engine and drivetrain i do it for the love... AKA some cool stories, bros:

[scoTTlarock]

i've been laying up sick for almost a solid week with a terrible summer cold, and i haven't left the house in 7 days. today i finally started to feel better so i decided to drive in to work.

it's super hot out- humid and stale- and i was feeling too sick to want to deal with the 02, so i jumped into the A3 this morning and took that. it felt so wierd to be whizzing through the winding back roads again after laying in bed immobile for so long. the audi is a great car; the DSG paddle shift is super quick, it's just so silent and precise and quick and perfect-riding... strange things to be complaining about, i know! i arrive at work underwhelmed.

i come around the corner on my way home from work and see the old girl in the driveway as i roll past the house, and realize that i haven't started her up in at least 10 days- the longest i have gone since taking ownership. so i get changed out of my monkey suit and tie, throw on some cutoffs and a t-shirt, and decide to go for a run to get the juices flowing again.

i turn the key, and for a split second i doubt she will even turn over. a little sputter, slow crank, and then she roars to life with that loud familiar sewing-machine like engine that has never let me down or died even once. a big whiff of gas and 36-year-old-horsehair is back in my lungs, and i crank down all the windows and open up the huge sunroof. i grandpa it down through the 15 or so blocks north it takes to get up to the highway, just getting back into the groove again. much better.

i get to the light and get ready to turn left. on my right is a 1990s honda fart-can civic with shiny pink control arms and the "drift charm" hanging down in the back. three homeboys with the windows down smoking black and milds stare at me. i get a BEEP, look over, and the driver gives me the knod. huh. didn't figure they would actually even acknowledge.

i turn left and decide to blast up to 65 super-quick. lots of engine noise, the roar of the wind through the sunroof, no radio to cloud my vision. damn a real manual sure feels good right about now! heading westward into the sunset, one with the car.i go about 10 miles for no reason at all really, and do a u-turn relishing the curves of the overpass. always amazed that this little old car can keep up with modern traffic, and head back towards NYC.

i get to my exit on the highway and pull off because i am super low on gas since she hasn't been used in a while. pull into the station and the gas guy gives me the usual "huh?!" trying to figure out how to open the gas cap and set the pump without it popping. i'm so used to this by now that i always get out and ask the guy if he needs help.

just then a jeep cherokee that was behind me on the highway filled with a family pulls in at the pump next to me to get gas. the driver is a 50-something guy, and he opens his door and come right over to me. starts gushing about how cool having a 2002 must be, that his family just came back from italy and saw a white tii on the road and how he was so excited to see one there because he hadn't seen one in the US in many years. i smile, look down, and sort-of apologize for my paintjob and how bomb-ish she is looking these days, telling him "yeah its awesome but it's definitely a project, still sort-of rough". he looks me dead in the eye and says it looks amazing and to keep going with the work, because it made him and his family smile. i thank him and cruise back home, pull the e-brake and shut down. good run!

it is always in these small little moments and episodes i sometimes have that remind me how truly great it is to be able to experience some unique and satisfying times in the 2002. i have owned many old cars, many euros, driven many many long hours and any miles before- but nothing is quite like this. nothing.

feel free to be inspired to share your own story, or simply post back that i am retarded. i can dig that.... =)

[ziff73]

Fantastic! Great description of the feeling..I know it well and it never gets old. Thanks for sharing!

[Colin]

People still pump your gas for you in NJ?

[Brendan]

You can't pump your own in NJ. Laws.

[02Les]

How well summed up. A truly great post.

You sound young(ish) not that it matters, in fact it's good to see this.

Back in the '70s, when I had my first '02, I rode in T-shirt, jeans and tennies and people thought I was either wierd or important. They were half right, I wasn't important!

I just wish I could take my collection for a blast more often, but as I work in places too far afield, can't do it. I'll retire soon, then....watch out!

[vinntagejoe]

.........hang on while I wipe the tears running down my cheek bro.....

[vinntagejoe]

OK, I'm better. Nice story and I have to admit, its been more than 10 days since I've put my ride on the road. It is pretty amazing that with

the turn of the key, the windows rolled down and the whir of the engine how free you can feel in these 02's. One of my favorite drives is on PCH from Seal Beach down into Dana Point then on to San Clemente - oohs, ahhs, stares and stories along the way. Thanks for sharig.

BTW BRO - you can't pump your own gas when in Oregon as well. Have a fabulous weekend.

[1971Ginger]

i've been laying up sick for almost a solid week with a terrible summer cold, and i haven't left the house in 7 days. today i finally started to feel better so i decided to drive in to work.

it's super hot out- humid and stale- and i was feeling too sick to want to deal with the 02, so i jumped into the A3 this morning and took that. it felt so wierd to be whizzing through the winding back roads again after laying in bed immobile for so long. the audi is a great car; the DSG paddle shift is super quick, it's just so silent and precise and quick and perfect-riding... strange things to be complaining about, i know! i arrive at work underwhelmed.

i come around the corner on my way home from work and see the old girl in the driveway as i roll past the house, and realize that i haven't started her up in at least 10 days- the longest i have gone since taking ownership. so i get changed out of my monkey suit and tie, throw on some cutoffs and a t-shirt, and decide to go for a run to get the juices flowing again.

i turn the key, and for a split second i doubt she will even turn over. a little sputter, slow crank, and then she roars to life with that loud familiar sewing-machine like engine that has never let me down or died even once. a big whiff of gas and 36-year-old-horsehair is back in my lungs, and i crank down all the windows and open up the huge sunroof. i grandpa it down through the 15 or so blocks north it takes to get up to the highway, just getting back into the groove again. much better.

i get to the light and get ready to turn left. on my right is a 1990s honda fart-can civic with shiny pink control arms and the "drift charm" hanging down in the back. three homeboys with the windows down smoking black and milds stare at me. i get a BEEP, look over, and the driver gives me the knod. huh. didn't figure they would actually even acknowledge.

i turn left and decide to blast up to 65 super-quick. lots of engine noise, the roar of the wind through the sunroof, no radio to cloud my vision. damn a real manual sure feels good right about now! heading westward into the sunset, one with the car.i go about 10 miles for no reason at all really, and do a u-turn relishing the curves of the overpass. always amazed that this little old car can keep up with modern traffic, and head back towards NYC.

i get to my exit on the highway and pull off because i am super low on gas since she hasn't been used in a while. pull into the station and the gas guy gives me the usual "huh?!" trying to figure out how to open the gas cap and set the pump without it popping. i'm so used to this by now that i always get out and ask the guy if he needs help.

just then a jeep cherokee that was behind me on the highway filled with a family pulls in at the pump next to me to get gas. the driver is a 50-something guy, and he opens his door and come right over to me. starts gushing about how cool having a 2002 must be, that his family just came back from italy and saw a white tii on the road and how he was so excited to see one there because he hadn't seen one in the US in many years. i smile, look down, and sort-of apologize for my paintjob and how bomb-ish she is looking these days, telling him "yeah its awesome but it's definitely a project, still sort-of rough". he looks me dead in the eye and says it looks amazing and to keep going with the work, because it made him and his family smile. i thank him and cruise back home, pull the e-brake and shut down. good run!

it is always in these small little moments and episodes i sometimes have that remind me how truly great it is to be able to experience some unique and satisfying times in the 2002. i have owned many old cars, many euros, driven many many long hours and any miles before- but nothing is quite like this. nothing.

feel free to be inspired to share your own story, or simply post back that i am retarded. i can dig that.... =)

god damn it i want my car back (paint)