Good video here. Laurel Canyon (and its eponymous boulevard) is mythical and mystical enough, but when you realize that you get to cross, southbound, three other iconic La-La Land thoroughfares — Ventura Blvd. (at the 2:38 mark), Mulholland Dr. (3:14) and Sunset Blvd. (4:32) — well, hey…
Also, the summit is at Mulholland: down north, you reach Ventura, down south, you get to Sunset. As well, it is a good thrill at night to go up in either direction while driving a manual transmission. There is a spot southbound about a mile from Mulholland where it is quite an experience to downshift from fifth gear to third to maintain velocity, nae, rather to accelerate around a gentle bend. It’s a little like in that motion picture The Graduate where Benjamin and Elaine are zipping down Sunset in the Alfa-Romeo while the transmission (and its foreign clutch!) is engaged and disengaged with consummate ease. Not quite, but nearly as fun!
Fleet Frontrunners
Aqueduct 4
Chas. Town 2, 7
Reliable Ralliers
Gulf 7, 9
Favorable Faves*
Delta 3, 9
Gulf 4
PennNat 1
*-morning-line faves only; break to a nickel in the event of a dead heat
Freakazoid Factories
Aqueduct 5, 8
Gulf 9
YESTERDAY’s Fine Finishes‡
Chas. Town 5, 8
Gulf 8
Tampa 10
‡-High-Octane Chancers doin’ it exclusively with All-In-One V6 and its LifeLiner Speed Column analysis and LifeLiner Spread Column analysis, without regard to operational definitions of faves or freakazoids; thank you!
Since we haven’t said it in a while, drive safely!
