From a young age, when you have a dream or desire in life, it’s always good to match up with someone who too has similar ambitions. Take my childhood best friend, Jarvis. I can’t exactly remember when we first met but our parents were both educators in the Roanoke City school system. Our main connection, as you can guess it, were Cars. From watching Knight Rider on Friday nights at 8pm to collecting Radio/Remote Control cars, we had a passion that just wouldn’t let up. Jarvis to me was always the first to acquire pretty much everything he and I wished for. He was the first one who got the “Animal”, a battery-operated truck with retractable clawed feet that would activate when it encountered an obstacle, he was also the first to get an electric racetrack where you’d have two vehicles controlled with a wired-transmitter racing on a black magnetic snap-on track with loops, turns and protective guard rails. Jarvis to me was the cool friend whose parents allowed him to do cool things. I remember when I was doing a science fair project in high school on the effectiveness of name-brand batteries versus the generic brands, he let me use his remote-controlled car that he built from a hobby store to really grade the brand’s life usage. His dad took us to a monster truck race when it came to our Civic Center and we got to see Big Foot vs. Grave Digger. It was so loud and so crazy cool, I still hear the engines revving up in my head to this day.
The first time Jarvis got his license, he drove to my house in his parent’s Saab 9-5. They owned two of them, one was a 1986 maroon and a 1988 gray with a manual sunroof. They also owned a black 1985 Merkur XR4Ti with the dual spoiler set. He later acquired this vehicle and upgraded its performance output with a computer chip that, according to him, greatly increased the horsepower and torque to some pretty extreme levels. We used to talk a lot about what vehicles we would own in our lifetime and what life would be like once we graduated college and established ourselves in the world. He was the first to purchase a true sports car back in 2018 when he acquired a C7 Corvette (2017) 6-spd manual. When he came to show it to me, he couldn’t pull it in my steep driveway, so he had to park it on the street. Man, that car was a pure American beauty. We ran it on the highway and down the main strip off of Highway 64; it was poetic how the exhausts sounded lighting up the road. Of course I had seen many Corvettes, but it hits different when you’re riding shot gun in your best friends’ ride. Not too long ago, he added a beautiful red Dodge Viper to his collection. After some restoration work, it’s definitely become a thing of beauty. And the torque on that beast is unreal. Dodge discontinued making the Viper, among other vehicles, and now I believe it’s become a collector’s item, increased value and highly sought after. Looking forward to checking that out in person.
It’s amazing where our paths have gone since those young days talking about our dreams in our living rooms. I tip my hat to you partner and to you, Car Guys and Gals. Looking forward to future connections and plenty of green lights… Cheers!!
Car Guy’s Car Tip
Before you perform any after-market modifications that may alter the performance and integrity of the vehicle, be sure to do your research on long-term effects and safety measures. It’s also very important to note any changes that could affect or even void the vehicles’ manufacture warranty.