Seeping Matter

As long as I’m doing the post of ten motorcycles I need to be happy, I figure I might as well round that out and post ten cars I need to be happy also. Same situation applies: I can’t definitively say that having these cars will make me happy, but I obviously can’t be happy without them. Necessary but perhaps not sufficient, in other words.

Luckily for me, I already have one of them.

Nissan 350Z (source: seriouswheels.com)

1st Generation COPO Camaro (source: arkansascamaro.com)
This is a Yenko, but I'd also take a Dana, Nickey, or Baldwin Motion

Corvette Z06 (source: wallpaperstock.net)

Lotus Exige (source: nicewallpapers.info)

Ferrari 458 Italia (source: textually.org)

Aston Martin V12 Vantage (source: carclub.ru)

RUF RT12 (source: carsoftheworld.eu)

Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 (source: netcarshow.com)

Ferrari FXX (source: seriouswheels.com)

McLaren F1 LM (source: protopage.com)

What was the first car you ever rode in?  You know, the car that brought you home from the hospital after you were born? In my case, it was a 1970 Boss 302 Mustang that looked exactly like this one.

1970 Boss 302 Mustang = Awesome

This ruined me for life.

There wasn’t too much I could do about this while I was growing up.  I couldn’t afford my own car (or motorcycle) even after I was old enough to drive.  So mostly I would just ride my 20″ Redline around, in full aero tuck down big hills until that time I lost my balance, crashed, and broke my fall with my face.

Now as an grown-up, or at least an adult, silencing this addiction is much harder.  I’ve been to supercross races, motocross races, NASCAR races, ALMS races, World Superbike races, and AMA Superbike races before the Daytona Motorsports Group ruined it.  I watch every Formula One, World Superbike, and MotoGP race that gets televised.  This helps but doesn’t fully address the problem.

So about ten years ago, I bought myself a used 1988 Honda CRX Si with my annual bonus from IBM.  This car was not pretty at all.  But it was fun to drive, and pretty fast.  This really helped my addiction problem. Then the CRX died.  That was a sad, sad day.

I bought my 1998 Kawasaki KX-250 to feed the addiction.  And boy, it works.  My adrenaline rushes every time I throw my leg over and kick it started.  I shift into first, crack the throttle about 1/4 open, and release the clutch and that thing will climb through the gears just about as fast as I can shift.  What can compare to motorcycle acceleration? Nothing.  Well, a Ferrari, I guess, or a Corvette.  But I can’t afford a Ferrari – not yet, anyway. So yeah, my motorcycle will address this problem, except I never get to ride it.  It’s too hard to get enough free time all together to go ride.

So my addiction is not getting fed again. Which is why I test drove this.

2003 Nissan 350Z Track Model = Awesome

Boy, am I in trouble. My only hope is that someone buys it before I break down and get it myself.

P.S. I stole that picture from Innovative Motors, I hope they don’t mind too much.

Derrick and I went to the Cache Valley Cruise-In car show in Logan last Saturday with my dad and brother.  I used go to all the time, when I lived in Logan, but haven’t been for a while.  A definite must see for car buffs.

Which may or may not be Derrick, I’m not sure.  I asked Derrick if he wanted to come, and he said yes in a very convincing fashion.  But about halfway through the show he put on his pouting nothing-impresses-me-except-the-xbox frowny face.

As it ends up, what that really means is “I’m hungry.”  After a bit to eat he was back to enjoying the show again.

The hard thing about a show like this is that there are so many great cars, you find that you are walking right by a perfectly awesome car because you are focused on something else.  For example, we were so focused on this Cobra Replica that we didn’t even hardly notice a beautiful black Mustang Mach 1 Cobra Jet right next to it.

Shelby Cobra Replica. Does that really matter?

I have a real thing for old Camaros. 1967 and 1968 Camaros. It is a major problem. I don’t know what to do about it. You’d think that if I just got myself one it would address my problem, but I’d probably just keep sinking money into it.

Still, all I really want is a nice 1968 RS/SS Dana Camaro. Is that really too much to ask?

Anyway, they had some there.

Blown Black 1967

Red 1968 SS

Blown 1969 Z28

Black 1967 RS - Kinda like in the movie Better Off Dead

Of course there were a lot of great other cars. Here’s some of them – but honestly there were at least 30 others I should have taken a picture of that I didn’t.

Nice white Corvette. I think this one was a 1967.

When I was born I came home from the hospital in a 1970 Boss 302 Mustang. It was not like this one – it was stock. They had a stock one. I don’t know why I didn’t take a picture. But this one, despite not being stock, was pretty cool I had to admit.

You should never, ever do this to a perfectly good Boss Mustang. But if you are going to do it anyway, this is the way to do it. Wow.

30s Hot Rods are also cool.

Late 30s hot rod, a 1937 Ford I think

I think this is a 1934 Ford Coupe

Sweet Hiboy - I would love to build one of these someday

A bone-stock Corvette ZR1 apparently just set a 7:26 time around Nurburgring, one of the fastest times ever by a production car. Check out the video: