griffined
SVT driver
I took the R to the Good Guys car show here in NorCal this past weekend, and wrote something up that will eventually show up on my web site. I thought the folks in this forum might enjoy it.
Good Guys 21st All American Get-Together
March 22, 23, 2003
Alameda County Fairgrounds
Pleasanton, CA
This was the first local car show of the year and weather is always a concern this time of year in Northern California. The forecast was for scattered clouds early in the day and a possibility of rain late in the evening. In order to get a good parking spot, especially if you want to go with others in a group, requires a very early start. The folks I was going with decided to leave home around 6:30am and arrive at the fairgrounds before the gates opened at 7am. I needed to leave a little later, and the plan was for them to save me a parking space on the grass.
I got caught in a little traffic when I was close to the fairgrounds, but soon made it to the proper gate, and using cell phones and radios was aware of where I needed to turn to find my friends and the space they were saving for me. I was parked at the event by about 7:45am
My 2000 Cobra R was next to Ron’s 1964 Galaxy 500 XL 427 4 speed. On the other side of Ron were Chris’s 1999 Corvette convertible, and Ron Jr’s 2002 Focus SVT. We set up our tables and chairs and had some coffee and watched the other cars parking around us. By 9am there seemed to be no additional space on the grass area for parking.
Spectators began walking by and looking at our cars, which was the whole point of the event. All day long this happens, and after a while it was easy to see a pattern. Guys that were 50 or older were drawn to Ron’s 64 Galaxy 500 XL. Many of them remarked that they had one when they were younger, and they liked seeing his 427 with dual 4 bbl carbs and 4 speed manual transmission.
Kids and folks that were in their teens were likely to check out Ron Jr’s Focus SVT. It’s a purplish blue color, and he was playing some of that rap music on his stereo. The security dude also came by more than once to tell him to turn it down. I think Emenem is talented, but hearing his songs once a day is plenty for me. I bought Ron Jr a die cast model of his car when I saw it for sale at Fry’s in Houston. I presented it to him at the show, and he got quite a kick out of it. He even took it out of the box and showed some friends when they stopped by.
Chris’s convertible Vette also had a couple fans during the course of the day. One of them had feathers, and was sitting on a branch in the tree we were parked under. He “voted” for Chris’s car 5 times! Ron Jr’s car also got a dirty bird vote or two. NOTE TO SELF: Next time do not park under tree branches!
Some time between 11am and Noon the sun finally came out from behind the clouds, and things started warming up. This time was declared “beer thirty”, or time for a beer. We brought chairs and a small table, along with some food for snacking and making “sammiches”. It was nice to just sit back and take it easy, catch some rays, and watch people go walking by. All during the day friends would drop by to chat for a while before moving on. I think we all took a little time to walk around and look at some of the other cars around us as well.
My car had the hood up most of the time, and a good number of folks would walk past and stop to look. Many of them said “Oh S***!” or something similar when they saw the large motor, especially the tall intake on my R. I heard many folks comment that this was the first 2000 R they had seen in person, and they were more likely to know that it was a limited production vehicle for racing, than the exact year, or engine size.
It was interesting to note that most of the older folks who were checking out Ron’s 64 Galaxy didn’t pay much attention to my car, and most of the younger folks that were checking my car out didn’t really look at Ron’s car. I guess it’s an age thing, but I really like all kinds of cars.
The sun was out for most of the afternoon but close to 4pm it started to go behind some clouds and the wind picked up a little. Soon after the fairgrounds were filled with the sound of American horsepower and everyone began to pack up, start up, and move out. The weather forecast for Sunday wasn’t as good, and it actually rained some overnight. We decided to say home and watch racing on TV rather than return to show our cars the next day. I’m already looking forward to the next Good Guys show here, later this summer.
Ed
Good Guys 21st All American Get-Together
March 22, 23, 2003
Alameda County Fairgrounds
Pleasanton, CA
This was the first local car show of the year and weather is always a concern this time of year in Northern California. The forecast was for scattered clouds early in the day and a possibility of rain late in the evening. In order to get a good parking spot, especially if you want to go with others in a group, requires a very early start. The folks I was going with decided to leave home around 6:30am and arrive at the fairgrounds before the gates opened at 7am. I needed to leave a little later, and the plan was for them to save me a parking space on the grass.
I got caught in a little traffic when I was close to the fairgrounds, but soon made it to the proper gate, and using cell phones and radios was aware of where I needed to turn to find my friends and the space they were saving for me. I was parked at the event by about 7:45am
My 2000 Cobra R was next to Ron’s 1964 Galaxy 500 XL 427 4 speed. On the other side of Ron were Chris’s 1999 Corvette convertible, and Ron Jr’s 2002 Focus SVT. We set up our tables and chairs and had some coffee and watched the other cars parking around us. By 9am there seemed to be no additional space on the grass area for parking.
Spectators began walking by and looking at our cars, which was the whole point of the event. All day long this happens, and after a while it was easy to see a pattern. Guys that were 50 or older were drawn to Ron’s 64 Galaxy 500 XL. Many of them remarked that they had one when they were younger, and they liked seeing his 427 with dual 4 bbl carbs and 4 speed manual transmission.
Kids and folks that were in their teens were likely to check out Ron Jr’s Focus SVT. It’s a purplish blue color, and he was playing some of that rap music on his stereo. The security dude also came by more than once to tell him to turn it down. I think Emenem is talented, but hearing his songs once a day is plenty for me. I bought Ron Jr a die cast model of his car when I saw it for sale at Fry’s in Houston. I presented it to him at the show, and he got quite a kick out of it. He even took it out of the box and showed some friends when they stopped by.
Chris’s convertible Vette also had a couple fans during the course of the day. One of them had feathers, and was sitting on a branch in the tree we were parked under. He “voted” for Chris’s car 5 times! Ron Jr’s car also got a dirty bird vote or two. NOTE TO SELF: Next time do not park under tree branches!
Some time between 11am and Noon the sun finally came out from behind the clouds, and things started warming up. This time was declared “beer thirty”, or time for a beer. We brought chairs and a small table, along with some food for snacking and making “sammiches”. It was nice to just sit back and take it easy, catch some rays, and watch people go walking by. All during the day friends would drop by to chat for a while before moving on. I think we all took a little time to walk around and look at some of the other cars around us as well.
My car had the hood up most of the time, and a good number of folks would walk past and stop to look. Many of them said “Oh S***!” or something similar when they saw the large motor, especially the tall intake on my R. I heard many folks comment that this was the first 2000 R they had seen in person, and they were more likely to know that it was a limited production vehicle for racing, than the exact year, or engine size.
It was interesting to note that most of the older folks who were checking out Ron’s 64 Galaxy didn’t pay much attention to my car, and most of the younger folks that were checking my car out didn’t really look at Ron’s car. I guess it’s an age thing, but I really like all kinds of cars.
The sun was out for most of the afternoon but close to 4pm it started to go behind some clouds and the wind picked up a little. Soon after the fairgrounds were filled with the sound of American horsepower and everyone began to pack up, start up, and move out. The weather forecast for Sunday wasn’t as good, and it actually rained some overnight. We decided to say home and watch racing on TV rather than return to show our cars the next day. I’m already looking forward to the next Good Guys show here, later this summer.
Ed
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