Aspeed Article

[Pegasus_Red]

Saw it in the paper today in C section
awesome

[Jess]

post that shit so others (me) can see :bfg:

[Anderson]

The driving force behind car enthusiasts
Section: Intrigue

Car lovers start club, beef up their vehicles with help from others also obsessed with sporty roadsters

By Dana Jaffe
Associate Intrigue Editor

Washing a car in 28-degree weather, waking up at 6 a.m. on a Saturday to make repairs or cutting back on groceries to save money for a certain car part might seem strange to the average person, but not for people who see cars as a way of life.
When asking car enthusiasts how much time they spend on cars during a week, they often find it difficult to calculate.
Of course, there is the actual time they spend modifying their cars, but other things have to be added to the equation — time spent researching parts on the Internet, participating in online forums, attending weekly car club meetings, helping friends with cars and making road trips to car shows.
“Cars are always on your mind. You’re always thinking about what is next,” said Robert Latham, a junior in information system management. “Spending time with our cars or talking about cars — it’s an all day thing. We know we are crazy.”
Both Latham and his girlfriend, Dani Vasseur, a junior in psychology, own Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4s. Vasseur compares her love for her car to a pet owner’s love for his or her dog.
“It is not something you put on the backburner for a few days. It is always a priority,” she said. “When you put a lot of money, effort and time into something, you can’t just turn it off.”
Curtis Wilson, owner of a Honda S2000, said even with the time restraints being a senior in aerospace engineering puts on him, he still fits his car into his schedule.
“If you are really into cars, you want to learn as much about your specific car as possible,” Wilson said. “Nobody is ever 100 percent satisfied with a car, there is always something else to do to it.”
Wilson said it is not all about making the car faster, and his goal is not to make his car better for drag racing. Instead of just working on the engine, he works on suspension, brakes, sound system, rims, and interior and exterior cosmetics.
“If you work on a car just to make it faster, it ends up lacking in other areas. It is not a complete package,” Wilson said. “For me, it’s about the satisfaction of knowing the car is better than how the factory makes it. It performs better, it sounds better, it looks better. Overall it has improved over what the car was before.”
Wilson said for him it is hardly work, and to buy something equipped with all the components in the factory would not only be more expensive, but would take all the fun out of everything.
“It is like art, you can create your own masterpiece, just like a painting you work until it looks good and you’re satisfied with it,” Wilson said. “Almost 100 percent of the fun is putting on parts yourself, getting underneath the car and doing the work yourself, taking things apart and putting it all back together.”
Not everyone understands car lovers or accepts how much time and money they put into their cars.
“My ex-girlfriend hated it and said I spent more money on the car than I did on her, so I dropped her,” Wilson said. “Girlfriends usually don’t like it. You have to look for one who supports your hobbies.”
While it can create a gap in some relationships, it can be the glue that holds other bonds together. Vasseur said being around other people who share a common interest in cars gets her fired up.
“One of the most interesting parts of the whole thing is meeting other people who share the same passion as you,” Latham said. “I met my roommate through cars and a lot of other lifelong friends I’ve met through cars.”
Auburn has a car club called “aSpeed” that meets every Tuesday. More than anything it is a community of friends just hanging out and discussing what they love most. Members park their cars in a location, go for rides in each other’s cars, show off their latest modifications to one another and talk about future plans for their cars.
“The group has grown a whole lot since I’ve been here, and I think it is a very positive thing to have more members,” Latham said. “But when people who are stuck-up and think their cars are the end-all-be-all show up and think it’s street racing or something they saw in a movie, I don’t like that. We don’t want idiots, we want like-minded people.”
Members are hesitant to spread the word about the car club, because they don’t think people have the right idea about it. Wilson said the car club wants members who are level-headed, have a good knowledge of cars and aren’t there just to burnout and race.
During the past several years, cars have become a staple in the media. But movies like “The Fast and the Furious” don’t represent the truth. Wilson said these movies could be the reason kids get into situations that make the whole car scene be falsely portrayed as dangerous.
“Car guys can pick out inconsistencies and BS things they (people in the movies) are saying,” Wilson said. “It is funny to watch them because they say ridiculous off-the-wall things that make no sense and are impossible. They are not accurate as far as reality goes. They give kids the wrong idea about cars and racing.”
Wilson said although he always liked cars, it is a really expensive hobby if you do it right, and he wasn’t able to purchase a car he wanted to do a lot of work with until his junior year of college. But others got started right away.
“As soon as I got my first car, I wanted to learn as much about it as I could. Eventually it got worse and worse, and then I got addicted,” said Tyler Williams, a senior in aerospace engineering. “Now, I’m almost obsessed. You have to own a car you really like to understand the drive for our obsession.”
Latham said he has no plans of purchasing a new car anytime soon because he has become so knowledgeable about the one he has and is attached to it.
“You can’t replace your first car. My first car was my first true love,” Latham said. “The more you put into it the more you get out of it. I’ve already put so much into it in such a short amount of time, I’m not ever selling it. It is going to be my car for the rest of my life.”

The Auburn Plainsman (http://www.theplainsman.com/intrigue/the_driving_force_behind_car_enthusiasts)

Curt you look like a friggin idiot in that picture...
http://www.theplainsman.com/system/files/images/Car2.jpg

[Adam]

“The group has grown a whole lot since I’ve been here, and I think it is a very positive thing to have more members,” Latham said. “But when people who are stuck-up and think their cars are the end-all-be-all show up and think it’s street racing or something they saw in a movie, I don’t like that. We don’t want idiots, we want like-minded people.”
Members are hesitant to spread the word about the car club, because they don’t think people have the right idea about it. Wilson said the car club wants members who are level-headed, have a good knowledge of cars and aren’t there just to burnout and race.

Thank you for that quote :dance:

[Jess]

lol @ Curtis checking his diff fluid reservoir.

[ActiveAero]

You guys represented Aspeed well. Thank goodness you mentioned not wanting idiots and the whole F&F is retarded part.

[VDUBNDizzy]

I guess I agree with most of it. lol

[Pegasus_Red]

The Auburn Plainsman (http://www.theplainsman.com/intrigue/the_driving_force_behind_car_enthusiasts)

Curt you look like a friggin idiot in that picture...
http://www.theplainsman.com/system/files/images/Car2.jpg

didnt you know its standard maintenance to check the VTEC level in the reservoir to make sure he doesnt run out when driving? Thought you knew :flame:

but then again, why didnt they use our club pic?

[Grider]

Well that was well played.

Hey Curtis, I see a little curb rash on that front rim.......

[Anderson]

But the funny thing about that pic is Curtis doesn't even do his own work.... unless its painting the letters on his tires....:flame:

[1.8t]

http://www.theplainsman.com/system/files/images/Car2.jpg

IDB?

[VR4Rob]

but then again, why didnt they use our club pic?
The picture used had to have been taken by the article writer or other Plainsman staff.

Big thanks to Dana for doing this article and making sure that all information was correct. Anything to do with cars was completely foreign to her, so she did an excellent job writing an article that represented us well :thumbsup:

[Jess]

http://www.theplainsman.com/system/files/images/Car2.jpg
http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/3094/shadeszn9.jpg

[I want something fast]

But the funny thing about that pic is Curtis doesn't even do his own work.... unless its painting the letters on his tires....:flame:
hahaha Cha Ching!:D ;) :wth:

[insert_car]

great right up i think it represents us well. when you get done cleaning your air filter in you school clothes let me know...LOL thats just funny. your clean as a whistle!!!

HAHAHAH @ Jess

[04silverL]

But the funny thing about that pic is Curtis doesn't even do his own work.... unless its painting the letters on his tires....

I concur with the above statement. Last time I checked Scott installed Curtis's exhaust and intake.

[12vVR6]

But the funny thing about that pic is Curtis doesn't even do his own work.... unless its painting the letters on his tires....:flame:

The article was well-written, but I think there was another error. She quoted Curtis as flaming F&F, but HE saw Tokyo Drift THREE times....in the theater....:confused:

[VR4Dani]

I'm pleased with the way it was written and the way this group was portrayed. :) LOL@CurtisLaForge.

[b18b1ls]

“The group has grown a whole lot since I’ve been here, and I think it is a very positive thing to have more members,” Latham said. “But when people who are stuck-up and think their cars are the end-all-be-all show up and think it’s street racing or something they saw in a movie, I don’t like that. We don’t want idiots, we want like-minded people.”
Members are hesitant to spread the word about the car club, because they don’t think people have the right idea about it. Wilson said the car club wants members who are level-headed, have a good knowledge of cars and aren’t there just to burnout and race.


http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/6162/ricervg2.jpg
:D

great article:thumbsup:

[gangsta coupe]

No aspeedracing.com plug lol, I could see the influx of trolls now.

Great article btw, +8 rep to who ever set it up...

[TylerW]

Yes it was a good article. The person that did it lives two doors down from us. She kept calling me about it because my friends next door told her we might do an interview for her, but I was hesitant to agree because I knew there was some resistance to the idea of an article on us before.

My next door neighbor should get the credit for setting it up since he made the suggestion. Basically she came into our house a couple Sundays ago and talked to us for at least 40 minutes.

Rob, Dani and I wanted to make it a point that we don't like ricers though, and also didn't want to reveal the location of our meets since we might bring unwanted attention. I think because of that the article was very positive.

[XSivPSI]

Rob, Dani and I wanted to make it a point that we don't like ricers though, and also didn't want to reveal the location of our meets since we might bring unwanted attention. I think because of that the article was very positive.

It probably would have been ok... most retards/ricers can't read.

[b18c1gsr]

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/6162/ricervg2.jpg
:D

great article:thumbsup:
:2xFU:

http://files.myopera.com/bluesman2333/albums/634/thumbs/dumbass.jpg_thumb.jpg

at least i dont drive my car with a hole in the radiator.....dumbass thats common sense

[TylerW]

It probably would have been ok... most retards/ricers can't read.

And most others don't know how to punctuate contractions, as depicted in the post above me.

[I want something fast]

:2xFU:

http://files.myopera.com/bluesman2333/albums/634/thumbs/dumbass.jpg_thumb.jpg

at least i dont drive my car with a hole in the radiator.....dumbass thats common sense

http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/7711/ohnojr4.png

[Zx RaTeD]

“My ex-girlfriend hated it and said I spent more money on the car than I did on her, so I dropped her,” Hahaha Curtis I love that quote! The article was also very well written. A+++++ Great article! Will read again!!!A+++++

Oh yeah and that pic of Curtis ROFL! Freaking hilarious! "Top 'er off and she's good to go!"

[Obike]

I just would like to know where I can pick up 3 quarts of DOHC VTec? Do they have it at Wal-Mart?