If you guys could provide some constructive criticism on this piece I wrote that would be awesome. I was bored a few nights ago and decided to throw it together. I always thought writing for a car magazine would be an awesome career but I tend to put it in the same category as musician, pro athlete and such... a pipe dream.

You Know Who You Are... (working title)

Pulling up to the light you see the newest stereotypical sports car (the 2012 Mustang GT, for example) inevitably putting out 400hp and containing more technology in the cigarette lighter than every bit of electronics in your 1989 Geo Metro combined. Whether you’re in the early stages of a project pretending you don’t hear that guy next to you revving, or whether you’re sitting on a track monster ready to tear up some asphalt and leave enough smoke behind to suffocate every Prius owner within the 10 mile radius, there’s no denying that auto makers are doing their best to leave old fashioned tuners in the dust. Between overall increasing performance standards for current sports cars, potentially voiding life saving manufacturer warranties and ECU’s that pull timing to defeat the purpose of that shiny new exhaust, manufacturers don’t want you to tune anymore, and they want to make your old project car look like a jalopy too.

So do you fight it? Do you keep pouring money into that “I’ve seen better days” mess sitting in your driveway, or do you give in and buy a factory monster that needs no tuning to make your current ride look like something out of the bargain bin at Walmart? Take that 2012 Mustang GT: $30,000 buys 412hp and 390 lb-ft of torque blistering through the ¼ mile in 13 seconds at 110.6 mph. Not only that, but it also buys an even more amazing piece of paper that says no matter how much you beat on said Mustang (within the realm of reason), that your 412hp is covered by a 5 year/60,000 mile powertrain warranty. Sure, your project may make the same power or even do a better ¼ mile but who pays for the damage when that piston decides that it wants to see the outside world and blows a hole through the side of your motor? Not only that, but how many of those same cars are comfortable enough to commute with on a daily basis even if they do defy logic and somehow stay together with that magical bag of zip ties? It’s no secret that the economy is still questionable and the unemployment rate is still frighteningly high, so logically the old school tuner is bound to go the way of the majestic and graceful dodo bird, Right?

Well, logic and reason may scream “Yes!”, but the fact remains that there are cars on the road today dating as far back as the dawn of the automotive industry that have about as much purpose and performance value as mammary glands on a bull. Speaking unfortunately from experience, your average irrational tuner knows that there are a plethora of cars which are more reliable and outperform that beloved Geo Metro Twin-Turbo with the multi-colored body panels (clearly for aerodynamic reasons), but cars to us are more than just a pile of constantly decomposing sheet metal. I’d venture to say that for the innately irrational among us it all boils down to one simple concept: Love. So, even though you’ve spent 10k on a modest engine build and turbo setup that will probably blow up anyway, and even though that money was more than enough for a down payment on one of those new-fangled rolling computers kids are driving these days (get off my lawn), a connection with a long-time project car or childhood dream car (although now most likely a relic) runs deeper than most logical folks can imagine. In the words of a great beer commercial series, I salute you Mr. “I don’t believe in logic or reason” guy.

DISCLAIMER: Thankfully, no I don’t own said Geo Metro mentioned above.