Forget the vineyards. We know of a better way to spend a day in Sonoma. Like driving Audi R8s at Infineon Raceway at the Audi Sportscar Experience.

For years, Mercedes-Benz housed its impressive collection in a modest complex adjacent to the company’s Stuttgart headquarters, but an entirely new museum opened in May of 2006. Since then the modern, nine-story concrete and glass temple to the automobile has welcomed a couple million visitors.

We travelled to the hills of western North Carolina to learn to drive Land Rovers in their natural environment — mud, rocks and belly-high water.

For years the Porsche museum was a simple, one-room hall on a side street just outside the factory grounds. An entirely new museum opened in January of 2009, and on a recent trip to Germany we went on a religious pilgrimage and visited the new place for ourselves.

Comprised of the Monterey Historic Races, Concorso Italiano, the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, and numerous auctions and small private engagements, the three-day-plus Monterey Classic Car Weekend is a living history museum of automotive culture, design and speed, and it's an event every car enthusiast should experience at least once in his life.