What's the Coolest thing that has happened to you while driving your GTM?

[Edgeman]

Should be some good stories out there.

[The Stig]

Last post was from September of Last year. There have been a few GTM that have been completed in the past few months. So surely there are a few new stories out there.

Let's see if we can get some motivation back into the builds of those who are still trying to finish up. I know that when I read these stories, It pumped me up, and kept it interesting for me.

Let's hear 'em guys!

[eseethal]

I might have a nice story to share with you: last year in the summer I was attending a wedding with my wife (and not with my GTM). Later in the evening a girl (really attractive and how it later turns out, a REAL car nut!) approaches me, while my wife was talking with someone else two feet away. The girl says to me: “I know you, you drive this hot, red, super-flat sports car!”
I (a little astonished): “yes, than could be right, how do you know?”
She (a little embarrassed):” I saw this incredibly hot car parked near a restaurant a couple of weeks ago. I got out of my car and took a few pictures (she really shows me the photos on her phone!). Afterwards I tried to figure out which car that was – but nobody I know could help me – not even my boyfriend. Two weeks later my boyfriend comes home late at night and tells me, that the red car is parking at the same spot again. So I (she was blushing a little when she told me this) got out again in the middle of the night, drove to the location to check out the incredible car once more. Then I decided to hide in the dark until the car leaves to hear the engine sound. A while later I saw YOU coming out of the restaurant and leaving with the GTM!”
Can you believe this? I was so proud and happy! We chatted for a while, she was really nice and a total car enthusiast with a lot of knowledge in this field – especially for a girl! She even found out later what car that was.
My wife, who really hates the GTM and does not like to ride with me in the GTM, overheard this conversation (incredibly sharp ears, when she sees me talking to a girl!). She could not believe what she heard!
That definitely made my day!

Eugen

[rev2xs]

LOL, gotta love Europe aye Eugene?

I might have a nice story to share with you: last year in the summer I was attending a wedding with my wife (and not with my GTM). Later in the evening a girl (really attractive and how it later turns out, a REAL car nut!) approaches me, while my wife was talking with someone else two feet away. The girl says to me: “I know you, you drive this hot, red, super-flat sports car!”
I (a little astonished): “yes, than could be right, how do you know?”
She (a little embarrassed):” I saw this incredibly hot car parked near a restaurant a couple of weeks ago. I got out of my car and took a few pictures (she really shows me the photos on her phone!). Afterwards I tried to figure out which car that was – but nobody I know could help me – not even my boyfriend. Two weeks later my boyfriend comes home late at night and tells me, that the red car is parking at the same spot again. So I (she was blushing a little when she told me this) got out again in the middle of the night, drove to the location to check out the incredible car once more. Then I decided to hide in the dark until the car leaves to hear the engine sound. A while later I saw YOU coming out of the restaurant and leaving with the GTM!”
Can you believe this? I was so proud and happy! We chatted for a while, she was really nice and a total car enthusiast with a lot of knowledge in this field – especially for a girl! She even found out later what car that was.
My wife, who really hates the GTM and does not like to ride with me in the GTM, overheard this conversation (incredibly sharp ears, when she sees me talking to a girl!). She could not believe what she heard!
That definitely made my day!

Eugen

[fastthings]

I might have a nice story to share with you: last year in the summer I was attending a wedding with my wife (and not with my GTM). Later in the evening a girl (really attractive and how it later turns out, a REAL car nut!) approaches me, while my wife was talking with someone else two feet away. The girl says to me: “I know you, you drive this hot, red, super-flat sports car!”
I (a little astonished): “yes, than could be right, how do you know?”
She (a little embarrassed):” I saw this incredibly hot car parked near a restaurant a couple of weeks ago. I got out of my car and took a few pictures (she really shows me the photos on her phone!). Afterwards I tried to figure out which car that was – but nobody I know could help me – not even my boyfriend. Two weeks later my boyfriend comes home late at night and tells me, that the red car is parking at the same spot again. So I (she was blushing a little when she told me this) got out again in the middle of the night, drove to the location to check out the incredible car once more. Then I decided to hide in the dark until the car leaves to hear the engine sound. A while later I saw YOU coming out of the restaurant and leaving with the GTM!”
Can you believe this? I was so proud and happy! We chatted for a while, she was really nice and a total car enthusiast with a lot of knowledge in this field – especially for a girl! She even found out later what car that was.
My wife, who really hates the GTM and does not like to ride with me in the GTM, overheard this conversation (incredibly sharp ears, when she sees me talking to a girl!). She could not believe what she heard!
That definitely made my day!

Eugen

Cool story, I think you need to give her a ride!

[dallas_]

Great story! I would guess you have the only GTM in Salzburg.
One of my all time favorite cities.

[crash]

I bet that made your wife change her mind and now she loves it, right? (sarcasm)

[JJ'snakepit]

It motivates me to work hard on my Cobra. 4 years and still at it. Great thread guys, thanks for sharing.

[eseethal]

Thanks, yes, in whole Austria it is just on other GTM (which I have never seen in real life). I assume, there is not going to be another one, to get the GTM street legal here gets more and more complicated (and expensive!). Just the emissions tax cost me over $ 10.000,-.
I anyone plans to visit Salzburg (or Austria), contact me, I would like to show you around or assist you what ever you need!
Eugen

Great story! I would guess you have the only GTM in Salzburg.
One of my all time favorite cities.

[eseethal]

I offered here a ride, but it has not happend yet, my wife is probably a bit of an obstacle here :-(

Cool story, I think you need to give her a ride!

[eseethal]

Maybe her massiv disapproval of the GTM gets a little softened up during the time, as she realizes that there a lot of people (even girls!) out there, who actually are big fans of this car. She still wants me to sell it though, but no chance :-)

I bet that made your wife change her mind and now she loves it, right? (sarcasm)

[mmaragos]

"massive disapproval" LOL

My wife only has minor disapproval.

Thanks for your post!

[Kalstar]

As long as she doesn't take the GTM in the divorce........

[posthaste]

After Oprah has instructed us for years to be more supportive, you think the woman-folk could take their own advice that they nodded to on the couch while oinking down the bonbons.....

[The Stig]

After Oprah has instructed us for years to be more supportive, you think the woman-folk could take their own advice that they nodded to on the couch while oinking down the bonbons.....

Really?.... Oprah?.... Here?.... Unless she has recently built a GTM, can fit into it, and has a cool story to tell about it, I'd really rather not have to deal with deleting her image from my mind. But that's just me.

[fastthings]

really?.... Oprah?.... Here?.... Unless she has built a gtm, can fit into it, and has a cool story to tell about it, i'd really not have to deal with deleting her image from my mind. But that's just me.

Mike

lol

[The Stig]

I might have a nice story to share with you: last year in the summer I was attending a wedding with my wife (and not with my GTM). Later in the evening a girl (really attractive and how it later turns out, a REAL car nut!) approaches me, while my wife was talking with someone else two feet away. The girl says to me: “I know you, you drive this hot, red, super-flat sports car!”
I (a little astonished): “yes, than could be right, how do you know?”
She (a little embarrassed):” I saw this incredibly hot car parked near a restaurant a couple of weeks ago. I got out of my car and took a few pictures (she really shows me the photos on her phone!). Afterwards I tried to figure out which car that was – but nobody I know could help me – not even my boyfriend. Two weeks later my boyfriend comes home late at night and tells me, that the red car is parking at the same spot again. So I (she was blushing a little when she told me this) got out again in the middle of the night, drove to the location to check out the incredible car once more. Then I decided to hide in the dark until the car leaves to hear the engine sound. A while later I saw YOU coming out of the restaurant and leaving with the GTM!”
Can you believe this? I was so proud and happy! We chatted for a while, she was really nice and a total car enthusiast with a lot of knowledge in this field – especially for a girl! She even found out later what car that was.
My wife, who really hates the GTM and does not like to ride with me in the GTM, overheard this conversation (incredibly sharp ears, when she sees me talking to a girl!). She could not believe what she heard!
That definitely made my day!

Eugen

Hi Eugen,

Great story! You never know where you're going to run into fans of this car. I've always thought that these cars come with their own rock star image. We're just along for the ride. Most women who aren't into cars see them as nothing more than "chick magnets". As a result they tend to have a negative view of them, because the car just became "competition". I would imagine that after you take your wife for a few rides, and she becomes part of the fun, she might change her view. Who knows? I wish you luck in that regard, and huge Congrats on building such a beautiful GTM.

Enjoy! You deserve it.

[eseethal]

Stig, thanks for your nice comments! Regarding the poor relation my wife has with my GTM: I am afraid this it not going to change because
- she does not mind when we drive fast in a regular sportscar, but in the GTM it is too much a "roller coaster ride" for her (and she hates roller coasters!)
- once she hurt something inside her shoulder when climbing out of the GTM. She was reaching for the roof line to pull herself out (I have the Tillet carbon race seats). She is in good shape, makes Yoga all the time, is very light weight (100 lbs) but somehow the GTM managed to hurt her!
- she does not like the attention the GTM gets - it is embarrassing for her
- too loud and way to hot inside (no A/C!)

But who knows - she first hated my Hummer H1 the same way, now she really likes the Hummer, compared to the GTM :-)

Eugen

Hi Eugen,

Great story! You never know where you're going to run into fans of this car. I've always thought that these cars come with their own rock star image. We're just along for the ride. Most women who aren't into cars see them as nothing more than "chick magnets". As a result they tend to have a negative view of them, because the car just became "competition". I would imagine that after you take your wife for a few rides, and she becomes part of the fun, she might change her view. Who knows? I wish you luck in that regard, and huge Congrats on building such a beautiful GTM.

Enjoy! You deserve it.

[fastthings]

Stig, thanks for your nice comments! Regarding the poor relation my wife has with my GTM: I am afraid this it not going to change because
- she does not mind when we drive fast in a regular sportscar, but in the GTM it is too much a "roller coaster ride" for her (and she hates roller coasters!)
- once she hurt something inside her shoulder when climbing out of the GTM. She was reaching for the roof line to pull herself out (I have the Tillet carbon race seats). She is in good shape, makes Yoga all the time, is very light weight (100 lbs) but somehow the GTM managed to hurt her!
- she does not like the attention the GTM gets - it is embarrassing for her
- too loud and way to hot inside (no A/C!)

But who knows - she first hated my Hummer H1 the same way, now she really likes the Hummer, compared to the GTM :-)

Eugen

Make her a car now, give it the same importance, and attention as you gave the GTM. I think they get jealous, my wife does. I have to stop often and put down some hardwood flooring, or new light fictures.

*Man, this is a topic we can all relate with, huh.

[LCD Gauges]

An update on a previous story that was posted on the first page:

If you recall, my neighbour across the street (GM Engineer) had invited me to a private showing of the new Corvette. Well, that never happened. It turned out the viewing was for coporate/employees only.
A couple of days ago he popped over while I was working on the car with posters, and booklets in hand. He said, "I've been feeling so bad about the Corvette incident that I grabbed these [from the Detroit
Auto Show]"

17733_10151864009609148_1187892599_n.jpg556036_10151864009699148_1092849329_n.jpg

I said, "Thanks, but these posters don't equal a private show. I'm never going to forgive you for that!"

After a few giggles, he began to tell me about the Vette, and the display booth at the show. It's apparent that GM is going to bump the marketing on this car.
They are also going to make a smaller displacement, entry level version around the $55K mark. Hopefully he'll send me pictures of the Auto Show soon.

He also gave me a photo that he snapped when he came over the first time. I'm embarrased to show this, but it's nice to see how far the GTM has grown since
then (this is a picture, of a picture). You can see the sloppy mess of hoses, and wires over the engine, along with the aluminum panels scattered on the garage floor:
733823_10151864009734148_9580315_n.jpg

Not much of a story, but he's the only person to come through on his word. I've had a few people fill my ears with junk just to impress me? The best chat-up was the guy
that wanted to build, and sell GTM's in China. Yeah, right...

I must say, I've met several people, and have been approched by strangers that never would have happened without owning the FFR GTM. It has been fun, and it's not even
out of the garage yet!

[LCD Gauges]

This pic is long overdue; it's the neighbour from up the street. We finally 'met', and chatted up about cars outside of our usual "waving from the street". Met the father, and son as they pulled up...damn that Lambo sounds sexy! 23 yr. old driving a Porsche! We then walked over to my place and talked about the GTM. The kid (Mike) knew
the kit car as GTM without saying a word. Good on Factory Five!


lambo_porsche.jpg
Had my share of people approach me as they walk by; last week a real estate agent popped over, and introduced himself.
Says he has a Grand National, and needs some help. Figured I'd be the guy since I'm always slaving away in my garage.

A car cover from my Camaro that was draped over the GTM today. A bit loose without the body; it's just the cage.
I hope it fits somewhat tighter once the shell goes on. Next to the wife's Malibu, it barely reaches the door handles.
2013-04-21 19.31.21.jpg

Speaking of rims, they gotta go. No offense to the Corvette, or Vette owners as I LOVE the car!
This kit has been called a Vette too many times with those C5 rims.
ty.jpg

[kabacj]

While my car was waiting to go out on the track this weekend a guy in a beautiful Audi R8 stopped his car and snapped a cell phone pic. Everyone snaps cell phone pics, but this one was special.

John

[Kalstar]

Just had to share.

Today I went a Cars and Copters (a Jimmy fund sponsored) car show. Over 4000 cars showed up. When I got there they put me in the exotic section (about 40 cars). I was between a Ferrari 612 and a Ferrari 348. Then this group of ultra highend exotics came in, about a dozen of them. A Spyker, Mercialargo, 3 Gallardo models, V8 Vantage, a Gran Turismo, 2 Ferrari 458, 2 430 drop tops and a comp M3 drift car. They were put center stage in reserved spots. One of the Lambo owners was a former GTM owner. When they found out my car was there they offered to make room over with them. It was great to be welcomed in to that high of a car group "just like that". They walked past the 612 and several other worthy cars to invite me over.

When I was ready to leave, a 430 had pulled out and stopped in the main exit road filling the air with the most beautiful revs, behind him was a Gallardo hard top, then my GTM and a Gallardo Spyder behind me. The exit road was wide and had people on both sides hoping to see burnouts or hot-dogging. The cops were there and were just as content to watch. I gave a punch at the throttle a few times but it was clear the Ferrari was singing a whole different song. He threw it in gear and took off with the Gallardo right behind. I was a little hesitent but I layed into the go pedal too and quickly reeled them both in. The people on each side of the road just erupted into fist pumps and cheers as we rocketed by. The Lambo behind me was well behind by the time I had cleared the crowd and could look back. When the 430 and the Lambo infront of me went around the bend along the back of the hangers and exited out of the corner they layed into their cars again. When I could safetly hammer in to the GTM the 2 cars were 300 feet ahead of me, again I quickly reeled them both in. It would have been gratifing saying I was powered by a little 5.3L truck engine but the end of the day, it was clear that the GTM (even with my modest power level) can run with and past the big dogs. I would also venture to say that other then the Spyker it was the second most studied car there. God I love this car!

[Kempo]

Great story Jim. It's a unique feeling isn't it? And to know that you built it yourself makes it even more special. Thanks for sharing.

Just had to share.

Today I went a Cars and Copters (a Jimmy fund sponsored) car show. Over 4000 cars showed up. When I got there they put me in the exotic section (about 40 cars). I was between a Ferrari 612 and a Ferrari 348. Then this group of ultra highend exotics came in, about a dozen of them. A Spyker, Mercialargo, 3 Gallardo models, V8 Vantage, a Gran Turismo, 2 Ferrari 458, 2 430 drop tops and a comp M3 drift car. They were put center stage in reserved spots. One of the Lambo owners was a former GTM owner. When they found out my car was there they offered to make room over with them. It was great to be welcomed in to that high of a car group "just like that". They walked past the 612 and several other worthy cars to invite me over.

When I was ready to leave, a 430 had pulled out and stopped in the main exit road filling the air with the most beautiful revs, behind him was a Gallardo hard top, then my GTM and a Gallardo Spyder behind me. The exit road was wide and had people on both sides hoping to see burnouts or hot-dogging. The cops were there and were just as content to watch. I gave a punch at the throttle a few times but it was clear the Ferrari was singing a whole different song. He threw it in gear and took off with the Gallardo right behind. I was a little hesitent but I layed into the go pedal too and quickly reeled them both in. The people on each side of the road just erupted into fist pumps and cheers as we rocketed by. The Lambo behind me was well behind by the time I had cleared the crowd and could look back. When the 430 and the Lambo infront of me went around the bend along the back of the hangers and exited out of the corner they layed into their cars again. When I could safetly hammer in to the GTM the 2 cars were 300 feet ahead of me, again I quickly reeled them both in. It would have been gratifing saying I was powered by a little 5.3L truck engine but the end of the day, it was clear that the GTM (even with my modest power level) can run with and past the big dogs. I would also venture to say that other then the Spyker it was the second most studied car there. God I love this car!

[The Stig]

That had to be an over the top feeling... Huge

Congrats!!! And Wow!!! 4000 cars at a cars and copter show is incredible.

And being asked to have your car share Center Stage in the Exotic bull pen is just Sweet!

[VD2021]

Bump

[LCD Gauges]

Not while driving, but while working in the garage. People stop in to check out the GTM, and chat about cars.

Had a guy approach me to ask if I'd check out his '83 Lotus Esprit. He found this for sale near roadside with a busted windshield
from a fallen branch. This car was posted on my bedroom wall as a teen, so I was excited to get my hands on it.
Dual carb, turbo, and a Blaupunkt cassette player to boot!

It turns out the head gasket is blown out. Lots of coolant in the oil.

The GTM opens many new doors for sure; I never had anyone want to check out my Saturn SC1 yet!


1235350_10152209872434148_14114697_n.jpg970777_10152209913994148_1136523705_n.jpg1236951_10152209872344148_1040585187_n.jpg1231286_10152209872299148_553061460_n.jpg

[fastthings]

So..is it yours now. That would be a cool car to restore.

[The Stig]

Who has a great, or funny, or just plain cool GTM story to tell?

The last post here was 2 years ago...

Surely there have been some really cool things that have happened as a result of Building and owning your GTM.

Take care,

[LCD Gauges]

Alright, I'll add one:

About two weeks ago I was picking up supplies at a local auto store. A guy walked through the isle and said, "Hello, how are you?".

I replied that I was fine, but couldn't recall where I had seen this man before. Then he asked how my car was coming along...all of a
sudden it rang a bell!

This was the real-estate agent that stopped by just over a year ago while passing casually. I couldn't believe he remembered my face
after all this time. We had a good five minute talk about his Grand National that I remembered he was building. We exchanged contact
info, and went on our way.

A very cool feeling to cross paths, and randomly spark up conversation about cars!

[Kalstar]

Last summer I was with my then 9 year old son at a fairly large local car show. I like to hang back, usually a few cars down. This well dressed man of late teens to early 20's is closely studying the GTM. He looks as if he was going to some formal function as he was way overdressed for a car show. He left and returned several times. On his 3rd visit he brought back a very attractive girl also dressed for an occasion. My guess was a close relative but not wife or girlfriend as there was never eye contact between the 2. I do have to say, with her heals and a short skirt the height of the GTM was welcomed by anyone within eyeshot. She eventually realized that bending down at her waste to look in the window created quite a "draft". As the two walked around the car he was asking self questions out loud, what is this, what is the engine, what does the owner do to afford a car like this? My son says "we should go talk to them" as I approach both my son and I hear the girl say "you want to ride in the car, I want to ride on the owner". I introduced myself and answered their questions. A few days later my son, laying on the couch with me in the loft, my wife on the other couch, says out of the blue, "I think I know what she meant". I said who? He said "the girl at the car show". You do? What do you think she meant, of course I was thinking something completely innocent. He says Mom...this hot girl wants to have sex with Dad. That went over like a fart in church.

[The Stig]

Lol!!!!!!!

[Kempo]

last summer i was with my then 9 year old son at a fairly large local car show. I like to hang back, usually a few cars down. This well dressed man of late teens to early 20's is closely studying the gtm. He looks as if he was going to some formal function as he was way overdressed for a car show. He left and returned several times. On his 3rd visit he brought back a very attractive girl also dressed for an occasion. My guess was a close relative but not wife or girlfriend as there was never eye contact between the 2. I do have to say, with her heals and a short skirt the height of the gtm was welcomed by anyone within eyeshot. She eventually realized that bending down at her waste to look in the window created quite a "draft". As the two walked around the car he was asking self questions out loud, what is this, what is the engine, what does the owner do to afford a car like this? My son says "we should go talk to them" as i approach both my son and i hear the girl say "you want to ride in the car, i want to ride on the owner". I introduced myself and answered their questions. A few days later my son, laying on the couch with me in the loft, my wife on the other couch, says out of the blue, "i think i know what she meant". I said who? He said "the girl at the car show". You do? What do you think she meant, of course i was thinking something completely innocent. He says mom...this hot girl wants to have sex with dad. That went over like a fart in church.

lol!!!!!!

[biggerandbetter]

I just got my GTM yesterday, and already it has drawn quite the crowd. I work at a Toyota dealership, and drove it here today and it looks quite different from the normal around here. I am used to people looking at my yellow C6 Corvette, but this is completely different. On my way in today, I noticed a lifted truck hauling tail up behind me and weaving lanes. He gets up next to me and all I can hear is "what the hell is that thing"?!? It has been quite fun so far in the past 24 hours. I cant wait ot see what else comes my way :-)

[The Stig]

Hi guys. It's been a while. Are there any new or recent stories that you would like to share that came as a result of owning your GTM?

Mike

[LCD Gauges]

I'll share some news:

Last month, my neighbour invited me to join an exotic car club. I took the half-finished GTM to a parking lot full of 120+ beautiful
machines. It was like Heaven on Earth for car lovers! So many awesome people to chat with and they made me feel very welcome.
Saturns Drives do some long haul cruises and fundraisers. Three day cross-border cruises are not uncommon.


In the current state, my car is no match for these works of art. The interior is on the short list to get upgraded next year;
the rollbar covers and upholstery especially! Once you peek inside the cockpit of an Aventador, or McLaren P1 you will
understand. I am looking forward to the day that I can drive in the massive convoys of exotics and start to enjoy the years
of turning wrenches on the GTM.




More photos here:
https://m.facebook.com/tino.desideri...4250544489148/

Saturns Drives Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Yr476y5Lps

[The Stig]

Wow... A year without an update. GTM's are cooler than that guys...

Mike

[Aceflo]

This thread is a great idea. I wish I had a story about driving my GTM, but it's not even close to that stage.

I will say, that my girlfriend, her father, and I took turns pulling an open trailer to TX from CA to pick up the unfinished 2012 Gen2 GTM that I was purchasing. We had to make the 4400 mile round trip in 3 days, and that was a non-stop drive that proved to test the physical limits of our bodies and sanity. We ended up pulling into Houston, TX 8 hours late, but with all things considered ...that was pretty close to being on time. I was excited about picking up the car, but fearful at the same time. I had no clue if the car was going to look like the pictures and be as good of a deal as I thought it was. As we pulled into the neighborhood, it seemed like the entire block was having a birthday party as both sides of the street were lined bumper to bumper with cars. My heart kinda dropped when we made the turn....Here we were in a big Dodge pickup pulling a long *** trailer and had to reach the driveway of the last house on the street. I was actually uncertain if I was going to have to go door-to-door telling people I need them to move their cars so that we could get through to pick up this GTM. With careful spotters as we squeezed down the street, we maneuvered enough to at least get the trailer pointed towards the driveway. People began getting curious about what we were doing, and a few of them moved their cars to give us more than the 1/2" of clearance needed to get the trailer lined up correctly. Mission 1 accomplished....get the trailer lined up.

The owner came out as we were attempting to get the trailer lined up and gave us his approval of the blocking (I mean parking) job that we did. He opened the garage door, and there it was ... the GTM was just as beautiful (or even more) than the pictures. I was a little bit euphoric and not thinking about the logistics of loading it until my girlfriends dad came over to me and said "holy hell ....that car is wide. You have a tape measurer?" It wasn't until that moment that I should have thought about whether the car was going to actually fit on the trailer we had. 2200 miles, 1 1/2 days, 3 days of missed work, and way too much junk food consumed. At that moment, my stomach was doing hula hoops and a felt a little weak in my legs. We grabbed the tape, measured between the fenders on the trailer, measured the width of the GTM, and was overcome with complete joy to know that we had two inches on both sides for clearance. Talk about relief ....wow.

Although it was a chore to load the thing up, we were successful and immediately turned around to make our way back to CA. The trip was painful physically, and it actually turned out to be a little mentally painful as well. I cant count the number of times that we almost ended up in accidents due to people attempting to get a look at the car. People were wanting to have conversations with me while driving 70 mph down the road. Whenever we stopped for gas, it was never a quick fill-up. Without exaggeration, I would come out of the service station and 4-10 people would be surrounding the trailer trying to check out the car. How do you politely tell people to move out of the way since we needed to leave, when they were super excited to check out the car? I had a guy say, "WHOA!!! Look at that engine in the car!" He was pointing and staring into the grill and hood cutouts. *Face Palm* For the rest of the trip, we attempted to strategically pick out remote gas stations where we were guaranteed not to run into too many people.

Everything else went well ...for the most part. The tie downs held the car well. The tape and plastic did not come loose at any point. And thankfully, non of the glass blew out as we were driving down the road. (it was only taped on as well). We had sunny and clear skies for the entire trip, until the last 40 minutes of our drive...where it commenced to downpour on a freak storm that hit our drought stricken state. All and all, it was an exciting beginning to my GTM acquisition, and I look forward to just handing out Factory Five Business cards when people start swarming the finished product.

GTM Project.jpg

[Fraser D]

I was invited to bring my GTM along to an open house this past Saturday for a new shop that my tuner has set up.
The car was looking pretty crappy so I spent a long two days giving it a freshen-up to put in a showing.
A fresh coat of plastidip and the completion of a couple of outstanding projects and the car was ready to hit the road 30 minutes before I had to leave the house.
The drive to the event was nuts with folks jockeying in traffic to get a better view. I decided that it was safer to risk a speeding ticket than to get caught up in an accident.
It never ceases to amaze me how much attention this car gets, even a rough around the edges example such as mine. Cars that had more money spent on them in upgrades than I have spent on my entire car, were getting passed up while mine always had a crowd around it. Even more so than the TA2 car parked beside mine.
The highlight of the night was when the promo photographer that was there asked me to bring my car inside to do a photo shoot with the models. I reluctantly agreed,,,,,,,,,,,, Who am I kidding I dam near stalled the car I was so excited.
A crowd gathered just to hear the car start up.
I have not seen the photos yet but from what I saw during the shoot I may just have to hide those photos from my wife.
To top it all off the local TA2 team invited me out to practice with them at the local tracks while they dial in their new cars.
Here are some photos at the house just before I left and at the event as soon as I got there.

[Roger Reid]

Dave. Outstanding. Do you think "speeding to avoid an accident" will pass muster with the men in blue? You may have some interesting photo's for the 2017 calendar.