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But of course, if you are reading this you know that we have another source of automobile entertainment,
the internet. This is the largest source of every type of automobile information available. It would be
impossible to go into all of the different type of sites and information available to us 24/7. It will suffice to
say, you can virtually find out any type of information you need on your car, or any car for that matter,
from “how to” technical information to production information and specs. History, production
information, and specifications for virtually any production car ever produced are available at a
moment’s request. There are sites to decipher a VIN and even report how rare or unique a particular car
may be. You want to know how many C5, Speedway White with Red/Black interior, Z06′s were
produced, you can quickly find out that there were only 137 produced and only in 2001. You want to
know the right performance cam to install in your LS2, the best clutch set up for racing, how to install
twin turbos on your LT4 or anything at all, it is all there, a click away. You can watch thousands of
“YouTube®” videos on absolutely any and everything auto related. And finally let’s not forget the
“forums”, where you can share automotive ideas and thoughts with others of similar interests. And as an
automobile aficionado I say, “Lucky me!”
As the checkered flag comes down on 2012 you have to be aware that performance is alive and well, like
never before. The ZR1 Corvette, like the one that just beat the Viper at Laguna Seca is only one of
several testaments to that. Throughout the automotive industry outstanding performance cars are being
built and each year the bar gets raised a little higher. Certainly the new Viper is a contender and Ford’s
new GT500 looks like it will be some serious competition to the new Corvette as well. No longer when
someone in a Mustang pulls up next to us can we take it for granted that they will be sucking our exhaust
fumes. And all this is not only okay, it’s great! It signifies just what I have been saying: the performance
automobile is thriving like never before.
Just a few years after the entire US auto industry almost went “belly up”, we have been rewarded with
cars that were almost unimaginable thirty years ago. Who could conceive that we would be driving street
legal production Corvettes that could top 170 MPH? And when GM declared bankruptcy who of us did
not worry that we may never be able to drive another new Corvette, much less an entire new generation
of Corvettes. The very fact that through the
most adverse times in the company’s history,
the engineers and designers at GM were able
to not only keep the dream alive but to
produce an entire new generation of Corvettes
touted to be the best ever. That remains to be
seen. There are several “naysayers” out there
criticizing the C7 which the pundits have
never even seen, much less driven, but my bet
is that GM will deliver us the best Corvette
ever, in every respect.
Regardless though, whether the C7 first year
car has 450 HP or 475 HP, we still live in the
most exciting times in automotive history. We
not only have the best cars, we have more
venues to enjoy them, more exposure to motorsports and activities of all types. We have more
information at our fingertips to fix, upgrade, customize, restore and simply enjoy our cars. As the green
flag is waved for the start of 2013, the Golden Age of the Automobile is upon us and the hobby.
That’s something I would have not thought possible twenty five or even five years ago. We are living it, a
part of it. And as an enthusiast I can say, “I’m damn lucky!”