How Many Years

      Many of us have been automotive enthusiasts for many years, and for some of us, we have been in that category for most of our lives.  For me, that’s well over 50 years, and that makes a lot of car models that have come and gone during those many years. How many years has it been for you?

     With so many cars that have crossed our paths over the years, some have to stand out as our favorite. Some of them we may have owned ourselves, and many we have observed, but never have been lucky enough to have owned. 

     I have been lucky enough to have owned many pretty cool cars during my life, and most of them still hold a special place in my heart.  I have wrote about many of them in this blog, but the one that is on my mind today is the always awesome 1967 Shelby GT 500 Mustang. I have never had one of my own, but, it will always be near the top of my list of all-time favorite cars.  

     Check out my book by following this link: Grab Some Gears

       1967 Shelby GT 500.   ( Twitter photo)

Year of the Tiger

      In a few days, we will be at the start of the Chinese New Year, the “Year of the Tiger”.  Many people are familiar with the ancient Chinese tradition of each year celebrating a particular animal, and for people born that year, that is their astrological sign. There are 12 of them, and they repeat every 12 years. 

     I was born in the year of the Tiger 1950, and it is my year again this year.  Many people who have looked back over their lives, find that important events in their lives have happened on “their” year. And it is the same for me.  When I first learned of the Chinese astrology ideas, many years ago, I was surprised to find that major changes in my life have happened during the “ Year of the Tiger “, several times throughout my life.  None of them were planned ahead of time, they just happened. 

     This year, I have been thinking about it ahead of time, but I have no idea what major changes might happen this year.  I guess I’ll have to wait and see. 

Mustang Monday

     The number of people who post automotive pictures and remarks on the numerous enthusiast sites on the internet these days is impossible to accurately calculate, but has to be in the millions. On some of them that I'm familiar with, they refer to this day of the week as "Mustang Monday", especially on the many Mustang enthusiast pages.

     I must admit, I am included in that number, I post plenty of Mustang photos every Monday. Most of them are photos of cars I have saved off various sources on the internet sites I visit every day. But, some of the photos I post are of the many Mustangs I have owned myself over the years. At the best of my recall, I have owned 17 different Mustangs over the last 50 years.

Anyone who would like to know more of my story should check out my book. You can find it by following this link: Grab Some Gears

     My current 2015 Mustang GT , overlooking my home town.

History

      When I wrote my book, over 15 years ago now, I knew I was writing a book about my personal history and experiences in the automotive world, and my involvement in street racing. In recent months I have come to realize that it has also become as much a book about automotive history itself, as it was a document of my personal experiences. Cars themselves have gone through some major changes in the last few years, and especially in the last few months.

     The things that I have been reading about the coming changes in the automotive industry, make it pretty obvious that our future will be much different than the world us "car guys" have enjoyed in past years. Love it, or hate it, it doesn't much matter, the future will be very different. We might as well make the best of it, because it's coming.

     Anyone interested can find my book by following this link: Grab Some Gears

Almost Done

      Just a few days left and we'll be finished with another tough year. That seems to be the only kind we have been having lately. The world is a mess at this time in history, and all we can hope for is that next year will turn out a little better.

     Looking back through my life, I have had to live through some rough times in the past, but this last couple of years is different than what we have been through in the past. More of the world is affected this time around.

     So, to all of my friends out there, even if I only know you through social media, I hope we all can see things getting better in this next year.  Happy New Year everyone.

The Interview

          My interview with JP Emerson is available at this link;  buff.ly/3tK3QiY     

Perfect Road Car

      Just a few days ago, we did a quick 500 mile day trip to visit some family members we don’t get to see very often. During the drive I was thinking about many other road trips we have made in recent years, and the different cars that those trips were accomplished in.  I was trying to decide which one of our recent cars was the the best road trip machine.

     Though some of our performance cars are great to drive on most occasions, one car stands out as the best road trip car we have ever owned. That would be the 2014 Dodge Charger we owned a few years ago. The Charger was equipped with the 300 horsepower V6, 8-speed automatic, and had beautiful 20” chrome wheels with the performance handling package.  The car was excellent at interstate speeds, and looked like the highway patrol cars of many of the states we traveled through. We could set the cruise at 84 MPH and put the miles behind us, and it would pull off 30 MPG on a trip like that.

     Though many of my Mustangs have had way more horsepower, that Charger still stands out as the most perfect road trip car of any vehicles I have ever owned.

       My 2014 Dodge Charger from a few years ago.