While the main focus of this blog is photography related to wildlife or my travels, I do on occasion post about automotive related topics. Photography is my main hobby, but I have always had a passion for cars. I now can combine the two and try some automotive photography! I have a very special car ordered and it is set to be delivered later this year. I will not say what model it is yet, you will have to read to the end to find out. This car is a dream for me. While I wait for the car to be built, I figured I would detail the history I have had with cars, starting way back to when I was around 16 years old. In other words, when I wasn’t so old. This will be a fairly long read, as I have a lot of history to detail.
I was living in South Carolina as I was finishing High School. When I turned 16, I got a red Jeep Wrangler with a five speed manual gearbox. It was my first car and I learned to drive stick with it. I vaguely remember my Dad slightly losing patience with my inability to start off from a hill as I was learning. I was frustrated with myself too, as I am typically a quick learner. Eventually I got moving without too many people honking their horns at me.
The Jeep had a tan top and a giant dent in the driver’s side door. The most concerning thing was it did not have air conditioning! The back sweat was a real issue…lol. Over the next few months of ownership, I added a speaker bar, a lock box, and most importantly air conditioning. It really didn’t help much, but it was better than nothing in the South Carolina heat. While I still wasn’t attracted to sports cars, I did like working on the Jeep and adding various aftermarket parts. I could have friends help with the work, or if I needed some alone time I could tackle the project myself. The modifications of cars, or “modding”, would be a huge hobby of mine for years to come.
Around 1997 or so, my friend’s dad got a 1996 Mustang Cobra Convertible. I was amazed at the sound and power. I still vividly remember one night when my friend was driving and pulled out from a parking lot. There was a car approaching which I thought would come really close to rear ending us. But the Cobra roared to life and got to speed so quickly the oncoming car was a distant speck in the mirror. The power and the sound of the V8 was addictive. I feel it was that moment in my life that triggered my love for cars.
In 2001, the movie Fast & Furious came out and exploded with popularity with the car nuts. I had a Mitsubishi Eclipse GS-T Convertible at this time. The movie highlighted all types of cars, from muscle cars with big V8s to imports such as the Toyota Supra, which had a V6 Turbo. It even had a 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse in the movie. I remember immediately wanting to make my car look, feel, and sound just like the movie cars. I ordered exhaust, new wheels, turbo mods, even underglow lighting. I thought for sure I would be in the next Fast & Furious movie (OK, not really). After all the time and effort working on the Eclipse, I ran into a problem; it was my friend. He had purchased a 1998 Mustang Cobra Convertible. Like father, like son I guess. His Cobra was red, and he modded the exhaust to an aftermarket Borla system which sounded amazing. I instantly hated my Eclipse. About a year later, I bought his Cobra for myself and continued the modifications.
After a couple years with the cobra, I got the itch for something new and different. I heard of a local tire shop owner selling his 2001 Corvette Z06. This would be a HUGE upgrade from my Cobra, both in performance and price. While I was thinking about the purchase, I was able to test drive one from a local dealer. Oh my god, the power and acceleration was something I had never felt before. Instantly I thought my Cobra was slow. I knew then, I had to get the Z06. At this point, my car modding was a bit out of control. I think I was ordering parts for the car before the deal was done.
Once I got tired of the Z06, I decided to try another Ford Mustang. I chose the 2000 Mustang Saleen S-281 Convertible. I don’t remember doing a lot of modifications to this car. I didn’t actually keep it all that long, as I went back to another Corvette Z06.
The next Corvette I bought was a red 2001 Corvette Z06. I modified this car extensively. I added a magnuson supercharger which required a taller hood to fit it on top of the engine, headers, full exhaust, wheels, line lock for the drag strip, and so many other things. The car had over 500HP with all the changes. I remember having some friends help install the supercharger. It was a challenge to install all the various parts with limited knowledge and tools, but was an experience I will never forget.
My Corvette history kind of blends together. I have had eight Corvettes over the years, and the majority of them were the Z06 model. I also modded them in some way, to include adding headers, exhaust, and wheels. Here are some pictures of the various Corvettes i have owned.
In 2015, I won a 2016 Corvette. Yes, you read that right, I won it. I entered a car raffle and was lucky enough to be selected. I tried to upgrade the model to a Z06, but the dealer did not have any available. So I drove the car home, parked it in the garage with around 36 miles on the odometer, and listed it for sale. A month or so after I sold the car, I received an invite to the Ron Fellows Driving Academy in Nevada. It was a 2 day course designed to familiarize you with your newly purchased (or won) Corvette. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity, so I headed out to Vegas! You can read all about it in this post.
In 2022, I branched out and got an SUV instead of a sports car. I chose a Range Rover Sport with a supercharged V8. It sounded great, but ultimately the infotainment was a horrible disappointment for a SUV of this price. I sold it about a year later.
Throughout the years, I have had numerous cars, some of which I mentioned above. I even tried to make my own Eleanor, the 1967 Mustang Fastback from the movie Gone in 60 Seconds. It ended up being a very involved, time consuming project, which I ultimately decided against finishing. I will put a list and some pictures of the other cars (and 1 truck) below. While they were all great in one way or another, they never were the perfect car to me. I went through car after car, often impatiently, looking for the right one.
Here is a list of the cars I have driven/owned. I did the best to remember the more important ones:
1984 Porsche 944
1993 Acura NSX
1998 Mustang Cobra
1998 Ford Lightning
2000 Mustang Saleen S-281 Supercharged
2001 Corvette Z06
2002 Corvette Z06
2006 Corvette Z06
2012 Mercedes C63 AMG
2017 Corvette
2017 Camaro SS
2016 Jaguar F-Type R
2016 Porsche 911 Turbo
2016 Porsche GT3
2016 Porsche GT3 RS
2018 Lamborghini Huracan
2018 Lamborghini Huracan RWD
2018 Lamborghini Aventador S
2016 Ferrari 458
2017 Ferrari 488
2017 Acura NSX
2017 BMW M2
2017 BMW M3
2017 BMW M4
2017 BMW 650i
2017 BMW X5M
2021 Porsche GT4
I would love to drive a McLaren at some point too. If anybody with one is reading this, contact me! Haha.
Check out Part 2 of this series to learn about what is currently happening with my car addiction.