Well, 2017 came in with a whimper and roar - like a lion cub that got gut-kicked. My project over the past year was a 2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6. Loaded up with DCAI, Eurocharged tuning, SL55 fuel pump, a 185 pulley, 420HP and 440TQ, and more problems than a rubric cube. It spent about 9 months over the year in the shop with everything wrong from a SKREEM key module, bad valve covers, blown head gasket, blown pulley system, corroded wires, bad CPM, and four different coolant leaks, just to scratch the surface. I figured I could throw enough money at it and it would work right. Lord knows when it did it was fast. Serious fast. Cheetah fast. Take my license, I just smoked a new Corvette fast. After the full engine rebuild it ran right for two weeks and then on January 1st I went to start it up to go see the Mummer's parade, or what was left of it after a champagne hangover.
And it didn't start. And it wasn't the battery. If my name were Elvis Presley I'd have shot it (which he did to his Pantera when it did the same.) I almost Tae Kwandoed the door. Thank god I don't know Tae Kwando. So after watching it load up for the umpteenth time onto a flatbed to go to the dealer I decided a needed something new that wouldn't give me any issues. I'm starting a new job in New Jersey with a commute and the last thing I need is to be stranded.
Fortunately for me Chapman Jeep Chrysler in Horsham, PA where I currently reside also sells Fords. I had heard nothing but amazing reviews about the Fiesta ST. Clarkson more or less called it the best car in the world, for any price. And my price point was built around building a nest egg. I also must have been psychic because the night of the 1st before the Crossfire gave me the bird for the last time I had this intense dream about my old Audi S5 Avant (B5 - twin turbo) which, aside perhaps from my short lived 1990 Corvette ZR1 I, was the most fun car I've ever owned. Guess my subconscious was telling me to get back into a true driver's car. How it ever predicted the Crossfire's demise will forever by a mystery.
Anyway, to make a long story longer, Chapman didn't have any Fiesta STs on the lot, although I did take out a Focus ST which I liked, but didn't quite love. It was a stripper to start with - and not the kind I'd throw a dollar bill at - and it was squirmier than a stripper on meth. Once again, not what I'd throw a dollar at, much less twenty-five thousand of them. Fun, yes, but I couldn't live it on a daily basis. Besides, I was on a mission. The dealership found a fully loaded model, we worked out a price that got me out of my lemon and put a smile on my face. The car was in New Jersey but on the 3rd it arrived at the dealership.
2016 leftover, Shadow black with orange recaro seats and ebony rims. A devil of a car I thought when I saw it. And then I got in it. Intrigue at first sight, and love within two minutes of driving it. I've never quite been bolted into a car like this before, short of maybe several other cars I've driven but never owned - Porsche Cayman S, Mazda RX-8, Honda S-2000, Mitsubishi EVO (which I hated), and a Ferrari Testarossa. And none of those cars would have made for a Northeast commuter as practical as the Ford.
I'm really thrilled to be part of this community - I don't think I could have made a better automotive purchase and I'm excited for winter to melt away, and for me to break the car in, so I can start exploiting its performance envelope and maybe track it. I'll post some pictures once the snow melts and I can get it washed. Kudos to those of you who read through this novella. I'm looking forward to making some online friends here and sharing some stories - good, bad, ugly, and hopefully, a little crazy.
- Dan
Previous Cars:
1991 Chrysler TC by Maserati
1967 Ford Thunderbird - 390
1998 Cadillac Eldorado ETC
1990 Corvette ZR1
2001 Audi S4 Avant
2005 Acura RL
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6
2016 Ford Fiesta ST
Various motorcycles
Yeah - I like eclectic cars
And it didn't start. And it wasn't the battery. If my name were Elvis Presley I'd have shot it (which he did to his Pantera when it did the same.) I almost Tae Kwandoed the door. Thank god I don't know Tae Kwando. So after watching it load up for the umpteenth time onto a flatbed to go to the dealer I decided a needed something new that wouldn't give me any issues. I'm starting a new job in New Jersey with a commute and the last thing I need is to be stranded.
Fortunately for me Chapman Jeep Chrysler in Horsham, PA where I currently reside also sells Fords. I had heard nothing but amazing reviews about the Fiesta ST. Clarkson more or less called it the best car in the world, for any price. And my price point was built around building a nest egg. I also must have been psychic because the night of the 1st before the Crossfire gave me the bird for the last time I had this intense dream about my old Audi S5 Avant (B5 - twin turbo) which, aside perhaps from my short lived 1990 Corvette ZR1 I, was the most fun car I've ever owned. Guess my subconscious was telling me to get back into a true driver's car. How it ever predicted the Crossfire's demise will forever by a mystery.
Anyway, to make a long story longer, Chapman didn't have any Fiesta STs on the lot, although I did take out a Focus ST which I liked, but didn't quite love. It was a stripper to start with - and not the kind I'd throw a dollar bill at - and it was squirmier than a stripper on meth. Once again, not what I'd throw a dollar at, much less twenty-five thousand of them. Fun, yes, but I couldn't live it on a daily basis. Besides, I was on a mission. The dealership found a fully loaded model, we worked out a price that got me out of my lemon and put a smile on my face. The car was in New Jersey but on the 3rd it arrived at the dealership.
2016 leftover, Shadow black with orange recaro seats and ebony rims. A devil of a car I thought when I saw it. And then I got in it. Intrigue at first sight, and love within two minutes of driving it. I've never quite been bolted into a car like this before, short of maybe several other cars I've driven but never owned - Porsche Cayman S, Mazda RX-8, Honda S-2000, Mitsubishi EVO (which I hated), and a Ferrari Testarossa. And none of those cars would have made for a Northeast commuter as practical as the Ford.
I'm really thrilled to be part of this community - I don't think I could have made a better automotive purchase and I'm excited for winter to melt away, and for me to break the car in, so I can start exploiting its performance envelope and maybe track it. I'll post some pictures once the snow melts and I can get it washed. Kudos to those of you who read through this novella. I'm looking forward to making some online friends here and sharing some stories - good, bad, ugly, and hopefully, a little crazy.
- Dan
Previous Cars:
1991 Chrysler TC by Maserati
1967 Ford Thunderbird - 390
1998 Cadillac Eldorado ETC
1990 Corvette ZR1
2001 Audi S4 Avant
2005 Acura RL
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6
2016 Ford Fiesta ST
Various motorcycles
Yeah - I like eclectic cars
