Volume 47 - Vol 6 | December 2025

Rusty and wife Michele at Mercedes Club Murder Mystery Dinner in November.

View Through The Star

by Rusty Duncan, President

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and enjoyed time with family and friends. As we close out the year, I’m looking forward to seeing many of you at our Annual Holiday Luncheon at Osteria Mattone on Canton Street on Saturday, December 13th.

This is always one of our most enjoyable gatherings of the year—and the food is fantastic. (Thank you Ernie Smallman for planning!) Please remember to bring a new, unwrapped toy as we continue our tradition of supporting Toys for Tots. And don’t forget: you must sign up online to attend. Space is limited each year, and we’d love to see a great turnout.

As always, I want to extend an open invitation:

If you’ve ever considered getting more involved - whether as an event planner, a judge, a volunteer, or just an extra pair of hands - we would love to have you. This club thrives because of the people who step forward to help, and I can personally say that some of my closest friendships have come through MBCA Peachtree. I’m certain you will experience the same.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our recent Murder Mystery Dinner and especially Marisa HeGyesi who planned it. We had a thrilling evening of intrigue, laughter and camaraderie - I was assigned the role of “Professor Phineas Purple” along with Diana Quinn who played the murderous “Cherry Bomb.” It’s events like these that remind us what a fun, welcoming community the Mercedes Benz Club of America - Peachtree Section really is. I have more to thank, but you will need to come to the holiday luncheon to hear about that.

As 2025 comes to a close, I hope you and your families enjoy a terrific holiday season filled with joy, good health, and happiness. We’re already planning an exciting 2026 calendar full of adventures both on and off the road, and we look forward to sharing the journey with you. Here’s to new memories—and new friends—we will meet along the way.

See you soon.

Member Spotlight
Ernest "Ernie" Smallman III

by Marisa Hegyesi

Ernie is originally from McMinnville, Tennessee. He is 81 and for the last eight years has had a lovely significant other, Patricia Duer. Ernie has two sons: Ernest IV (age 53) and William (age 47).

Having qualified for an ROTC scholarship, he obtained a BA in Economics from Vanderbilt University. Later, he utilized the GI Bill and received an LLB (Bachelor of Law) from Tulane University.

Ernie’s first job in high school was a newspaper route. Then, Ernie served twenty years in the Army, including a tour as an Infantry Platoon Leader with the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam (“The Big Red One”). (Thank you for your service!) The money he saved while in Vietnam was utilized to purchase his first Mercedes - the SL 350. Read More

December

12/7 | STARS and Coffee | register | map

12/13 | Peachtree Holiday Luncheon | register | map

2026 EVENTS PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE

1/3 | STARS and Coffee | register | map

3/14 | German Shepard Rescue Fundraiser/

4/11 | McDaniel Techenor House Tour - Monroe GA

5/16 | Mountain Drive

6/7 - 6/8 | Alabama Drive, Dinner and Performance Driving Talladega Grand Prix Raceway

by Reijo Haarla, Membership Director

Peachtree Chapter is one of the most active chapters within the Mercedes-Benz Club of America. We organize a large variety of events members can participate. In addition to this year’s activity, Peachtree Chapter has already planned a full schedule of events for the next year. These include our monthly STARS & Coffee car shows, Mountain Drives, tech sessions, social gathering and many more events.

We still have a couple of events scheduled for the remaining of the year; the STARS & Coffee at Halcyon and the Peachtree Holiday luncheon. Please check the event calendar in this Newsletter and register to attend for an upcoming event. Attending club events is the best way to meet fellow members who share your passion for Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

Membership Renewal Made Easy!

When it is time to renew your membership, you have several convenient options:

You can do it online by logging into the MBCA website at mbca.org and renewing from your membership profile, or just simply proceed your renewal from the MBCA reminder email.
You can call the MBCA National Business Office at 719.633.6427, Monday through Friday 9 am to 5 pm MST, to renew your membership over the phone.
Mail a check to the MBCA National Business Office: 3472 Research Pkwy Ste 104 PMB 464 Colorado Springs, CO 80920

To ensure your membership stays active, simply select Yes to the Auto-Renew option during renewal.

MBCA Anniversaries

35 Years
Karl Boegner

Tom Durr

Bryce Johnson

30 Years
Robert Bingham Roy

Steve Chapman

Noel Francis

25 Years
Allen Farlow

Lloyd Parker

James Roberts

20 Years
Carl Frasher

James Miller

Bryan Shaver

15 Years

Jack Fishman

Henry Krebs

Kenneth Sabo

Pierce Williams

10 Years
Maurice Linares

Joe Martin

Richard Neary

David Parker

TJ Sharitz

5 Years
Beverly Bell

Grant Cleaveland

Eldon Collier

Mike Dougherty

Douglas Forrester

Keith Hawkins

Stuart Jackson

Nelson Loh

Chris Seastrom

Robert Sutter

Demian Torres-Bohl

Idler Arm Bushing Replacement

by Gary Edwards, Technical Advisor

Replacing the idler arm bushing is mostly straightforward job with some potential complications. This applies to many Mercedes; any of the Mercedes that do not have rack and pinion steering have an idler arm and its bushings are a wear item. Mercedes started using rack and pinion steering with the 210 chassis in 1995, so just about all older Mercedes have an idler arm, up to the 124, 129, 140, and 202/208.

With the recirculating ball steering on most older Mercedes, the steering gear box is on the driver’s side of the car and provides its inputs to the steering linkage with a link called a pitman arm. This is connected to the left tie rod directly (for a left-hand drive car), but it’s a long way from the right tie rod, so an arm called the drag link connects to the pitman arm and goes horizontally across the car. To ensure that the linkage is symmetrical and that the input to the right tie rod is the same as the input to the left tie rod, an arm kinematically identical to the pitman arm is positioned on the passenger side of the car. This arm is called the idler arm, and it is hinged to the chassis with a large bolt which has upper and lower bushings. When these bushings get worn, there is play in the steering linkage.

by Ernie Smallman, Event Planner

Join us for a festive Holiday Luncheon at Osteria Mattone, a charming trattoria on Canton Street in Roswell known for its award-winning Italian cuisine and exceptional wine list.

We’ll enjoy a family-style feast featuring arancini, fresh salads, classic pastas, grilled chicken, Neapolitan meatballs, and seasonal vegetables — all for just $45 per person (tax and gratuity included, thanks to a club subsidy!).

Accolades of Osteria Mattone include:

Added to DIRONA (Distinguished Restaurants of North America) in 2025.
Vote best Italian Restaurant in the metro area by many publications and magazines
Awarded by Wine Spectator the “wine list of distinction” designation each of the thirteen years that the restaurant has been open.
Selected to participate as a visiting invited chef at the James Beard House in New York City, preparing multi-course meals for dining guests and reviewers.
Distinguished as an “Outstanding Restaurant” each of the last thirteen years by Open Table.

Valet parking will be available. Space is limited, so register by December 8, 2025. And don’t forget to bring an unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots to help spread holiday cheer.

Holiday Luncheon

CONCOURS 2025

Show Class

Sam Kamber
First Place

Otto Goglin
Second Place

Austin Hoffer
Third Place

Sedan Class

Steve Hegyesi
First Place

Otto Goglin
Second Place

Austin Hoffer
Third Place

SL Class

Karen Myers
First Place

Bob Best
Second Place

Jill Gilmer
Third Place

Custom Class

Phillip George
First Place

Show and Shine Class

Diana Quinn
First Place

Richard Mabie
Second Place

Alan Sinram
Third Place

MURDER MYSTERY DINNER

November 15, 2025

EXTRA - EXTRA - READ ALL ABOUT IT! Two murders occurred at the Murder Mystery Dinner last night. Our very own Rusty Duncan played the role of Professor Phineas Purple. Professor Purple was a highly intelligent novelist, or so you thought until you found out his novel was being ghost written by a Starlet who was shot in her apartment. The Professor was also upset about his novel being made into a movie, but he agreed to the "Cha ching" ($).

Then the movie's financier was poisoned. But who knew about the poison - the butler, the dead financier, the Professor, the maid Oola La, and Cherry Bomb. Cherry Bomb, from Columbus, Ohio, had come to Hollywood to learn from her mentor Starlet and get a role in the movie. Cherry Bomb was played by our very own Diana Quinn!

One person killed both individuals. Who was it? Well, Oola La was really an undercover FBI agent investigating the host Warren Peace. She figured out the murderer was CHERRY BOMB!

Cherry found out her role was being stolen by the Starlet who was sleeping with the financier. She had a motive and had access by being the understudy. Crime solved!

"Cherry Bomb" aka Diana Quinn"

"Best Dressed" table of Gangsters.

Mercedes-Benz USA Awarded for Impactful Child Injury Prevention Efforts

October 20, 2025

Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) received the Safe Kids Champion for Children Award at The Safe Kids Worldwide Childhood Injury Prevention Convention (PrevCon). This award recognizes an individual, business, government agency, or organization that has made a significant impact in the field of child injury prevention. Vehicle safety has been a cornerstone of Mercedes-Benz since its inception, and MBUSA has carried this legacy forward into meaningful community initiatives — efforts that are proudly reflected in this prestigious recognition.