For some time I had been talking about picking up a new generation C6 Chevrolet Corvette as my next “fun car”. Last week I found out that the Viper will be sold this week, and I started getting the itch for something new…I don’t want to have just the Accord for an option :)? I decided to spend half the price and a get a C5 (1997) so I wasn’t tying up so much money:

I found the car locally on Craigslist. The car only has 35,000 miles on it, which means it has only been driven 3,500 miles per year on average. It was definitely owned by an enthusiast, who got the car with 3,000 miles, had it garage kept under a car cover next to a 68′ Camaro. The owners manual had all of the maintenance records in it…the car was obviously taken care of extremely well, and with the right price, it was a perfect buy!

The car has a few modifications done to it already, which bump the horsepower up pretty significantly:

• ?Z06 Clutch Assembly
• Dynomax Ultra Flow Exhaust
• BBK Shorty Headers
• WCC X-Pipe
• Vortex Ram Air
• Modified Throttle Body
• BBK SSI Intake Manifold
• Adjustable Fuel Pressure Regulator
• Upgraded Wheels
• B&M Short Throw Shifter

On top of that, the car is fully loaded with cool things like an adjustable suspension. Take a look at all the fun toys in the household at the moment:

For the full list of my progression of vehicles, take a look at my progression of vehicles post.

I’ve modified my original “Progression of Vehicles” post to be one that I will update as I add or change any vehicles in my fleet. Last week I purchased my 9th vehicle (in my 8 years of driving). I would have blogged about it sooner, but I didn’t have a chance to wash it up until this past weekend.

It’s nothing special, but there’s a purpose to getting it. I bought a 99′ Honda Accord 4-cylinder coupe with 114k miles:

So you might be thinking…Dave, you’ve got a Viper and a G35 Coupe, in your garage, what’s with this? Well, I consider it a beater car for the fleet! In reality, it’s more of an interim car. My G35 has about 55k miles on it, and the warranty lasts through 60k miles. The Viper has been for sale (Although I haven’t really tried to sell it too hard yet).

Getting the Accord allows me to sell both the G35 and Viper at the same time, while having a reliable, fairly cheap car I can drive interim. I think I got a pretty good deal on the Accord utilizing my “Drive a Viper for free” methodology.

So I’m trying to figure out what I’ll be doing about car stuff, and I have a few options:

1. Keep the Viper, and sell the Infiniti. Not sure what I would get to replace the Infiniti though…maybe rock the Accord for a while.
2. Sell both the Viper and Infiniti, buy a 2005 black C6 Corvette, and keep the Accord as a beater car. I love the new C6 Vette body style, and it would allow me to retain all the power I have in the Viper, but be a lot more practical. I would essentially try and daily drive the Vette, but I’d have the Accord for rainy days and what not. This way I almost always have my sports car fix :)? I would get it in black, completely black it out, and get a loud exhaust…it would be pretty mean looking. The main concern with this option is property tax will be really high, I think it would work out to be about $1,200/year for just the Vette.
3. I could sell both the Viper and Infiniti and buy one overall nice car. I was thinking something like an BMW M3, BMW 5-Series, or maybe even the new G37 Coupe. Property tax on this option will likely be pretty hefty, so something I have to put into consideration (Damn VA!!!).

I think those are my current options, I’m still unsure of what I should or want to do. If you have any car suggestions, I’m all ears…just post your comment!? In the meantime my current fleet is the following:

1. 1994 Dodge Viper RT/10
2. 2004 Infiniti G35 Coupe
3. 1999 Honda Accord Coupe V4
4. 1998 Honda CBR600 F3 (Might also be changing this one up shortly)

Last Updated 4/29/08

Update 11/8/2007: I will be continually updating this post as I go through more vehicles, so feel free to bookmark and check back from time to time.

Cars have always been a huge source of inspiration for me. In fact, my day job is near a Ferrari/Lamborghini/Maserati dealership, and I find myself visiting at least once every week or two for my own personal inspiration. So for somebody into cars, it’s interesting to take a look at my progression of vehicles so far:

1998-2004: 1994 Nissan Altima GXE

This was my very first car, and my entrance into the world of Nissan. I started doing slight modifications before modifications to imports got big. Simple things like exhaust, audio, etc made the car slightly sportier for its time.

2003-2004: 2003 Nissan Altima 3.5 SE

With 245hp from the factory, the 3.5 SE Altima was a sleeper. Nobody expected that it would be that fast, but it was classified as a sport family sedan. This car was the single thing that was the link to launching one of my companies (ActiveTuning), as I had met my business partner through Altima forums. I ordered it from the factory, and while waiting the 3 months for it to arrive, I was already amassing parts in my bedroom. By the time it was sold, I had completely re-done the car and put it into a few shows. It had full exhaust (intake, headers, race pipe, catback), custom audio setup, painted dash, wheels, suspension, the full works.

2004-2007: 2004 Nissan 350Z

My 350Z was the first time that I had just completely re-done a car and went all out. Over $40,000 was spent in the car (after the price of the car) for modifications. All of the work was done by myself and people helping me, so that was a great satisfaction. The car was pushing over 400hp to the wheels after installing an APS twin turbo. Other major modifications were body kit, many carbon fiber parts, in-car PC, wheels, suspension, fiberglassed audio system, and much more. If you could see it, it had probably been changed.

This was my car at Hot Import Nights 2006, notice the fiberglassed sub box in the trunk.

This was my in-car PC. It was a fully functional PC running Windows XP with GPS.

2005-2006: 1994 Dodge Viper RT/10

This Dodge Viper was purchased solely for the purpose of using it for a business venture called SmashMyViper.com. The car was stock other than wheels, but of course it’s a Viper, and it’s still a beast with a V10 pushing 400hp.

2005-2006: 1994 Toyota Camry

The 94′ Camry seems out of place in the list, but it was purchased for the purpose of a “beater car”. A high-mileage, inexpensive, but reliable car used to keep the miles off of the expensive cars. I drove this for about a year before I had the itch to drive around in a car that was more fun on a daily basis.

2006-2007: 1998 Honda CBR600 F3

Late last summer I started getting into dirt bikes with a friend. This eventually lead into motorcycles, so I picked this up as a starter bike. It had a little over 10,000 miles, never dropped, perfect condition for $3,000…an excellent deal considering I sold it for more than I paid for it.

2006-2007: 2004 Infiniti G35 Coupe

The 2004 Infiniti G35 Coupe was my daily driver vehicle for almost 2 years. It was essentially Infiniti’s version of the 350Z, but with more luxury. The car is loaded with navigation and 19″ OEM wheels from a newer model G35.

Update: 11/8/2007: I have since updated the wheels on the car and installed 19″ Volk SF Challenges! I plan on keeping the rest of the car stock.

2007-2008: 1994 Dodge Viper RT/10

I purchased the car back in May and wrote about it here.

2008-2008: 1997 Chevrolet C5 Corvette

I picked up the Corvette for my 2008 Summer car. I will plan on selling it starting around July-August. With 345hp stock, but much more added from the various modifications, this car is pretty beast-like…and could closely compare to the Viper in terms of straight-line performance. I was originally planning on purchasing a newer generation C6 body Corvette, but decided to spend half the price on this.

2007-Current: 1999 Honda Accord Coupe EX

Just purchased this car in November as a new beater car.

2007-Current: 2002 Honda CBR600 F4i

Replaced my old CBR600 F3 with this newer body style F4i.

2008-Current: 1997 Dodge Viper GTS

Well, the Corvette did not last long before I realized that I would much rather have a Viper in the garage. I decided to pick up my actual dream car version of the Viper, which is a blue 97 GTS with white stripes. With 450hp, and only 6,300 miles on the odometer when I picked it up, it was ready to go! The only thing I’ve done so far was add a Corsa exhaust and Random Tech high flow cats. It makes it much louder, and should give about 30 more hp to the car.

Have an old vehicle you want to get rid of? Learn how to donate your car or donate your boat to your favorite charity. Car donation services are a great way to give back and receive a tax break and other car donation benefits too.