I guess it's time for me to make my first post. I've been coming to this board and reading for about a week now and it's about the same as other boards I've visited. Someone "new" asks a question and a lot of "regulars" start the bashing. Some regulars actually attempt to help but a lot of times their replies go unnoticed because it's buried in 3 pages of posts from "regulars" going completely off topic in the name of keeping the idiot newbies from cluttering up the board. My normal routine is reading through the 15-20 pages and getting what useful information about this game I can find. I've found some, but not much.
Now let me get on topic. Muscle cars. American Muscle to be specific. I live in western North Carolina, which is in the southeast US for those that don't know. We have mountains here, although they're probably considered small mountains. People around here love the muscle cars. Over in Pigeon Forge,TN car shows are held throughout the year. Thousands of people line the sidewalks as the traffic crawls by. Mustangs, Camaros, and Trans Ams are joined by Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Honda. Everybody is there showing off their ride, regardless of what it is. I've seen cars go by covered in bondo and missing doors. Almost ready to be painted, but they didn't get finished and made the trip anyway. I spent half an hour looking at a frame with a partial body on it and assorted parts laid out nice and neat. All in various states of care as this car was being restored. The sign had a price of $15,000 US dollars on it and let me tell you, people were laughing. That's a lot of money for the pathetic looking pile that was there. As I watched, someone would walk up, start reading, and then start laughing. "$15,000 for this pile of crap?" was a question I heard several times. Then they'd get to the small print and the guy had pictures for anyone serious about wanting the car. The laughing stopped, the jaws dropped, and the eyes got big when they saw that back home in the garage on an engine stand sat a completely restored Boss 429 ready and waiting for the car to be finished. I, for one, wanted it and would have gladly paid him what he was asking. I sold my '73 Mustang recently, something I didn't want to do, but things happen, you know? I used to live in SC and had a girlfriend in TN. It was a 250 mile trip, but there was one section I always loved to drive. Anyone that likes to drive Gran Turismo would love this stretch. I recommend it to anyone who has a chance. It's on I40 west of Asheville,NC. It's called "the Gorge" around here. If you hit it around 2 am, the only traffic to deal with are the tractor-trailers and they all stay in the right lane. If you're westbound to TN you'll hit one tunnel and in my opinion this is the better drive. Eastbound has an extra tunnel but I never liked that drive as much. It could have been that I was going AWAY from my g\f so take that into account. I drove that many times in my Mustang, which was just a "normal" Mustang from '73 with a "fuel efficient" 302. The fastest I ever had it was over 110 but less than 115, had to brake and could only get a glance. It had plenty left. In the gorge there are some turns that I could take at 85-90 with no traffic. I did pass a semi in a turn at 75-80, probably the favorite bit of driving I've ever had. With a good stretch out the window I could have touched the concrete wall on my left. I gave the truck plenty of room and as long as you're courteous and let them know you're coming they don't mind. I don't suggest being the slightest bit reckless around them, they don't like that at all. Make sure they know you're there and that you're "driving" and they'll give you room. Now, I've played several games with muscle cars in them and have yet to find one that drives anywhere close to these cars in real life. They are heavy, but very driveable. I only lost mine twice. The back end came a little too far out in a turn but after a little sliding and wheel work it was back in line. The other time was leaving work. I made a left out of the parking lot onto a wet road in a hurry to run down my friend who had just left. It took two lanes of highway and quite a bit of grass but I at least kept it going in the general direction I was heading until it hooked up. My mistake,lol.
I, for one, love muscle cars. I also love a little "foreign" number that is light and quick. I've never bought anything but Mustangs and I don't see that changing, but that doesn't mean I can't like other cars as well. My brother in law hated Fords until he drove mine. Now, he says if he won the lottery the first thing he'd buy is a 2005 Mustang. This from a diehard Camaro fan. He now agrees with my statement that if you like to drive, it doesn't matter what emblem is on the car. I also say that "Brian" would have lost his Evo if he hadn't been the star.
One day soon I plan on riding with my brother in law on a trip to Highlands,NC. I'll have the video camera as we take Hwy 28 to Franklin and will upload it. This road is cut into the side of the mountain and the rock is right up to the white line in places, especially curves. Deep Forest and Trial Mountain come to mind.
Ok, my time is up for this morning. Flame this "newbie" if you want to waste your time, I don't care. I didn't force you to read my post anymore than you forced me to read all the other pages of nothing on this board. I'll post what I want when I want to just as you do, and I'll keep it courteous when I do it. I have a life and I'm the one that lives it. I mind my own business and only post when I feel the urge or I have an answer to a question, from a newbie or not and whether you consider it "stupid" or not. I'm not the best driver ever, I don't know everything, and I probably can't beat your time, but I can be respectful to others and help someone out now and then. Other than that I keep my mouth shut and my mind on my own life, so don't waste your valuable time on me. I'm not the argument you're looking for. C_W
