Tweet
I know this is kinda old... but someone sent it to me just recently ... and I read it again. The letter brings me to tears ... It also proves that I am not alone in my passion, and I don't feel as unstable as others would have me believe I am.
I walked outside just now and set a hand on the left-front fender of my car ... and just stood there for a few minutes. Sometimes there are just no words.
(Original thread )
This tribute was written and sent to me by Scott Settlemire about a very special black SS. Below the story is one of the posters made of this awesome car:
"He was born a star...in February during the cold brutal months that are so characteristic of Ste. Therese in suburban Montreal. There were a few before him, but he was the first of his particular kind. Number 100014. As he roared to life, I’m sure some heads turned, because you see, he was the first with an LS1 engine and the performance exhaust system. Those before him, for the most part, had the L36 engine. His voice was loud and powerful...perhaps more refined in some ways. ( I say "he" because anything this muscular -- that roars this loud had better be male.....) He was a part of the "pilot build" for 1998.
A quick trip to LaSalle allowed him to breathe better with a new induction system.
He then passed through Detroit on his way to California on the way to stardom.....to get a final cleanup and inspection. I remember the day I first saw him....he was with a few of his brothers in a warehouse waiting to be taken to Van Nuys. His Onyx Black finish was spotless...and one turn of the key and I knew he’d capture the hearts of many.
For the next three years, he graced the pages of the Camaro Brochure. The first year he was proudly running down the road with rain on his ‘skin’ that looked almost like sweat on a running back‘s face. He graced the back of the 1998 Camaro poster.....and was featured in magazine ads. And he was the SS on the 2000 Camaro poster ...with the tagline "33 years of Total Domination." He also was featured on a desert shot with others very much like him.
To this day, there is evidence of the sandstorm that he was subjected to after that desert photo-shoot. Two years later, through the magic of computers, we tinted him Navy Blue and photoshop’d new wheels on him. He looked very menacing sitting there in an alley next to a warehouse late at night.
Many people admired the many pictures of him....and waited patiently for others just like him to be built. Others dreamed of owning him one day. All the while, he spent most of the time in a warehouse in Van Nuys....very close to where millions of his predecessors had roared to life years before.
I summoned him to Detroit one day, to look him over and turn him over to a few companies to see what they could do to make him run faster...stop quicker...and bellow louder under full acceleration.
They improved his breathing with special exhausts and airbox. They supercharged him and gave him an intercooler. They gave him killer brakes, and a new set of wheels and performance tires. They lowered his ride height...and then they put him in magazines to show the owners of his brothers, sisters, and cousins how to improve the performance of their Camaro or Firebird.
He then toured the country on the Hot Rod Power tour.....and appeared at many Fcar gatherings. After the Super Chevy Cruise to Las Vegas a few years ago, I sent him to Florida where he appeared in the showroom of WorldWide Camaro. Last year, he put an appearance at the National Corvette Museum’s Annual Fcar gathering.....and then he came back to Detroit and spent the winter in another warehouse amongst other historic Chevrolets and other GM cars and trucks.
I went to see him on Friday. His cover was removed and quite frankly, he looked like an exotic panther...ready to spring into action. One turn of the key and he filled the warehouse with what I’d describe as ‘music to my ears.’
I drove him home for one last time.
You see, next week, he’ll meet his fate. He’ll be no longer....just a memory in my mind....
His pictures will still be kept lovingly in brochures and on posters. And of course, one of the "proof" pictures will continue to reside on the wall in my home office.
I washed him today....removed his roof panels and went for a long ride. The whistle of his Vortech Supercharger was unmistakable. The Onyx Black paint and lowered ride height made him stand apart from mere cars. He got envious stares from many....a Mustang growled as it went by in the other direction.....little did the driver know that this was no ordinary SS. Several
pre-teen boys on bicycles ogled him in the parking lot of a 7-11...with a ‘nice car, mister’ from
several of them. Other Camaro and Firebird drivers gave me the "thumbs up" (as I did to them) as we passed. A neighbor with a Mustang yelled "beautiful car!" from his driveway.
He seemed to beg for me to push him to the limit, but knowing that the rear tires were well worn from many passes down the strip, I knew he’d be nearly broadside if I did. We settled for a few quick run-ups on I-94.....and a few fast entrances onto that freeway.
Tomorrow, I’ll take him to see some of his brothers and sisters and cousins that are owned by some of the members of Street Lethal Performance. We’ll cruise Gratiot Avenue....just as millions have done before. He’ll look great.....he’ll sound great....and he’ll perform great.
It saddens me that when I turn his keys back in, I’ll never see him again.
Perhaps parts of his composite body panels will be in someone’s kitchen floor. Perhaps part of his steel will be used in a new building....a bridge perhaps.....or a new appliance. His glass may find itself in another car. Perhaps his aluminum "heart" will one day carry a cold beverage.
Who knows?
I tell myself that I’ll see many more like him at Camaro shows around the country, after all, Onyx Black is a very popular color.
But I know better. Each one off the line, believe it or not, has its own personality of sorts. No two are quite exactly the same.
So I’ll treasure this weekend with him. I’ll try not to think of what’s about to happen.
But the memory will live on.
Goodbye, my wonderful, handsome friend, goodbye.........."
(image)
I walked outside just now and set a hand on the left-front fender of my car ... and just stood there for a few minutes. Sometimes there are just no words.
(Original thread )
This tribute was written and sent to me by Scott Settlemire about a very special black SS. Below the story is one of the posters made of this awesome car:
"He was born a star...in February during the cold brutal months that are so characteristic of Ste. Therese in suburban Montreal. There were a few before him, but he was the first of his particular kind. Number 100014. As he roared to life, I’m sure some heads turned, because you see, he was the first with an LS1 engine and the performance exhaust system. Those before him, for the most part, had the L36 engine. His voice was loud and powerful...perhaps more refined in some ways. ( I say "he" because anything this muscular -- that roars this loud had better be male.....) He was a part of the "pilot build" for 1998.
A quick trip to LaSalle allowed him to breathe better with a new induction system.
He then passed through Detroit on his way to California on the way to stardom.....to get a final cleanup and inspection. I remember the day I first saw him....he was with a few of his brothers in a warehouse waiting to be taken to Van Nuys. His Onyx Black finish was spotless...and one turn of the key and I knew he’d capture the hearts of many.
For the next three years, he graced the pages of the Camaro Brochure. The first year he was proudly running down the road with rain on his ‘skin’ that looked almost like sweat on a running back‘s face. He graced the back of the 1998 Camaro poster.....and was featured in magazine ads. And he was the SS on the 2000 Camaro poster ...with the tagline "33 years of Total Domination." He also was featured on a desert shot with others very much like him.
To this day, there is evidence of the sandstorm that he was subjected to after that desert photo-shoot. Two years later, through the magic of computers, we tinted him Navy Blue and photoshop’d new wheels on him. He looked very menacing sitting there in an alley next to a warehouse late at night.
Many people admired the many pictures of him....and waited patiently for others just like him to be built. Others dreamed of owning him one day. All the while, he spent most of the time in a warehouse in Van Nuys....very close to where millions of his predecessors had roared to life years before.
I summoned him to Detroit one day, to look him over and turn him over to a few companies to see what they could do to make him run faster...stop quicker...and bellow louder under full acceleration.
They improved his breathing with special exhausts and airbox. They supercharged him and gave him an intercooler. They gave him killer brakes, and a new set of wheels and performance tires. They lowered his ride height...and then they put him in magazines to show the owners of his brothers, sisters, and cousins how to improve the performance of their Camaro or Firebird.
He then toured the country on the Hot Rod Power tour.....and appeared at many Fcar gatherings. After the Super Chevy Cruise to Las Vegas a few years ago, I sent him to Florida where he appeared in the showroom of WorldWide Camaro. Last year, he put an appearance at the National Corvette Museum’s Annual Fcar gathering.....and then he came back to Detroit and spent the winter in another warehouse amongst other historic Chevrolets and other GM cars and trucks.
I went to see him on Friday. His cover was removed and quite frankly, he looked like an exotic panther...ready to spring into action. One turn of the key and he filled the warehouse with what I’d describe as ‘music to my ears.’
I drove him home for one last time.
You see, next week, he’ll meet his fate. He’ll be no longer....just a memory in my mind....
His pictures will still be kept lovingly in brochures and on posters. And of course, one of the "proof" pictures will continue to reside on the wall in my home office.
I washed him today....removed his roof panels and went for a long ride. The whistle of his Vortech Supercharger was unmistakable. The Onyx Black paint and lowered ride height made him stand apart from mere cars. He got envious stares from many....a Mustang growled as it went by in the other direction.....little did the driver know that this was no ordinary SS. Several
pre-teen boys on bicycles ogled him in the parking lot of a 7-11...with a ‘nice car, mister’ from
several of them. Other Camaro and Firebird drivers gave me the "thumbs up" (as I did to them) as we passed. A neighbor with a Mustang yelled "beautiful car!" from his driveway.
He seemed to beg for me to push him to the limit, but knowing that the rear tires were well worn from many passes down the strip, I knew he’d be nearly broadside if I did. We settled for a few quick run-ups on I-94.....and a few fast entrances onto that freeway.
Tomorrow, I’ll take him to see some of his brothers and sisters and cousins that are owned by some of the members of Street Lethal Performance. We’ll cruise Gratiot Avenue....just as millions have done before. He’ll look great.....he’ll sound great....and he’ll perform great.
It saddens me that when I turn his keys back in, I’ll never see him again.
Perhaps parts of his composite body panels will be in someone’s kitchen floor. Perhaps part of his steel will be used in a new building....a bridge perhaps.....or a new appliance. His glass may find itself in another car. Perhaps his aluminum "heart" will one day carry a cold beverage.
Who knows?
I tell myself that I’ll see many more like him at Camaro shows around the country, after all, Onyx Black is a very popular color.
But I know better. Each one off the line, believe it or not, has its own personality of sorts. No two are quite exactly the same.
So I’ll treasure this weekend with him. I’ll try not to think of what’s about to happen.
But the memory will live on.
Goodbye, my wonderful, handsome friend, goodbye.........."
(image)
Comment