This is the place for all things cars, and road. A daily fill of car related talk, and opinion for the lovers of all things automotive. My friends, and I spend a lot of time sharing ideas. Join us, be part of Tarmecca, and lets grow this car community together. -Noah
Getting used to all this new stuff, like dream following, and learning more about social media. I had taken a break on my blog to spend my time brushing up on video editing, and getting used to my new GoPro. It’s a used black 5 but what an incredible camera. Also starting up a fun Tik Tok with my partner in crime Cori, Squirrel Force 7! Not a serious account just for fun, and to get our adventures together while Franklin, and I get our bearings on Tarmecca. We’ve had some epically horrible weather for the past couple weekends. Even our last photo shoot with video was mostly destroyed by rain. Next weekend BTW we are going out to cover Portland’s Auto Show wish us luck. Along with being newbies at filming we also don’t have a single acting bone in our bodies. So binge on our cringe as we learn how to create some better content, and reach the abilities we are striving for. If you have been reading all of our blogs I will continue and I am so sorry for the halt on my writing endeavors as I learn me some new tricks. I will push to get this back up and running daily soon until then I will put some blogs out when I can. For more horrible content follow us on Instagram @thetarmecca, YouTube @The Tarmecca, and for Our family’s silliness check out Squirrel Force 7. Its random and not focused on cars, but if you know me cars will still be thrown in. Have a great night, and excited for what adventures this year has for us.
Mitsubishi used to take a larger part of my heart back in the day. I always set aside time to think about their quirky spot in the industry. The plucky half alive company trying to stay afloat while building cars to compete with much larger brands, cough cough Subaru. But while Subaru managed to build their followers, Mitsubishi kept a solid small group focused on pride towards the Eclipse and eventually the evolution. It took them way too long to bring that starship too the United States but before we got that we had the Eclipse. One of the sleekest meanest coupes of their line was the late 90’s gsx. Basically a two door evo. I have no problem with them building cheaper versions, and having some faster counterparts for people with more money but damn I think they turned their nose up to everyone with their newest offering. I still don’t understand if your having an issue surviving why you would enter the competition with a new crossover in a saturated market, and then top it off use badging that could have saved your image. Its like tying a rock to your legs before you swim. You already had early entries into the crossover market long before it was a thing. Why would you feel your whole line up needs to be different versions of the same unflattering car not car, truck not truck. Please Mitsubishi say pop! Then pull your head out. Keep making the crossovers you have and the cheap cars you have entry level is ok people need to drive. Please bring back some of your amazing offerings with performance so people who like to drive can buy your cars again. We Eclipse lovers want you back but I kinda feel like you ghosted all of us, and its gonna take some flowers and chocolate before we call you back.
I think growing up is taking responsibility on, challenge by challenge, but I think what makes being grown up is realizing you pick that level of sacrifice over the norm. To push, to take head on the world at large. Your never fully grown its an action to keep acting in this manner. Just like love, kids, and jobs it’s a daily choice not a one-time gig. I heard a song that hit me deep and reminded me of a time long ago. With just a couple chords I was transported back to six year old me, and singing along with my mom. Its weird getting hit with a wave of emotions in the middle of a mundane task. It almost takes your breathe away a little. The joyful memories of excitement and taking for granted everything around you. Its special being the first born, your image of your parents is when they are new to this thing called child rearing. Its less how awesome they are at it and more what grit and resolve they had that speaks volumes to me as an adult. I remember my mom in her twenties, I can look back and see sacrifices, trials, and compassion she shared with me. It’s a testament to her drive, and focus. When your younger, you struggle more, you have less money, and its hard to be patient. So when a song like Promises in the dark by Pat Benatar come on the radio its like a time machine to 1989. Except now I’m older than she was and it just hits me what a badass she was in her 20s and still is. She instilled a lot of things in me with just her reactions and hard work. I expect to give my kids as much as she gave me in safety, security, and love that I can. To me her actions are a whisper, so much more powerful than a roar. What? You say a roar is louder. No! a roar is noise, and a whisper you lean in for. You make the biggest moves for your children in a whisper. Anyone can claim something, that’s a roar, but the whisper is the action. When I say I love you to my kids it isn’t the word that matters it’s the time, sacrifice that defines that word for them. I have a blended family three kids from my previous marriage, two from my partners. We struggle all the time with our boundaries with our ex’s on our kids lives. When they were younger the stresses were huge. As they grow their relationship with their other parents is more on them. But one of the biggest reasons I don’t stress so much is times taught me that the whisper matters to them, just like the whisper mattered to me as a kid. We’ve worked hard to try not to splash disagreements with their other parent on them. We cant stop our ex’s from trash talking about us to the kids, and the older I get the more I get why it doesn’t matter. Negativity has a way of being its own fulfilled description of someone’s role. Just like being a step parent doesn’t make you less of a parent, that description for your step kids is up to you. Life is messy, and thank you mom being an absolutely amazing parent, your investment, and sacrifice help me all the time. I’m grateful for all you did, and continue to do for my kids by teaching me to be a parent willing to learn. Also for all those drives listening to all your cassettes singing along. Thanks for answering all my questions about the slang in half of those songs. Seriously tweeter and the monkey man by the Traveling Willburys is a crazy song if you take the lyrics at face value as a kid.
I threw a lot of shade yesterday on Ford, GM, and Chrysler. So, I’m going say a couple nice things. Each one of these companies made a mark in different ways. Up to the 1960’s they had been leading the world in technology, innovation, and offerings. I mean we are talking about Ford who brought the V8 to the masses, with hot Lincoln V8s running in the first hot rods. GM who brought us the automatic main stream, and Chrysler who brought us Hemi power for the end of the hot rodding years plus their impenetrable 727 Torque Flite Auto. It wasn’t until they started having a large enough corporate structure that real problems started to arise and add in a dash of recession mixed with foreign competition that they really didn’t have the business sense to fight their way out of a paper bag. General motors corporate structure was so ridiculously large by the 1960’s that they were already showing signs of fatigue even during a booming economy. Choices like giving into John Delorean to pump out GTO’s were a sign they had zero connection too their consumer. If it hadn’t been for that little bit of young blood they might not have joined the muscle car fray till the 1970’s talk about a disaster they could have added to their list.
Chrysler is a distant third to the three I truly think that’s why they still had quite a bit of development chops and innovation through the 60’s. They had to fight for market share and some weird stuff came out, but they kept plugging along. Did I mention the Barracuda came out before the Mustang? It wasn’t like the Camaro trying to catch up with Fords new grab bag. Ford on the other hand, started off strong like General Motors had except they had younger talent at the time and plenty of resources. So much in fact, that when they failed to acquire Ferrari, they paid a Texan chicken farmer and a British racing group to build a car that could win Le-mans against Ferrari. You know what – it took a hell of a lot to do that. I think that’s more of a testament to Ferrari than Ford.
The fact one of the largest car companies in the world dropping unlimited funds to show up a small but famous Italian car company could still have to fight so damn hard. I’m getting off topic but let’s say for a while, these companies had a will to be around and kept enough people around that were driven to make cars, and push boundaries. Focus is what’s missing for so many reasons and its what you need to do to be relevant. They used to have it, and I hope they find it again. Those people working for them would probably like to keep their jobs and be proud of what they make.
This is just an opinion, and it’s what I see daily, but it is limited to my view. What are the American car companies plans when their supportive generation is gone? I still see a lot of older people pick Ford trucks and Chevy trucks over the better competition brands based off brand loyalty. A loyalty that honestly has been worn down over the years by crappy office politics, and non-class leading ideas. I don’t think you have to be a fan of Tesla to see how change can be made when taking a real risk. Some day picking the sleepy safe bet isn’t gonna sell cars. The thing that really irks me about these companies isn’t their inability, it’s the fact they choose this path when they have clearly had the resources to push many times. If Chrysler had used their K-platform wisely it would have tuned and built lasting quality into their life raft they choose to build during the 80’s. Instead, they counted on American consumers to want less. Guess what – it didn’t last, they couldn’t compete with the smaller companies on foreign soil. Honda, Toyota, Nissan, and in fact Hyundai can thank American car companies personally for leaving that door wide open.
During the 80’s the big two spent more money lobbying against importing those better options than creating better options. For companies that like to advertise themselves as true red, white, and blue they sure don’t like working hard and pulling themselves up from their bootstraps. We spent the 90’s watching ford build better cars in Europe, because they have tougher competition, and people who had higher standards. While we received those sweet mustangs and FWD Escorts. Europe was dealing with Cosworth AWD editions including Recaro seats. Here, Ford is barely able to compete with Honda on their own soil because they still undervalued their consumer market. I just have a lot of respect for these massively capable designers and engineers held back by lower standards by their business bullshittery company rudders. I think its by time some of these idiots leave and let more capable hands take over before they are just companies talked about in museums because if they keep this crap up, they don’t deserve the present they can keep the past.
When you drive a normal daily but you need more excitement without the budget of a great job or rich family connections. Even a Toyota Camry can be made more fun to drive. Im not talking high school upgrades cutting off exhaust ridiculous wheels ect.. I’m talking tasteful mods that can make those turns, and sounds pleasing enough you might turn down your radio more often. Lets set the full budget to around a thousand. Our test car is going to be a 2001 Toyota Camry, basic zero cred but plentiful and lots of people are stuck in them.
Time to change the wheels and tires. First contact isn’t just a movie it’s the most important part of getting a grip with your time on the road. If you have those basic alloys time to sell them, If you have steel wheels with hub caps keep them. Either look around for a cheap modern set that fits your car or save your money and get ahold of those cheap steal wheels take off the hub caps and look for better rubber. 15inch wheels are going be cheaper to cover with new shoes. Check around at all the local shops or order from a place like Tire Rack. Easy to keep the tires around 300 for the whole set. Also look around in car groups you might find 300 dollars goes way farther and helping your fellow enthusiasts would appreciate the support.
300 down we now have 700 left to get this car into shape. Sound is a huge part of driving, and I cannot stand quiet cars but I also cant stand an open header on a road trip. So lets find that local exhaust shop. For cheap most shops can have you axle back straight piped for around 100 dollars. No tip needed just smooth pipe out back. A little more sound but that crappy muffler can go.
More sounds worth hearing are in front. The intake on a Camry has a maf sensor. Its way to expensive to buy a full intake so keep your stock filter. But you can drill open the area in front of the box so you can hear the muffled intake sounds for free without disrupting your oem equipment.
With a solid 600 left we should look at cheap suspension upgrades. Cheap but decent coil overs for this car can be as cheap as 250 dollars. They are adjustable and a great way to finally feel those new tires and drop that ride height a little.
350 left another fun upgrade is color rattle can is cool but not as cool as vinyl wrap. For another cool upgrade average vinyl needs for a large car is 65 sqft so that should be more than enough to find your color and practice a lot. 3m 2080 series is decent wrap and you can have your 75 sqft for just 150 dollars. That’s for gloss vinyl and plenty of choices in color. Tasteful is the key here as a warning remember you are possibly driving a dropped loud Camry. This is where taking your time to find a perfect color that can bring this whole car together. Alpine White can look just as racy sunburst yellow on black steelys.
200 dollars left and I would spend it all on your regular maintenance. Get fresh brake pads, change your oil, replace your spark plugs, change your gear oil, and replace hoses and belts. Spend all the left overs on car wash and interior detailing cleaners. Believe me these last upgrades are the most important. A well taken care of car is more fun and ready for what you want to throw at it. When your done you will have a clean smooth running, decent sounding ride with a little more road feel and sound. Hopefully its not a Camry but if it is at least your getting more out of it. Also if you love the color of your car or love your rims save your money and spend more on other aspects. You can always use the thousand to buy one nice part and enjoy that. There are so many cool ways to budget build your list could be different but I hope I brought some ideas for you to use.
Anyone who knows me knows I am all about cars but actually living a car lovers’ life and thinking about all thing’s cars are way different. I have gently dabbled in the affairs of cars for the 37 (almost!) rotations of earth. I’ve enjoyed working on them, drawing them, and driving them. I’m adept at it but by no means an expert. See – I can spectate, I can criticize, and I can feel the fear of letting that passion out me. As I hit my late thirties my brain and heart seem to want to be on the same side. They’ve battled, each one has won as I have cleaned up the messy life between two worlds.
I’m done spectating and done dipping my toes in the pool of automotive excess. The passion has chased me my entire path. Like an old friend you run into randomly year after year I cross intersections regularly picking choices and then holding back not diving in too deep. As I get outta the pool this last time I had a long hard look at the water and realized I wasn’t done swimming not even close.
So, this time I’m in it, and that means learning to swim in the deep end. I’ll own my mistakes and be proud of holding my breathe when I get tired. I’ll learn and my determination will give me the skills from the problems I will overcome while not touching the bottom. Blog, YouTube, Instagram I don’t care; what I care about is that awesome perfect drive at 4am having a blast filming. Meeting other groups of enthusiasts and learning everyone’s story. I know mine, and frankly I am ready to adventure and learn what’s out there. Watch out I’m diving in headfirst. Car shows, track time, and carving a path with all my friends and family through it laughing, crying, and making memories.
Changes can be scary but they can also be incredible. I’m a little bit of a romantic at heart, and as such I try not to see things like switching from electric power from gasoline as all bad. Here’s the thing at one point we had horses, and had to make a switch. That’s pretty crazy but now here we are with cleaner energy options that will hopefully get smoother, and cleaner over time. But the super exciting part is the thought of a whole bunch of old garages switching to ways to performance the crap out of future cars, and trucks. If I had the money right now I would build a speed shop dedicated to swapping electric engines to model after classic gas equivalent ones. Imagine having a sound device spitting out classic exhaust notes while providing power just like a classic V8. Its doable, why not get all the benefits from both sides of the isle. Drive a classic replica of a gt500 with an engine that sounds and is still mated to a manual 4 speed on the floor. Change just the engine and brake booster bolt all the accessories to the new electric motor and you wouldn’t feel a difference. But here’s the even cooler part being able to program the engine and sound to emulate anything. Tron sounds star trek sounds classic race car sounds, and power delivery that adjusts to each programmed engine function. That could be a sweet thing and you wouldn’t loose a step in enjoying it and couldn’t tell the difference from inside or outside. I’m not supporting taking classic cars and changing them leave those be unless you want too. Im talking cars like my fury, plentiful enough to be cheap but not valued as much as a challenger. I could put a tesla powered 1000hp electric motor tune it down to a 426 hp programmed hemi, and anything else I want while still utilizing all my old underpinnings, transmission ect… What a sweet market that would be in the future. I guess im saying we get alarmed about change a lot but why not weaponize it. SoCal, Moon, Gas Monkey garage you got work to do bring it on future.
We’ve done it we have pulled through the first 31 days of Tarmecca! Holy cow its been an interesting transition to start this dream my friend Franklin and I have had for quite a while. I met my partner in this YouTube, Instagram, Blog, and Facebook group about seven years ago. As car guys it didn’t take long to start talking it up at work about our passions, and disdain for anything not moving on wheels. We decided at the end of 2019 to do the work it would take to make the videos we want to make. So daily blogs about our emotional car needs, and running an Instagram together too meet other like minded car people. Get responsive and join in the world we like to be in. Every video has been a learning curve and terribly fun at the same time. Our goal is to work on our skills so we can make amazing videos in the future. Right now even in this first month they are getting better. One by one our videos will start showing what we see in our minds and I cannot wait to share that with others that feel the call of the smoking tire, the return to acceleration, and the need for…. Haha the need for sweet car content. Here’s to our first month! Come by and check out our slowly growing playlist at TarMecca on YouTube.
There are somethings that don’t need to be expensive to enjoy. There are so many fabulous rides out there with their own beauty behind the wheel. Their own experience, and the fact they are still fairly cheap while being rarer on the road only makes them more fun to drive, and talk to people about at shows. Lets look at some non-heroes the cars that bring a sense of special, hidden gems right out in the open Craigslist.
The base model stick versions of classic rally cars. Neat looking fun to drive and most importantly cheap to own. Keep them stock or build them up your gonna have a great time. Lets start with the Fifth Gen Toyota Celica. Pop up headlights smooth body work a hatch back version with a 5-speed can be had for $2000 what a deal. Did I mention it had pop up headlights, also the dash board wraps around the driver.
Now lets talk about a car I love but most people don’t notice, a fourth gen Mitsubishi Mirage 4dr with a stick. Im talking cheap slow car. But it is the same body on the old Evo III’s. Again cheap around $1000 dollars but you can enjoy the drive and modify it and just enjoy the rally look.
Last one I promise tonight, but it floats around everywhere and could be way cooler. Older Ford Escort hatchbacks. America got some pretty boring ones but make it look like a Cosworth edition and blow people away. Again super cheap and not fast but fun and could be tuned. Slap down $1000 dollars and clean one up.
Now Im not saying these are out here to destroy other cars, these are cars you can love the looks of enjoy a drive tune up a bit and enjoy for your self. Sometimes you need something more you and more fun. These are cars for a poor mans habit that will grant you some respect at the show. Different and fun.
TARMECCA 