos, video, and cheered. As we cruised by, doors up like a flock of metal seagulls, they asked questions, ran along side us, and even jumped inside for a quick photo.

We were happy to oblige. We were mini celebrities without the drawbacks! No expensive security, no bulletproof glass, just the friendliest bunch of proud Irish folk and wannabees smiling & waving.

Yonge is downhill, and we enjoyed the chance to coast in neutral. Rounding the corner onto Queen my clutch leg was aching. As I approached the review stand and saluting officers, I realized the end of the BEST day was at hand. That's when a City TV news crew saw me.

Peter Kim did a take as I rolled alongside him. He didn't like it and attempted another. He then asked if he could sit in the car. He hopped in, we talked for a quick second and they did another couple of takes. He interviewed me very briefly, thanked me and exited the car. The interview was cut (hopefully not because of my supreme retardation), but the rest of the clip made the 6 p.m. newscast! You can view it here.

What a way to make my parade debut!

Made In Ireland

When someone says Ireland to you, what comes to mind? Triple Distilled Irish whiskey? Sure. Four-leaf clovers? Sure. Bare-knuckle boxing? Maybe. But what about cars?

One of the most loved, well-known cars on the planet was lovingly built in Ireland. Think about that for a second. The United States is famous for open roads and the Mustang. Germany's got the Autobahn and BMW. Italy's busting at the seams with all manner of supercar like Ferrari and Lamborghini.

And Ireland has the DeLorean.

2012 will see Toronto's 25th St. Patrick's Day parade and if the weather holds there will be 10 gorgeous stainless steel cars smack in the middle. We'll be cruising, doors up, in front of the 300,000 spectators.

In preparation for the parade, I have begun construction of the banner that will adorn my windshield. I purchased green and white Bristol board (sorry! English, I know) at the Dollar store for 50 cents. The lettering I'm cutting will spell out: MADE IN IRELAND. And if that doesn't attract enough attention, I've also acquired a jaunty little green top hat to add some flair to my dull personality.

So if I've disrespected you with my rotten rants and half-witted insults and you'd like to fight it out like an Irishman, I'll be cruising down Yonge St. Sunday, March 11. In fact, here's the parade route, so you can thoroughly plan your attack. After you beat the snot out of me, just do me a favour and buy me a Redbreast 12 and I'm sure we'll be fast friends.

St. Patty's Day 2007

It's March 19, 2007.
With the second anniversary of John DeLorean's passing, I imagine things get a little easier for his family. I also wonder how the Irish feel.

Ireland is rather unique mostly because of its history. Around here you don’t have to look far to find at least one person who claims to love the land of Leprechauns, the birthplace of U2 and of the DeLorean DMC-12.

This St. Patty’s day, Suz and I went out for dinner with our friends Ottobot and K. We decided to go to the pub early as we knew it would be bursting at the seams come 8 p.m.

We made a mistake.

Six-thirty, with the sun shining, wasn’t nearly early enough. As we entered, we joined the groups of green-beer-craving University students who were already waiting for a place to drink.

As the table next to us departed, we took the opportunity to sneak in ahead of the others who waited deeper inside. When the waitress asked for our orders, I specifically asked if she could dye my gin & tonic green.

"Anything that’s clear." came the shout over the raucus. I gave her a big thumbs up and told her to totally go for it. A few minutes later the green dye was staining our stomach linings.

I never usually go out for St. Patrick’s Day, but this night I found myself remembering the little rubber Leprechaun accessory that the previous owner sent along with my DeLorean. "The Luck o’ the Irish" it stated.

Coincidentally, or not, the next day Suz got a call from someone at the DeLorean Owner’s Association asking if we’d be attending the Las Vegas event. The Red Rock Resort & Casino agreed to provide a special room rate of $229/night for Association members, which includes the hotel’s resort fee. Tickets to the event are $225 per member, and $325 for non-member and tickets are available at www.deloreanstore.com

The best part about it, by far, is the morning rallye across the Hoover Dam, where a professional will photograph the line of lucky drivers.

Unfortunately it’s going to be tough to get time off work to go, and it’s also a pretty expensive 3-day event. If we’re going to come up with the money before the end of March (the price jumps up April 1) I think we’re going to need the Luck o’ the Irish.