Curse of a Speeder

To my friends and family, it is no secret that I like to drive fast occasionally. Some people say I have a problem, others say it is just a side effect of being young, but I see it as a way to forget about the annoyances of everyday life. Every day we are constantly bombarded by the media about horrific events happening around the world, flooded in a tsunami of ignorance on social media by people who are masters at spraying hate and fertilizer out of their mouths, and that’s just checking your phone in the morning. Life is hard, but it is simple, its people that make it complicated. In order to keep one’s sanity, one has to find a way to get away from it all – even if it is just for a few minutes each day.

I confess that I am a speeder, although I do not drive like a madman. Like most people with my, “problem”, I do enjoy painting asphalt with rubber, going sideways, and reaching top end speeds when the conditions are right. The problem with this relaxation technique is that police officers do not find it very amusing and love showing their disapproval in the form of traffic tickets. I could fill a glove box, and I have, with the number of citations, warnings, and court receipts I’ve collected over the years. I am here to talk about the struggle of being a driver with an exuberant driving style.

At this point, some of you might be thinking that I am just an obnoxious punk whose only problem is being too stubborn to slow down and letting his ego fool him into thinking he’s the next Richard Petty. Before you unleash your judgement upon me, please let me point out that I know I am not a professional driver and I know that I can be as stubborn and rebellious as a teenaged mule. However, I do need to point out that because I have a passion for driving and car control, I do feel that I am at least more qualified than the average driver. I’m certainly safer than someone who’s bad habits behind the wheel consist of applying makeup, checking their Twitter feed, or sending Snap Chat videos of them looking into a camera while their favorite song plays on the radio. Those are only a handful of bad habits that I witness on a daily bases when I’m traveling on the Interstates.

When I say I have a passion for driving I mean I love it! To me, driving is a skill that is fun and challenging. Most people can safely drive a car from A to B and not give it a second thought for the rest of the day, but I like knowing what a car can and can’t do as far as braking, steering, and acceleration. It is important to know how a car will behave during an emergency, so yeah sometimes I like to give a car’s ABS system a workout and drive it like I stole it. But, there is nothing more relaxing, in my opinion, than being behind the wheel of a car on a beautiful, low traffic, day with your favorite playlist humming through the stereo. You don’t need to drive fast in order to enjoy driving; sometimes a nice quiet drive is all you need to get your stress out.

The Curse of a Speeder is that once you’ve earned a reputation as a speeder some people will label you as being reckless or a, “Bad Driver”. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never wrecked, practice car control – to most people speed equals danger. The irony of it is that people who text and drive do not, for the most part, get the same stigma. Sure there are campaigns warning us of the dangerous of texting while driving, but we all think, “That won’t happen to me, because I’m careful”. Maybe you have a system of only answering a buzzing phone when you are at a stoplight, or maybe your eyes can part into two different directions like a chameleon. Whatever the system is, the response for someone who texts and drives is usually, “Oh? Haha, I do that to sometimes”. The usual response for someone who speeds is, “Oh. Be careful…”

This year alone I have received two speeding tickets, three months apart, in two different cities. What annoys me is that when the police officers spotted me on their radar, I wasn’t trying to speed I was simply driving. The first time I was caught speeding I was driving home and I knew I was getting on the interstate so muscle memory took over and I sped up before the on-ramp. The second time, I was traveling between cities. I was passing a convoy of five semi-trucks and I sped up because I hate when they bounce peddles and road dirt off my hood and windshield – that landed me speeding ticket number two. If I was doing triple digit speeds or doing donuts in a parking lot than yeah I would have gladly accepted my law breaking punishment, but speeding up a mile before an on-ramp or passing semi-trucks is not what I would consider, “reckless driving”.

Since I am still under 25 years old, taking online defensive driving courses in order to reduce, and dismiss, a traffic citation is an option I always take. The problem is that the course is six hours long, and hilariously outdated. The safely videos shown were filmed in 1994, so you hear instructors recommending you to purchase a vehicle with Anti-Lock Brakes and telling you how to use them. Safety features in cars, and traffic laws in general, have changed a lot in the last two decades, so the course is a joke. It is detention for drivers.

A better system would be a written Driver’s Ed exam that you need to pass in order for it to count as taking a defensive driving course. It wouldn’t take you more than half an hour and at least then a person is forced to review traffic laws before getting a ticket reduced or dismissed.

Auto makers build cars that practically beg us to break the law. The new Ford Focus RS has a Drift Mode button which allows you to slide the compact car around a corner easier. Dodge created the Hellcat Challenger and Charger, normal family sedans that can reach 200 mph. That is like a general store selling high proof whiskey in a dry county. Why make such powerful cars if the average driver has no place to fully enjoy their bang for the buck? Not everyone with a fast car has time to go to a drag strip, which are constantly being closed, or a race track, which don’t always offer track-days here in the U.S. The easier option is street racing and that is about as dangerous as it can get.

So what is a speeder to do? We are entering an era where cars are getting faster and traffic laws are getting stricter. It’s not like in the old days when you could in fact out run the police if your car was hot enough, the days before dash cams and speed cameras. It is a curse to have a need for speed these days, one that can affect your wallet as well as your health.

I think I can speak for most people who can relate to my story that we won’t change, driving is a passion and speed is a byproduct. There are always a few rotten apples that spoil it for all of us by not being able to control their cars or not knowing their own limitations, but we are not a danger to the public nor should not be seen as such. We just like to fully enjoy our cars as the engineers who designed them intended us to. If they built a car that can produce 707 horsepower, why shouldn’t we be allowed to experience every last galloping pony? So whether you are a speeder or see driving as a chore remember to keep your eyes on the road, and both hands on the wheel. Drive safe everyone.

Mad About Furious 7

The Fast and the Furious films has become one of the highest grossing film franchises ever, rubbing shoulders with the film greats like the Star Wars trilogy. I have a lot of issues with these movies, for a variety of different reasons, but since the release of the most recent film, Furious 7, I can no longer bite my tongue. The Fast and the Furious movies suck! This coming from a true gearhead. They took a cookie cutter plot, added some Easter egg colored Imports and made a successful street racing movie that jumpstarted a new trend of idiotic car modifications. Hollywood, no different than any other big business, is greedy so naturally they made a sequel. Six films later, and the F&F movies have jumped the shark and driven so far into fantasy land that I am surprised they don’t just call it what it is, a video game you watch instead of play. Because where else would you see cars jumping out of airplanes, fight with tanks, run 24-speed transmissions, and have drivers walk away without a scratch after jumping out of a speeding car.

As a writer, I find the plot of these movies to be a joke, and as a Gearhead, I get angry when I find out how many valuable and desirable cars they have destroyed in order to film a, “car chase”, that doesn’t come close to the standards of Bullitt or the Original Gone in 60 Seconds film. I am surprised more Gearheads do not feel the same as I do since most of us would cringe in horror if we saw a 1968-70 Dodge Charger get blown up in front of us, yet we pay $15 to see a dozen Chargers be destroyed on a big screen. Open your eyes! These films are NOT directed at Gearheads. The F&F target audience are the same group of people who enjoy Michael Bay films, people that like explosions, shiny things, and boobies. All flash and no substance is their motto.

I’ll prove my point by going through the plot. For those who have seen the movies, you know that the story in part three, F&F Tokyo Drift, ends with Vin Diesel’s character, Dom, in Japan about to race the main character of the movie. That movie was released in 2006, right? Now, the following 3 films in the series are supposedly the events that lead up to Dom being in Japan, and the death of supporting character, Hun. The problem with that is that they apparently do not care or failed to notice that if something takes place in 2006, and they want to tell the story of what happened before that, then you cannot use cars, phones, and technology that came AFTER 2006. I have yet to read an article that had noticed this, and I feel like the F&F movies are proving that most people do not care as long as the cars are shiny and Vin Diesel is punching something.

I could let this slide if the action scenes were good, by good I mean realistic. Although they are before my time, I grew up watching classic films that were made with Gearheads in mind. Films like The Love Bug (1968), Vanishing Point (1971), Two Lane Blacktop (1970), Dirty Marry and Crazy Larry (1974), and even the Dukes of Hazzard series (1979-85). Films before CGI, were if the director wanted a car to jump through a building, they hired a steel nerved stuntman to drive a reinforced Chevy Nova and crashed it though a real building. There was no shaky-cam effects, no rapid jump-cuts between the actor and the chase. Back then, they wanted a viewer to see the chase from a far to fully enjoy the stunt driver’s handy work as they powerslided around a corner or rammed a car off the road. The F&F movies don’t really have car chases, if you think about it, sure they have one or two chase scenes but it is usually filled with the actors “driving” from the safety of a green screen, while the rest of it is a rapid cut of shifting gears, car close ups, and crashes. There is no clear direction as to where the cars are going or what the hell they are doing. It’s all just noise and angry expressions. Yes the F&F movies do have some amazing stunts, and my highest respect to the stunt men and women who preform them, but I don’t think these movies will be remembered 50 years from now for their car chase scenes. Maybe their gear-shifting scenes, since manuals will be a thing of the past by then.

My biggest issue with the franchise is how they used the tragic death of Paul Walker to sell more tickets, and music. Paul Walker was a good actor, genuine Gearhead with a passion for racing, who worked with charity. When I heard that the ending of Furious 7 was a real tear jerker, I looked for it online. SPOLIER ALERT!! Paul Walker’s character, played by his brother with CGI used to make him look like Paul, drives up in a Toyota Supra next to Dom’s Dodge Charger. It is a reference to the first F&F movie ending, where they raced in similar cars. The movie cuts to a montage of Paul Walker’s character through the film series as Vin Diesel narrates saying they will always be brothers. Then cuts back to the two cars driving up and then parting ways as the road splits. I don’t know, but to me that seemed a little half assed. One of the many things people love about the movies is that Dom and Brain love racing each other to see who is the best out of the two, wouldn’t a more touching ending be that Brain finally wins against Dom before going off to be with his family? It would also be reflection of Paul Walker and his own true passion for driving. Then have video clips of Paul Walker and the type of person he was during the ending credits as a farewell montage. Not two weeks after the release of Furious 7, rumors of an 8^th film already in the works start to fill the internet. I find that to be in bad taste, because if one of the main stars that made the franchise what it is passes away tragically then that should be the end of the franchise? Makes a person wonder, if it were Vin Diesel would the franchise have ended? It proves that it is no longer about the film’s plot or storyline, just about the money and milking the cow for as long as they can, much like the Transformers franchise.

The Fast and the Furious franchise should not be welcomed by Gearheads, because it is just a money hungry film that would destroy a rare Ferrari GTO without a second thought if it meant people would pay to see it. The cars spend more time flying through the air than on the road, so it is no longer a movie that a Gearhead can enjoy for the realism of driving action, and the story line seems to have been written by a group of seventh graders. People tell me that these films are, “Just for fun, and not to be taken so seriously”, which I understand, but if I wanted to see a movie like that then I would just watch Die Hard, because at least the main character gets hurt in those movies.

Blue Collar Hobby, White Collar Prices

Barrett Jackson just finished its first auction event of the year a few days ago in Scottsdale, Arizona. I always enjoy watching the live coverage of all those high dollar motors rolling across the auction block to be bid on by a sea of AARP members. Although I own a few cars myself, any Gearhead will tell you that there will always be that, “one more”, car that we just gotta have in our garage. I have a list of, “must own”, cars in my head and it seems to get longer every few months. The problem is that young Gearheads today are in a race against time when it comes to being able to purchase their vintage dream cars and I believe that the TV and greed are to blame.

There has seem to be a big demand for automotive based television in recent years. Gearheads now have their own channel, Velocity, which only shows programs about restoring cars, selling cars, finding cars, or all of the above. I remember when the only car shows on the air were Over Haulin, American Hotrod, Gears, and whatever NASCAR coverage ESPN was giving, now I can’t keep track how many other copycat shows are flooding the networks. I always find it funny how the shows tend to give cliffhangers to keep the viewer interested enough to wait through the commercials by dramatizing something like: the car being late for paint, parts not coming in on time, or the new engine not firing up on the first try. Yet when the show comes back after the commercials, everything has worked itself out and the car is finished under the most unrealistic time frames. Any body shop owner will tell you that finishing a ground up project that involves body work, paint, and assembly in one week, two weeks is technically possible…if the their employees don’t mind working overtime for free. I am surprised none of these programs have shown a car that has been put together without any brakes by accident because the mechanics have been working nonstop all week and have made mistakes due to exhaustion.

The problem with these shows is that Gearheads are not the only ones watching it, and now any John Doe with a 4-door Nova thinks he can get top dollar for his junker. It makes it a little more difficult to negotiate a price for someone who doesn’t have a trust fund or a millionaire best friend. I was at a used car lot that had a few classic cars, one of which was a 1986 Buick Grand National. The car looked great but I was told it needed work since it had been in storage for years, but only had around 35k miles. I was interested until I heard the price, $27,000! That is outrageous for a Grand National, let alone one that needs work. It was the same story with a 1965 Mustang parked next to it, looked mint but had hidden rust spots and the engine needed tuning, $28,000. I think we can all agree that there are few things more frustrating than a person who doesn’t know much about classic cars trying to get Barrett Jackson prices for a car that is simply not worth it.

The classic car market itself is starting to get too inflated in my opinion. When Ferraris start costing more than the economies of small countries then you know things are getting out of hand. I am sorry but no car is worth over 30 million dollars, I do not care of Enzo Ferrari’s ashes are hidden in the glove box along with the location of Jimmy Hoffa. Once a car’s worth starts reaching seven or eight figures at auctions it is no longer a car, it is now an investment like buying shares at a stock market. Buying the car, waiting a few years and then selling it again for a profit. I say investment because anyone that throws down 10, 20, 30 million on one car isn’t exactly going to take it for a drive down to a local car meet. No, that car will be in an air conditioned warehouse and only see daylight when it is carried on to a trailer to be transported to the next auction house.

If prices keep climbing at this rate, I will not be able to afford anything by the time my own children start asking me to buy them a project car to restore or even buy for my own collection. I understand that cars are worth so much because their rare or desired, but there needs to be a realistic price to back it up. Classic muscle cars, for example, used to be about high performance at blue collar price. A 17 year old kid working part time could go into a dealership, and with a little help on the down payment from mom and dad, could roll out in a base 1968 Plymouth Road Runner with a hot 383 V8 bolted to a torque flite 727 automatic. Classic cars live from passion and a desire to keep the history alive, it should not be turned into a business and ruined like the art or music industry. I am honestly worried about how outrageous the classic car market will be when I am an AARP member. All I can hope for is that the classic car market follows the housing market and crashes, so Joe Six Pack can afford to buy a 440 Six Pack.

Young Geezers

Modern technology has grown faster than a pre-teen hitting his grown spurt, and a lot of people of an older generation may find themselves being left in the dust. It seems that if you are younger than 30 you are qualified to work the genius bar at an Apple store, but if you are over 60 then you are still getting used to cordless phones. That isn’t my belief but it is a common joke in pop culture that the baby boomers are struggling with modern smart phones, computers, and the latest gadgets in modern cars. I’ll be honest, for a young guy I have difficulties with modern technology myself. I’m constantly uttering the phrase, “It can do that?” when somebody mentions another useful feature my laptop or iPhone. This, however, can quickly turn into a two-way street when it comes to cars.

Modern cars can be complicated when it comes to figuring out the desktop computer they decided to fit inside the dashboard. Having Bluetooth, GPS, satellite radio, MP3 connectivity, push button ignition, and now even wireless internet have turned modern cars into rolling laptops. It’s no wonder some people have a hard time figuring out how it all works during their daily commute. But if you switch the tables and introduce an 18 year old to a car from a time when a baby boomer was young, let’s say 1965, then you have a similar problem. Old cars are not complicated, but they are a handful to operate.

The most difficult car I ever drove, so far, was my father’s 1964 Chevrolet C-10 step-side pickup truck. It had a modified 327 small block v8, manual steering, 3-speed column shifter, and four wheeled drum brakes. It was the first time I had to change gears with the shifter being up next to the steering wheel. Having to pull it down for first gear and then up, but slightly away from you, to get into second gear and then down again for third. Doing this while pressing down on a clutch pedal that felt like it was spring loaded to shoot back up the second you changed gear. For those who have never driven a car without power steering, picture a scene from any movie that takes place inside a submarine or on a boat. Seeing those huge wheels in the center of a door that they use to lock or unlock a sealed door, in every single one of those movies there will be a scene of a person struggling to turn the wheel because it’s too heavy. The flood water is coming and you see the panic in their eyes as their arm muscles bulge from using every pound of torque they have to turn the wheel as the water gets closer and closer but the wheel won’t move! …yeah, that’s how it feels to turn in a manual steering power car from a dead stop. Want to get ripped arms but don’t have time to lift weights? Just drive a manual steering car for a few weeks and you’ll be sporting Rambo arms in no time.

Never driven a car with drum brakes? Imagine the car is telling you, “are you sure?……….oh alright”, every time you press down on the pedal. The pause between pressing the pedal and actually feeling the car trying to stop is so long that you will want to press down harder, but if you do that the tires will lock up and one of two things will happen: 1) you’ll slide into the object you’re trying to avoid in a cloud of tire smoke. Or, 2) you’ll slide sideways into a different object you weren’t trying to avoid. The only way to drive with drum brakes is to start braking about three blocks away from any location you’ll have to stop at. “But what if I need to perform an emergency stop?” you might be thinking. Well if you need to brake suddenly, you better hope your arms are developed enough to wrestle the car away from any danger because there is no emergency stop! You’ll only be giving yourself a few more seconds to fully grasp the fact that you are about to hit something. The only way to improve the braking is to quickly downshift into second as you bury the brake pedal into the floorboards. Downshifting to use the engine as well as the brakes to stop a car has become a lost art of driving, thanks to ABS and stability control.

Seriously, if I had the Bill Gates’ checkbook I would rent out the parking lot of a football stadium, buy a few classic family sedans from the 50s and 60s and just watch a younger generation try to manhandle these steel beasts around while trying not to pass out from laughing. Just picturing a 1955 Ford Fairlane packed full of teens coming in at speed and then trying to make a turn but locking the brakes and blowing right pass you in a straight line with its front wheels turned completely to the left in a cloud of screeching rubber. Or pulling a muscle trying to turn the wheel while completely a three point turn. I would invite baby boomers to come watch and get some sweet payback at teaching their grandkids how to drive these cars. Granddad could get a chance to use the same sarcastic tone Junior used when he was teaching him about Skype.

Regardless of age, we all struggle with one form of technology or another. Whether it’s knowing how to set up the Bluetooth connectivity on your 2015 Chevy or knowing how to use a three-on-a-tree transmission on a 1955 Chevy, we all started as beginners at one point. I recommend all my young readers to go out and learn how to drive classic cars, because daily commutes turn into motoring adventures every time you set off. Mastering an antique car makes you feel like you can drive anything on wheels, much like when a grandparent gets that sensation of amazement when he is watching his granddaughter talk to him on a phone screen. Different eras bring different thrills, but they all create the same smiles.

Octane on the Rocks

Filling your car up with ethanol at the gas station or fueling up a top fuel drag car are the only logical reasons for combining alcohol and driving. Other than that, NEVER DRINK AND DRIVE! That being said, the other night I was at home enjoying Miller time when a random thought ran through my head. Could have been the Southern Comfort… or the maybe even the Johnny Walker I was drinking, but my dazed mind started shuffling through my memory bank to find a silly online quiz that I had came across years ago. The online quiz was to find out what style of drink you were based off your personality. It gave me an idea. Based off their personalities, what style of drinks would cars be? I’m not saying one particular brand of whiskey to one specific Ford model; I mean a general overview of our favorite group of cars compared to popular alcoholic beverages. Here is the list of automotive groups:

• Muscle & Hot Rods
• Trucks
• Antique pre-1959
• Luxury
• Sports
• Low Riders & Kustoms
• Vans
• Exotics
• Hybrids & Electric
• Hot-hatch & Tuned import

MUSCLE & HOTRODS: Dark Beer

Muscle and hot rods would be classified as dark beer. Why, because although these cars are a crowd favorite, not everyone can live with them on a daily bases. Shiner Bock, Samuel Adams, and Guinness all have different variations of their beer which is no different than the endless variations of hopped up 1932 Ford’s or option combination on a 1968 Chevelle SS. This means that if you’re a fan of either one, you are bound to find one fitted to your specific needs. The stronger taste and higher alcohol content also means that they aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. These cars (in general) are not fuel efficient or practical, and dark beers (in general) are not cheap or healthy, but diehard fans won’t settle for anything less.

TRUCKS: Light Beer

In America, a pickup truck with empty beer cans in the bed is as iconic as apple pie and baseball. Anyone can drive a truck whether your eight years old or eighty. You have your big three: Ford, Chevy, Dodge and then you have your other big three: Bud, Coors, and Miller. I picked light beer for trucks because they just seem to always be together: tailgate parties, camping trips, cook outs, country bars, and any blue collar neighborhood after five pm. If Chevrolet and Budlight could feature each other’s product in their commercials without getting in legal trouble for advocating drinking and driving, you bet they would jump at the chance during their summer ad campaigns.

 

ANTIQUE CARS (pre 1959): Whiskey, Bourbon, Scotch.

The drinks your father or grandfather used to have. High balls, whiskey neat, scotch on the rocks. Drinks that go back to a time when everything was built to last and men wore a suit every day. When having a factory job was the equivalent to hard labor today and men, and some women, need a double shot of whiskey to wash the day away. Just picture a glass of Johnny Walker black label sitting comfortably on a freshly vanished bar top as a black 1937 Packard Twelve coupe roadster waits outside the bar and slow jazz plays in the background. Doesn’t that sound like the perfect combination to you? I matched whiskey, bourbon and scotch with antique cars because they are liquors that hold a certain level of class, history, and strength, much like the cars of that era.

LUXURY: Martinis, Old fashions, Champagne, Wine.

The sound of a Rolls Royce starting up and champagne glasses chiming seem to go as well together as an Aston Martin idling while a martini is being shaken not stirred.  Maybe you’re enjoying an old fashion during a power lunch while you’re driver waits outside in the Benz. Popping a bottle of bubbly in the back of the limo to celebrate another killing at the stock market and being a member of the 1%. Drinks of high society and luxury cars are both the premiums in their respective worlds, the best money can buy so that’s why they match.

SPORTS: Margaritas, Tequila sunrise, Pina colada.

Drinks full of color and multiple versions of themselves, what better fit than sports cars? They are as tasty to drink as they are fun to pronounce. Sports cars are no different in that they are built to have fun and not be taken too seriously like their older brothers the exotics or bully cousins the muscle cars. It is the same with these kinds of drinks which are best enjoyed while sitting on a beach or anywhere else that is not work related. A sports car is best when you do not have a care in the world except for the curvy road ahead of you.

LOW RIDERS & KUSTOMS: Moonshine.

This might not sound like a correct match but just hear me out. Low riders and Kustoms are built, not bought, and is a very family oriented car culture. Moonshiners are also family oriented in that they pass along their receipts for shine from generation to generation, and any respectable moonshiner will make their own still to brew their own shine. Low riders and customs are definitely not on many people’s must own list just as many people are scared to drink moonshine because of its high alcohol content. Both are extremes in their respective worlds and that is why they match.

VANS: Spiked punch, Swamp juice.

For those that do not know, spiked punch is adding vodka (or liquor of your choice) to the bowl of fruit punch at a party. Swamp juice (goes by different names) is usually created when you are running low on alcohol at a party so you grab everything you have left and pour it into a bowl of juice of your choosing, and maybe tossing in some fruit or berries for texture. The Van culture is considered to be the black sheep of the automotive world, because it is taking something that shouldn’t be cool and forcing it to be everything at once. A van is built to carry stuff from point A to point B. Shag carpets, disco balls, wall to wall TV’s, paint jobs, or hot engines, are added and turned into Good times machines. Fruit punch is not suppose to get you drunk but adding a whole bunch of different liquors to it will have you thinking it was 1978 all over again.

EXOTICS: Shots!

Both are things we think we can handle and usually bite more off than we can chew. You always see a guy at a bar thinking he can take five back to back Jagermeister shots and then see him singing a very sloppy version of Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing before going into the bathroom to drop his phone into the urinal. It is the same type of guy that will think he can handle a brand new Lamborghini and will end up wrapping it around a tree while trying to go around a corner. Both are the ultimate examples in their respective worlds and both are underestimated until they leave us with a bad headache as a result of a hangover or an airbag.

HOT HATCH & IMPORTS: Vodka & Redbull, FourLoko, Jager bombs, Saki Bombs.

Golf GTi, Honda Si, Focus ST, etc., all cars that were simple econoboxes at one point that were modified by their manufactures into weight reduced, carbon fiber infused, paddle shifting, pocket rockets. Nissan GTR, Honda NSX, and Toyota Supra are their older siblings born to compete with the exotics and muscle. The drinks I paired them with are mixed drinks that contain caffeine or both beer and liquor in them because these cars are built to do it all while still being very exciting. Cars that can be raced on Sunday and then take the kids to school on Monday, while getting reasonable gas mileage.

HYBRIDS & ELECTRIC: Virgin drinks.

These cars were built with the responsibly of caring for the environment. They look like and feel like the other cars but lack the excitement of there gas burning cousins. Advances in technology will someday make these cars fun to drive as the others, but until that time these cars are the designated drivers of the automotive world.

Remember, this article is for fun and should not influence your decision next time you are at a bar or dealership and to NEVER DRINK AND DRIVE! Real Gearheads would walk than risk wrecking their rides, so always designate a driver or call a taxi.

Passing of the Keys

Recently, I purchased a beautiful blue 1969 Camaro Z/28. A car I never thought I would own in my early 20’s. At the time I was like most Gearheads; always looking to buy, but never having the money. One day, my family and I visited a vintage car dealership just to get an eye full of all the dream cars I couldn’t afford. Although painful, it was still fun to window shop for Mustangs, GTO’s, Bel Airs, etc. After seeing all the overly priced cars we were preparing to leave and as I walked out the building this Camaro stopped me dead in my tracks with a sense of love at first sight. It was exactly how I wanted a 69 Camaro to be, blue with white rally stripes, mag chrome wheels, jacked up rear-end, and of course a Hurst 4-speed bolted to a hot engine. Naturally, I had to speak to the owner and get a closer view, and Mr. Rodney Goodhill was the man behind the wheel.

The Goodhill family told us the story behind the car, rescued from a barn, brought back to life by Mr. Rod and having the car be a part of the Goodhill family for nearly 20 years. Nothing adds more value to a car than the story behind it and their story made the little blue Camaro seem priceless. The Camaro haunted my dreams so much that 2 weeks later I was signing papers for a loan in order to buy it. Now, Mr. Rod restored the car from ground up, on his own, so the car was built to his own personal taste and detail. What amazed me was that everything he had done to the car was what I dreamed of doing to a first gen Camaro. I saw a lot of me in Mr. Rod, like looking in a mirror 30 years in the future; we were both Gearheads with similar tastes and personality. Driving the car home was an adventure since I had never driven a car that was such an attention getter, the Camaro is a rolling celebrity.

Now the reason why Mr. Rod was selling his beloved muscle car was because he was battling cancer and wanted to use the money to buy his wife a new car. Tragically, I learned the other day that Mr. Rod lost his battle and passed away on June 15^th. His wife, Mrs. Goodhill, mentioned that he was happy that his car was going to be in good hands which gave him peace of mind in that aspect. Her words got me thinking which leads me to the second part of this article.

Losing a loved one is one of the hardest things a person will go through in their lifetime, and it does not matter what your beliefs are when it comes to the afterlife because in the end we all feel the same way. When Gearheads exit the highway of life to the big scenic route in the sky, they leave behind friends and family, of course, but they also leave behind their cars as orphans hoping that someone will care for them the same way they did. Unfortunately, not every car gets to find a good home and will end up sitting in a garage or barn for decades or gets sold to a wheeler dealer, but some cars do find good caretakers. I like to think I will be a good caretaker for Mr. Rod’s Camaro.

The car itself may be mine, but the Camaro will always be his. When a person builds a car, either for a client or personal project, they are putting themselves into that car in the form of blood, sweat and tears (and swearing in some cases). A Gearhead that has built their car will take far better care of it than someone who merely purchased it, because they know the hell they went through in order to get it finished. It’s why you always seen people, in their newly brought sports cars, wrapped around a tree or light post in the most idiotic fashions. They have no idea what the engineers and designers went through to get that new Ferrari 458 off the assembly plant, so it come to no surprise when Todd McMoneybags decides to show off with it and spins out into someone’s back yard.

When a Gearhead passes away there is a certain mystic that goes along with the cars they leave behind. It would be hard not to imagine that they are with you riding shotgun whenever you take their car out for a drive, or feel their presence when the car stares back at you when opening the garage. The idea could come from watching movies like Herbie the Love Bug or Stephen King’s Christine, but even so it keep us close to our loved ones knowing that a part of them is still alive in the form of a car. I know that now every time I drive the Camaro I will be extra careful because I know that Mr. Rod is watching over his car making sure I do not ride the clutch or grind any gears.

Cars like these truly only have one owner, the rest are merely caretakers that will pass on the keys to the next one when they can no longer drive them. I hope the next caretaker will be my own children who I will make damn sure can take excellent care of Mr. Rod’s Camaro. These are not just cars, they are someone’s work, art, family, legacy, memory, soul. Mr. Rod was a friend and a fellow Gearhead, I feel it was an honor that he let me be the caretaker for his car, so I will treat it as if I built it myself. He will be missed, but never forgotten

…