I drove 287.5 miles going nowhere today

"MPA" (MPA) 04/19/2014 at 21:23 • Filed to: corvette, road trip, fun, missouri, team punkass, the whistles go woooooooooooooooo!

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I've had my Corvette a little over a month at this point. Most of the miles I've put on it at this point have been on a highway.

And I have put miles on the car, over 2,300 miles since I bought it on 3/13/14. I've burned through 100.94 gallons of dead dinosaurs, costing a whopping $387.95.

Today I ventured out on my favorite drive, from my house in suburban St. Louis, to Pacific, MO where the fun starts. According to Google Maps, it's 60.1 miles to that spot, so I spent the remaining 167.3 miles on some very nice and twisty roads, and part of it runs through Mark Twain Forest. Amazingly I didn't get stuck behind many cars, which is why I love this route.

Prior to today the only time I pushed the car through a turn was through my favorite cloverleaf on my way to work. I've probably taken this cloverleaf 1,500 times at minimum over the year in everything ranging from a MKIV GTi, a 2009 WRX, a NB and a NC Miata, a '08 Focus, a '13 Fit and my current beater - a '09 Accent GS. The Hyundai handles it surprisingly well. The Corvette, I hadn't been fully comfortable with, so I was probably faster in the Hyundai - no joke. The steering gets heavy at speed, and I just hadn't been too confident. I'm used to Miatas which have some of the lightest steering racks, but I can understand why a car like the Corvette doesn't have such light steering since it's capable of much higher speeds.

But after today - wow. I love this car. I did not have any "Oh shit" moments, but then again I'm not one to push the car anywhere near it's limits on a public road. But the heavy steering which I was worried about, wasn't even an issue - in fact I didn't even notice it at all.

I've driven this route in the NB and NC Miatas, and even the Fit. And today the car didn't miss a beat.

Here are 3 pictures of it parked on the side of the road. I stopped to take some pictures of passing cars, but there weren't any special cars - just pick ups and Harleys

Opposite Locksmith > MPA 04/19/2014 at 21:41

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I've put over 100 miles on my car just driving! Did you like the 2009 wrx you mentioned? I have one with 365hp/420tq and she's my baby so don't say mean things

Skif6996 > MPA 04/19/2014 at 21:49

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Great color! Atomic Orange, right? Nice photos!

Milky > MPA 04/19/2014 at 21:51

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Lovely car, and good on you for actually getting out and driving.

The C6 is on my short list of cars that I'm considering for my next purchase.

Manual + V8 + targa =

desertdog5051 > MPA 04/19/2014 at 21:53

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They are nice looking cars. Glad to hear they drive well, too.

MPA > Milky 04/19/2014 at 21:58

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It's a lot of fun, but make sure you bring suntan lotion. I forgot and my arms are red lol

MPA > Skif6996 04/19/2014 at 21:59

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It's Daytona Sunset Orange Metallic, which they used in '05 and '06. I think AO was first introduced in '08. Thanks for the compliments on the photos!

MPA > Opposite Locksmith 04/19/2014 at 22:01

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Oh yeah, I loved that car - it was Stage 1 with a Torqued Performance off the shelf tune. I only got rid of it to save $ since I only got a little more than 20mpg. I was going to get a '15 WRX but came across tis before I could see a new WRX in person lol.

Have car, will drive (now has a motorcycle too) > MPA 04/19/2014 at 22:05

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Reading this makes me want to cancel all my plans for the day and just go out for a nice drive on some twisty roads. It's been to long since I've gone for a drive just for the sake of it. Unfortunately life gets in the way a little too often.

Milky > MPA 04/19/2014 at 22:06

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Haha, the pain we endure for auto fun! But I'll shall try to remember that.

Skif6996 > MPA 04/19/2014 at 22:08

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It was '08. I wonder how different they are. Either way, your car looks great! Glad you got to put some fun miles on it.

Jayhawk Jake > MPA 04/19/2014 at 22:11

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The jelly is strong.

What I mean to say is I'm sure it was terrible. That car is ugly and dumb. You should give it to me and get something cooler. I'd be more than happy to suffer with it so you can be happy with something else.

JR1 > MPA 04/19/2014 at 22:15

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Definitely on my list of cars I will own before I die. The C6 is my attainable dream car.

Opposite Locksmith > MPA 04/19/2014 at 23:06

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just got 32 mpg driving from San Marcos to Austin! They can be coaxed. Your vehicle looks gorgeous, drove my uncles grand sport this winter, looooved it. No lag ftw!

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > Skif6996 04/19/2014 at 23:07

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They're actually quite different. I'm partial to Daytona Sunset Orange Met, myself. The Atomic Orange is brighter, but there's just something about it that doesn't quite to it for me as well.

Skif6996 > jdrgoat - Ponticrack? 04/20/2014 at 07:15

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The Daytona definitely has more of a pearl to it. That's pretty cool.

MPA > jdrgoat - Ponticrack? 04/20/2014 at 10:16

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Seeing them together, I definitely see the difference. In the pics I've seen, AO didn't look much different.

MPA > Have car, will drive (now has a motorcycle too) 04/20/2014 at 10:18

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Definitely find time if you can. It's nice alone, but having someone special in the passenger seat makes it even better.

MPA > MPA 04/20/2014 at 19:09

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I did another 175 miles today. I'm wiped!