I'll see if I can't make a long story medium-length.


I've always loved sports cars, but never thought I'd actually own one. Bought a 1989 v6 Camaro RS when I was 17 years old. I probably loved that car more than any other vehicle I've ever driven. It was definitely my baby, and while I didn't have the knowledge to "properly" take the best care of it, I put the most energy into keeping it as "perfect" as possible. A couple years later I bought an '88 IROC Z. What a badass car. I remember when I first got in it after buying it, turning the key, and hearing the rumble of the exhaust behind me. I never thought I'd own a v8 sportscar, and knowing that I was at the command of that roar literally sent me into uncontrollable shakes. This was all the awesomeness of my first Camaro...but much more. Better looks, T-Topps, power everything, Bose system, and a V8. I drove both of those cars like a grandpa. In fact, I had to get the whole system cleaned out because I had carbon build up on the intake so bad, the throttle valve would stick sometimes. There wasn't a time I didn't sit in either of those cars and not grin ear to ear. When I got a slightly better job, I thought I'd try to find a final year IROC (1990) with lower miles, in better shape, the color I wanted (metallic blue), and with the 350 instead of a 305. I took a C4 Corvette for a test drive one day, and never looked at another Camaro. Ended up buying a 1985 Corvette "4+3" when I was 20. This car was by far the best in overall performance, but I wasn't as excited when I bought it as I was my Camaros. In fact, I think I enjoyed driving my IROC more than I did the Vette. BUT....I actually took a Foxbody up on his challenge one day while driving around, and was amazed when I was a half car ahead after we shut down. I was instantly hooked. I got all the bolt on mods I could, and took the car out every night. I'd cruise this local strip (I grew up in TN, it was nowhere around here) and would chase down Mustangs all night, and race them on the highway. The rush was so exillerating, that I'd literally have a hard time pushing the clutch in sometimes.

Shortly after, I graduated from college, got a career, and had to get my life started. Moved down here to Atlanta without a dime to my name, and still had a car note to pay off, plus student loans to begin payments on within the next 6 months. While your life changes a lot once you get out of school and start growing up, I never found another hobby or interest that ever excited me as much as cars, and always missed not having one of my "babies." So after 6 long years of having no fun vehicle whatsoever, I took the "big jump" and got the most badass car on the street. Thinking to myself "Man, if a 235hp 1985 Corvette drove me crazy, I can't imagine what this beast will do."

Well, I got the car, and......it's cool and all, but I had very little reaction when I sat in it. Even though I paid 10 times as much as my previous Vette, and the technology and quality of this car can't even be compared to my previous vehicles, it just didn't do much for me. I started cruising around in it by myself, and I just didn't feel as enthused giving it some gas, or taking a turn at a fast speed, or all those other things I'd done when I was younger. Finally got a few people to challenge me on the highway, and it just wasn't the same (normally because it was no contest, unlike my other Vette). However, it still WAS enjoyable, and I eventually ran into some other guys who shared the passion for cars as I did, and we started hanging out. I did several (as most people here know) races...both on film and off. It was very exciting at first, running my car up against some of the fastest cars on the street, and being even or faster than them in stock form. But after a while, I got a very good gauge of what the car was capable of, and could pretty much determine the outcome of a race without having to actually go through with it. It doesn't mean I don't want to do it, but the excitement and rush has just severely waned.

There are 2 points I'm trying to get at here. 1) is that you will never ever feel the same about a car as you did your first car that you took pride in. 10 years from now you could be driving a Veyron, and it won't give you the same feeling that your 120hp Honda did. The other thing is, we are all excited about things once they're new. At some point, the newness wears off, and the mystery fades away. That doesn't mean it DISAPPEARS. As people get older, they come to grips with reality and have a more accurate picture of things. This excitement for cars mostly came from it being your "first time" in whatever scene it was. Once that period passes, people will realize that it was either just some phase for them (like hair bands or Pump tennishoes), or that it was something genuine and they'll eventually come 'round full circle and revisit that part of their life with a different view of it.

I came back to it, because it never was completely out of my system. I enjoy "the scene," although it is in a different light than it was when I was 19 or 20 years old. I don't like getting super competitive, but I really do enjoy having fun with other people who share the same interest. If you did all of this for other people....be it competition, for stature, self esteem, whatever....then you probably are done with it. But if it was something that was always a personal passion of yours, regardless of whether you were in your car in some distant galaxy by yourself, or constantly surrounded by other people to compete with or show off to...then you'll probably come back to it at some point.