A Picture Worth a Thousand Words.

Everyone has heard the old saying "A picture is worth a thousand words". I truly believe that. Sometimes it seems especially true for a particular picture that for some reason just grabs your attention. I've thought a lot about that recently when I came across a picture on Twitter.
That's a big part of why social media sites are so popular anyway, because it's the pictures that catches us first and draws us in, to pause and read more about it.
We can take some time to study a particular picture, trying to determine exactly what makes it one of our favorite, but find it hard to describe why we find it so appealing to us. Sometimes it would take those "thousand words" to try to explain it to someone else.
I have around 2000 photos saved in my computer, with over 500 of them being various car pictures, many of which I took myself, the rest saved off the internet.  The picture I've included with this post happens to be one that may not be as hard for me to explain why I like it, lets just say, I just do.

A picture I like, from a recent Twitter post I came across.

Trucks in the Life of a Car Guy

I have be an automotive enthusiast my whole life, a "car guy" to the core. I grew up on a farm in Western South Dakota, so for many years, there were more trucks in my life than cars. Most of my first driving experiences were in trucks, not cars. Sure, the first performance cars I saw had a lasting effect on me, but so would some pickup trucks.
In my book, I have a chapter titled; "The Automotive Dark Ages" talking about the 1970's and early 1980's when car manufacturers were trying to get the whole emissions control situation figured out. For a time, we thought our beloved muscle cars were a thing of the past.
During those years I was an avid hunter, and a building contractor, so trucks were an important part of my life. But, even then, performance was a big consideration in my vehicle choices. As soon as I got a new truck, I would start making some performance modifications, often using parts intended for muscle cars, and it worked wonders with the trucks I owned.
Of all the trucks I owned, modified, and loved, one stands out above all the rest; my 1978 Ford F-150 short-bed 4X4 pickup. I had special ordered it with the biggest V8 engine available, 4-speed manual transmission, and limited-slip axles, front and rear. Then the modifications stared, and within a couple years, finished with swapping in a high performance, bored and blue printed V8 I had built in a college auto class I was taking at the time. I sold the original engine to help pay for some of my parts bills.
That truck would win three off-road rallies, many street races, and would take us to the best hunting spots for several seasons. It was a very important part of my automotive history. To read more of this story, check out my book at; Grab Some Gears

My 1978 Ford F-150 in the mountains of Northern Utah.

High Tech Muscle Cars

Most automotive enthusiasts will agree that the fastest, most powerful, best handling, and highest quality muscle cars ever produced are being made right now. Many are available on the showroom at a dealership near you. Looks, styling, and esthetics are a matter of personal preference, but I think today's specialty cars are among the best looking ever produced as well, though we all have a love of the looks of many of our favorite classics.
The main improvement in recent muscle cars, compared to the classics we all love, is the availability of all the latest technology we have come to expect in our cars these days. We can have a car that will out run a "67" 427 Corvette, and still answer our phone calls, play our favorite music over satellite radio, blue tooth, or several other methods, and provide traction control, anti-lock braking, and dozens of other features we could never have dreamed of 40 years ago.
Through the magic of computer controls and fuel injection, today's cars are much more reliable, and get much better fuel economy than our beloved classics. There is an old saying; "they don't make them like they used to" but I suggest that is a good thing.
To get more of my automotive history, check out my book at; "Grab Some Gears"

The 435 horsepower, 32 valve, double overhead cam, fuel injected, aluminum V8, in my 2015 Ford Mustang GT.

Details

What is it about being a "car guy" that makes you appreciate automotive styling details that other people don't even notice. I guess it is just part of what makes us "car people" in the first place. Like how we can instantly tell the difference between a "67" and "68" Mustang, or how we can recognize a "63" split window Corvette from a block away.
When we walk through a car show and soak in all the fine details of the vehicles we are looking at, while other non-car people just see red ones, blue ones, and green ones.
Over the last 50 years, I have developed a great appreciation for the details that make our hobby so great. The shape of a "34" Ford radiator shell, the gas cap location of a "56" Chevy, or the taillight shape on a "68" Dodge Charger, are but a few of thousands of examples I could name.
Most of us are more of an expert on our favorite brand of vehicle, from a narrow range of model years. But I have met some who are like a walking data file on a wide range of cars, both old and new. But even the newest car enthusiast among us, has noticed details that have peaked their interest, and made them one of us.

Some beautiful styling details of the 2013 Mustang GT.