Going all-in on some hot wheels

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This article was published 04/08/2016 (3539 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Just by looking at him, you might not take Glen Buhler for someone with a need for speed.

But when a high-performance driving-experience event he was promoting was falling off the rails, the young information technology executive did what any speed demon would want to do, he went out and bought the cars himself — an Audi R8 and a Porsche 911 — for close to $300,000.

The founder of the two-year-old Manitoba Executive Group had been planning the event for his members for more than a year.

As it got down to the last few weeks, the German automobile manufacturer he was partnering with came up with some conditions that would have meant only a fraction of the 400 people on the waiting list would be able to participate.

Buhler said he was wracking his brain trying to figure out how he could still pull it off.

“I was out camping with my family, and I woke up at four in the morning in the tent and said to myself, ‘I’ve got it! I’ll just buy the cars myself.’

“Then I went back to sleep, and when I woke up I figured it must have been a dream because it’s a little too crazy.”

But Buhler, whose day job is with Oxygen Technical Services, is a known go-getter, and that’s exactly what he did.

“We had a waiting list of over 400 people for this event,” he said.

“So as you can imagine, I was feeling a little bit of stress, finding out this event we had hyped up for nearly a year was to be cancelled with just two weeks to go.”

Buhler’s baby, the Manitoba Executive Group, is a high-end business networking group that puts on unique and fun events for its members. After only a couple of years, he’s got 1,800 members and a full-time staff and is about to launch another chapter in Saskatoon.

He soon realized even if you have the cash, you can’t just head out to Pointe West Autopark to buy an Audi R8 and a Porsche 911.

He researched the cars, called around to dealerships and then flew to Toronto and bought the Audi and drove it back a couple of weeks ago, while a colleague flew to Edmonton for the Porsche and drove it back.

When it came to paying for the cars, Buhler figured he’d be able to finance them like everybody else who finances their car purchases.

“But I’m afraid I was a little too honest with people about why I wanted to buy the cars, and I couldn’t get financing, so I had to go to the bank of Glen.”

Don’t even get him started about insurance for the event, which will cost about $1,500 per day.

Now he’s got 250 people lined up — at $189 each — to drive on a course at the Assiniboia Downs parking lot Thursday to Saturday.

He’s hoping to be able to do another event later this month or early September for those on the waiting list who he can’t fit in.

Jim Mydonick, owner of Intercity Autobody on Jarvis Street just off Main Street, is a member of the executive group and knows a thing or two about cars. He’s looking forward to getting a chance to get behind the wheel of one of these dream cars.

“I don’t know the style of the course, but the thing that is attractive for me is to get in any car — my own car included — and rip around for a while and not have to worry about getting pulled over by the cops,” Mydonick said. “That’s a good thing.”

Buhler said the track is designed so drivers — who’ll get some safety and driving instruction from experienced racers — will be able to get up to speeds of 150 km/h to 170 km/h.

Grant White, owner of the CGW Family Wealth Management Group, is also a member of the executive group who’s looking forward to getting behind the wheel of a fancy car and driving fast.

“I’ve gone out and test-driven cars before, but never in an organized event,” he said.

“I’m pretty excited.”

He was aware of the lengths to which Buhler went to pull it off.

“It’s pretty wild,” he said of Buhler’s commitment.

White is not surprised because he’s attended other MEG events, including a private open house at a Maric Homes show home complete with a golf simulator and golf pro in attendance.

The Manitoba Executive Group has held events including a day in which members all appeared as extras in the television show Wind City and a private screening of the last James Bond movie.

“I’ve joined a few of these groups, but I refer to them as business-card dispensers because that’s all you really get out of them,” said White.

“But Glen has done a good job of finding a collection of like-minded people. He’s a hustler.”

As for what to do with the cars after this week, Buhler has already got them booked for weddings and private rentals.

“But I’m already a little nervous about that because I won’t be there with the cars,” he said.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca