Car Culture

 A corvette is more than a car.  It's a culture and also a lifestyle.  The corvette is the cost of admission to be part of the culture.  I never really experience that while I had my corvette because I never really made time to be part of the community.  Sure I went to a car show but that was so incredibly boring.  Everyone there knew each other already and they were broken off into their little cliques.  I stayed for about 30 minutes and left; not sure why I bothered to invest the time to attend.  

There were cruises to check out the bluebonnets, but timing wasn't right.  Or I didn't make time to go on the cruise. 

Earlier this week I saw a post that there was a corvette cruise to go out to Mexia, TX for a special trip.  A special trip to go see Big Boy - aka Union Pacific 4014 - a steam engine from a bygone era.  The biggest steam engine ever built with a 4-8-8-4 configuration.  Decommissioned in 1961 after having travelled over a million miles and fully restored by Union Pacific in 2019.  She isn't a working train anymore but an exhibition piece that travels different parts of the country every so often.

While the corvette cruise is open to anyone, I decided to rent a C8 corvette to participate.  I also took my youngest son out of school for the day so we could see the antiquated technology of yesterday while driving the state of the art technology of today.  Well if it state of the art technology wouldn't it be electric car.  No - electric cars were tried a long time ago and the technology was abandoned for the superior technology of the internal combustion engine.

It was quite a sight to see.  The engine was enormous.  Weighing a million pounds.  Incapable of traveling more than 60 miles at a time because it has to be lubricated at that regular interval.  They didn't have self lubricating parts back then.  There were probably a thousand people gathered to see BigBoy's arrival.  It made it difficult to get close to it and see what all they were doing during the stop.

After the train departed we decided to eat lunch with the covet crowd.  It was quite enjoyable.  I happened to with an a couple in their 80s.  From from the 80s but 80 plus years old.  The lady has pancreatic cancer was looked thin.  Both of them were as nice and could be and enjoyed sharing conversation with them.  Turns out the man (Edgar) went to TLC in the 60s and dropped out without graduating and after a hiatus tried a year at SWTSU.  A path parallel to mine.  He was also a conservative so we had plenty to talk about during lunch,

Prior to leaving for the trip the club met at a local donut shop.  Everyone was visiting and discussing their cars and the day ahead.

Driving to the train stop was fun.  10 corvettes in a convoy going up the interstate.  Quite a sight to see.  All of us drove the car in similar fashion in acceleration patters, braking patterns, etc.  I got the rental up to 106.  I asked Edgar how fast he got up to and said 110.  Another guy in the group got up to 120.  No garage queens in that group.

It was a cool experience.  I enjoyed the drive, the destination and the lunch.  All the people were regular people.  Not plastics.  There were varying degrees of money in the group.  We were all bonded by the car.  It brought us together and gave us a common bond.  I alway heard the corvette was not just a car but a culture.  Having spent the day with them, that is so true.  Looking back, I wish I had participated in more of these events when I had my corvette.  But I didn't for two reasons - 1 - I was working shitty hours and was exhausted whenever I wasn't at work due to the shit schedule.  2 - I was afraid I wouldn't fit in.  I felt like a poser when I had my corvette.  It was a 2009 that I bought used.  I was a family guy.  What I realize is the ladder didn't matter.  Having a corvette got you in the club.  And having participated in an event I realize they are just normal people who appreciate their cars and share a bond around the car.  I realize my perceptions were inaccurate and I should have gotten involved earlier.

Having experienced this event, it makes me want to add a little corvette back in my life.  My wife loved the new corvette.  Yes it's a great car.  But the older models are way more practical - if you can say that about a two seater - and to me they are the only real corvettes.  Front engine.  Rear wheel drive.  It may not be as capable as the C8, but it's still a corvette.  And having driven three different iterations of the corvette, they all feel the same.  When push comes to shove a corvette is an expensive toy that gets you admission into the club.  I liked being part of the club - if only for a day.