Ok, I didn't want to say anything until it was official, but I'm sorry to say this chapter in my automotive life is over. The trade-in value of the Camaro sharply rose in the past few months to the point that it was reaching parity with private party sales, so I took advantage to make a lifestyle paradigm shift that's been long overdue. No more track days with cars, I want to use my weekends to take motorcycle vacations. Last year I put exactly half of my annual miles on motorcycles, and doing track days A) weren't fun anymore after doing them for 16 years, and B) I was finding myself regretting not being on a motorcycle on my days off work. The Camaro is so good on-track that I wasn't going to be able to make a transition without facilitating it in a big way. So here goes:
IMG_5795.jpg by
Ryephile, on Flickr
IMG_5823.jpg by
Ryephile, on Flickr
IMG_5816.jpg by
Ryephile, on Flickr
IMG_5797.jpg by
Ryephile, on Flickr
Tesla Model 3 Performance. Black on Black
I know many of you won't get it, but I hope you do. I'm not just a muscle car guy, I've always been an all-cars guy. I grew up racing 1/10th scale electric off-road R/C cars, gasoline was strange to me when learning to drive on the street. I love the sound of the Camaro V8, but I don't need it to survive. I also loved the sound of my brappy Fiat Abarth, smooth Turbo Miata, angry buzzsaw Lotus Exige S, old-school Mustang Cobra, and velvety inline-6 BMW //M3 E36. The Tesla doesn't sound like any of them, it doesn't sound like anything. That's one facet of the wonder, and one facet of the paradigm shift. The experience is serene, but the controls are scalpel precise. It feels like I'm driving the future, and the aura is pure zen. I needed to de-escalate the insanity of life, and this helps me do that.
It's been really great being here, and the 1LE is right up there with [IMO] the best driving gasoline powered cars of all time, to put it bluntly.
Finally, as part of trading the car in, I put the car nearly back to stock. If anyone wants a full set of ZL1 brakes and please lives in or near Michigan, I'll give you a screaming deal. Shipping those beasts as one shipment would probably need a pallet. I also have a set of MRR M716 track wheels [19x10.5" front and 11" rear, for running 305/30-19 tires] and a set of Verde Empire 19x8.5" et15 winter wheels with 245/45-19 snow tires that have a little bit of serviceable life left.
I'll still hang around, I've always enjoyed the camaraderie here.
Cheers,
Ryan