Young, Nubile Woman Screams She Likes My Car

"Your car is beautiful!"  A guy and gal had been following me for a while and finally the road divided so that they could pass and have a closer look.  I'm not sure what his reaction was, but she was particularly enamored with the Red Man.   I'm not certain how "nubile" she was but she was young and mature if not especially attractive.  Be that as it may, I was pleased to have the affirmation. 

A chubby middle-aged guy told me he liked my Ghia and another guy told me his friend had a TR once just like mine only a different color (as he remembered).

Hard to pick one! Living in this area of SoCal (Newport Beach), where Lambos, Ferraris, Bentleys, McLarens, Porsches, Audi R8s and the like are everywhere, we still get 'Thumbs Up' and 'awesome car' comments every time we cruise around in our daily driver VS.

These Speedster replicars are TOO much fun, no matter where you live & drive! 

Two summers ago, while driving through the south-eastern part of B.C., I stopped in a small town for a coffee break.  While getting out of my IM an older lady, with her grandson in tow, stopped and asked me if my car was over or under 200.

Not sure what she meant, I asked, "Over or under what?"

She replied, "over or under $200,000.

I smiled and said, "she's a bit under 200."

50 miles later I was still smiling.

There have too many encounters to remember in the ten years Penny's been on the road. Some have been related to the type of car, some to the unusual copper color. Most encounters have been with women of all ages, some I have found sitting in the car when returning from the store, a restaurant...

But, of all the encounters I've had in the past ten years, the one that really touches me is when a family passes by on the road and the little kids are looking out the window and pointing at Penny with big grins on their faces.

Like you guys ,I've had all of the above comments.  My all-time favourite was when a twenty-something year-old guy with a bunch of his buddies yelled out " what the f***!!!!" with a big thumbs up.  These cars seem to touch a nerve with people that makes them blurt out whatever comes to mind.  I've never had a car that draws that much attention and it sure makes ownership a blast!

You guys haven't been on the open road much...and it shows. We've had MANY encounters with the Speedster that you'd not be familiar with. We bought the little bugger in Boise, Idaho three years and drove it through Utah, Colorado etc.  and East to upstate NY then home to Ottawa, Canada. The trip got derailed a bit and we spent a long weekend in Spanish Fork, Ut with a loaner and got up to Sundance and Park City. Now, heading East, just after visiting Buffalo Bill's grave site, with a new set of tires etc. and feeling fairly confident, we're coming down a huge interstate near Denver probably doing a staggering 60 mph with the lowly, stock 1600 running well, a Biker  / W B  ( and a nice looker she was ) lad pulls up behind and sits back a bit and checks us out. No plates on the back of the car. No plates on the front either. One travel permit under the seat as it was in my view a bit affixed to the windshield as instructed back in Boise. He pulls up aside and checks us out, pulls ahead looking for front plates..nada. He laughs gives us the thumbs up and pulls away. I knew we were doing the right thing. He knew it too. It's just a feeling you get....it's right...no shiny pics, just memories that can't be replicated.

Now, again in the open road thing ( you guys should try it more often ) there's opportunity for fun sometimes. Francine likes to tan certain things when heading East and the sun is in the right direction for the time of day. Opportunity for amusement now exists. We don't drive that fast so the passing truck drivers normally just give a few blasts of approval. Mini Vans are more fun to watch.

Typically a family SUV or Mini Van will approach from behind, check the car out for a while, maybe wake the kids up to see the really neat car we're gonna pass and get the camera ready. They get everything set up, take some pics and then pull up to see who the hell is driving in this crazy thing and get ready for more pics. Predictably, the right seater is the Wife / Mother of the rest and in very short order demands max acceleration on a befuddled driver. He gets nothing but disapproval for the rest of the trip and probably paid for most of it..... and will hear about it for months to come. I am to blame an accept full responsibility.

One other thing comes to light of an amusing highlight of that cross country trip. I make my living in Canada with Out Door Advertising....billboards on roadways to be exact. I don't miss much that way on any trip and while traveling through Kansas I found most related to Lawyers,   // " bars " // and the best one of all...Teeth pulled for

$ 39.00 ....OW,  eh ?

Just like everyone else, my car gets a lot of comments and I agree with Terry, that very young kids seem to be especially attracted to our cars.  It's not uncommon that I'll be in a shopping mall parking lot and a mom with a 3 or 4 year old child in tow will be crossing in front of me.  The child ends up being tugged along, because he/she wants to stare at the car.  I think it's because these car are so small that they are perceived as sort of cartoonish to young kids.

One comment that stands out to me, because I thought he was going to punch me out for some reason was this. A guy on a rice rocket came zooming up to me when I stop in a parking lot.  He skidded to a stop, jumped off the bike, tore off his helmet while walking up to me and said "NO F**ING WAY!"

I've posted this before when this type of thread shows up, but here is my list of "Top Ten Questions" David Letterman style: 

#10 Is that your car? 
#9 Is it fun to drive? (some people just don't have a clue) 
#8 Where did you get the wheels? 
#7 What engine do you have in it? 
#6 Is that a kit car? 
#5 Did you do the work yourself? 
#4 How much did that cost you? (again, some people just don't have a clue) 
#3 Is that new? 
#2 What is that? 
And the #1 question is:

"Dude! What year is that?" 

I can't top David, but there was this yesterday: I drove Bridget (that's the car's name) to Morgan State University to do a radio segment. Came out on what I guess was a class change, so about 30 students were streaming past the car as I got in her. Every man, every woman complimented the car. Big smiles all around.

On the way home two guys took phone pics/ movies of me from one of the hard corners just east of Hopkins hospital. They both asked permission, and that was the usual thing. Dudes on the five-block stretch there always say nice things, wave and smile at the car, and it's an area where a half dozen murders happen each year.

Last spring at an apartment/condo complex on a weekday afternoon I come out from an interview and there's a mother with her son, maybe 6 years old, hovering over the car. "Is that a race car?" the boy asks, wide-eyed. I sat him down in it for his mom to take a pic.

Same thing in a mall parking lot during the summer--two teen girls this time.

And last year on evening driving home from work in Baltimore: I stopped at a light in the city and four teen girls screamed as they ran into the street and started piling into the car--back package shelf, passenger seat, everywhere. 

Ahhh you're the one they're looking out for on the Crane Highway...Dundalk, eh?....just kidding. Ed, If we can do a better hookup next Carlise, I'm going to push hard to get down to Balt / Dundalk area to revisit old memories and eat some serious crab on my dime...

Ed,

So what happened after they all piled into your car....?

David,

If you get to the Baltimore/Dundalk area, let us know too.  There's a room available if you need it and Norma makes dynamite crab cakes. 

I hung out here for over a year before getting the car, so a lot of this doesn't surprise me (except maybe the teenage girls jumping in the back seat).

But I'm still trying to figure out just what it is about the Speedster that makes people open up.

I guess young kids see it as a cartoon car.

And it must make graying hippy types (like me) remember when.

But the biggest surprise is how bikers relate. When you ride a bike, cars - all cars - are The Enemy. I'm amazed how many bikers give a biker salute - somehow, we're one of them.

It's not just that it's an open roadster. I think the Speedy's so old school that, like a bike, it's a symbol of rebellion against the faceless computerized and airbagged boxes that clog our roads today.

Two come to mind: 1) At a stop light a lady asked me if my girlfriend like my car and 2) At the gas station, the lady attendant told me she was going to watch the Michigan game after work and was wondering if I was going to watch it too :-)

David, you are welcome here any time. Joppa's just a little classier than Dundalk. Aw, who'm I kiddin'?

Bruce: So the girls wanted a ride to the next stop light but I had to tell them no, as there was only one other seat. They weren't all able to fit in the car so they piled out and ran off screaming.

  Yes I do hear that a lot.. but this don't happen often..     Ohhhh Boy!!!

I liked the time a man in his 70's asked me if parts were hard to get!!!!!!!!

I told him nope!!! He just shook his head in awe, then I told him it was new!!!

He said I know its been completely restored, but were the parts hard to get !!!

I said nope ,then told him the whole story!!!!!!  Gotta love it!!!!    Sea-B-Stu

I may have said this before but it's still my favorite...of many...

My wife and I are parked at the beach watching the surf roll in and are about to leave when a guy in a newer 911 whips into the parking space next to us and jumps out. He says"Man! do you realize what you have here?"  I said,"Yep. Matching numbers too." He says, "wow matching numbers!"  I said,"yep unfortunately, the numbers match a '65 Volkswagen." He was confused and we left him that way.

Kinda' piling on to the obvious, but we got more thumbs-ups at the Speedster than almost any of the cars in our collection.

I've got to get over using an apologetic tone to my voice when answering "replica" 

Al:

Now that's funny!

Carl:

I have found that most people are more intrigued than anything else by mine being a replica, and want to know more about car and how it's made. If it goes the other way, I just smile and ask them what's in there garage that's fun to drive.

It's funny, to me, how much attention is paid to my plastic car even after I explain it's origin.

However, in my neck of the woods, everybody claims to have owned a real speedster at one time or another, including the toothless gentleman who hangs out in front of the local McDonalds parking lot.

I find that a lot of folks immediately get more interested because they see it as suddenly more obtainable.  Something that you can never have is intellectually interesting.  Something that is almost equally attractive that may well be within your reach is much more so.

My most memorable event occurred at a gas station after my weekly drive down my favorite (read "only") local twisty road.  I came out from inside to find a slightly shady looking character (lots of tats and all) and two small children gathered around my car. The father was immediately apologetic for his kids being near it, using terms like "sir" and "boss" when referring to me making me believe that he must have recently been released from prison.  He asked a few questions about what it was and I gave him honest answers.  He asked if I would mind if he took a picture of his kids standing near (but certainly not touching) the car and I offered a different suggestion.  I asked if he thought the kids would enjoy sitting in it and the look on both his face and that of his kids was like it was the best Christmas they'd ever had, so of course I put them both in it for shots with each behind the wheel.  We all parted with smiles and I couldn't help but feel like the little basic human consideration I had shown was more than they were used to.  I was sorry for my initial judgement of him and resolved to be a bit less judgmental based on someone's appearance.  I think we all benefited from our encounter.

Yeah, I've had some wine and am feeling mellow.  Can you tell?

Nothing wrong with that Lane. You did a good thing.

Even after 15 years of ownership and 90,000 relatively-trouble-free miles logged on the odometer, we still get a big kick cruising our '95 VS...

....along the California coast on Highway 1... 

       ....through the Colorado Rockies at 10,000ft +...

      .....a sunset cruise through Arches National Park, Utah...

     ......exploring backroads of local mountains...

           ....chillaxing at the beach admiring the Queen Mary 

     ...or just some 'me' time shredding some tasty waves...

Jim, you're obviously being rewarded for having lived a commendable previous life!

90K trouble-free miles? Ol' Ferdinand Porsche must be putting in 'good word' for you...(even though it's a replica))

I've had 3k very troubled miles.   What does that say about my life?

Ron O,

For some reason Ferdinand must think Ignacio's speedster is 'the real thing'

But he suspects yours is a plastic fake...that must piss him off!!

@Ron very funny my friend! 

@Carl - just luck of the draw with cars! 

LOL!!!  So Jim, I misread your one photo caption as: climaxing at the beach admiring the Queen Mary.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Ron O wrote:  

"I've had 3k very troubled miles.   What does that say about my life?"

Well, I thought that your Avatar pic about said it all.........

That you with the Mustache?

Hey, how did you know I have a mustache? 

That's OK........that's me in the white coat.  Jus sayin'....