Why racing games matter   Here I sat in front of a TV in my basement. A 1964 Ferrari 250 GTO was flying down a stretch of Italian highway. A 79’ Trans Am was chasing it, all while The Clash was blasting from the radio. No, I wasn’t watching a vintage race with an unlikely battle, I was playing Forza Horizon 2, the video game that made me love cars.  Racing games as a concept are nothing new. Even in the days of Pong and Asteroids , video game developers were trying to emulate the feeling of driving, with a varying degree of success. Pole Position, Out Run, Virtua Racing , all racing game classics. I’m of the unfortunate age where I wasn’t around to experience any of the classic racing games, but I was just old enough to play the original Forza Horizon.  I’ve been playing racing games since I was six years old. Dunking on people in MarioKart Wii and DS, taking fools to gapplebees in Forza Motorsport 5, racing games are my bread and butter, aside from FPS games. So imagine the impact when 8 year old me experienced the first and second Forza Horizon games. The concept for the Forza Horizon games are simple. You, the main character, are a part of this music festival/racing event. The goal- win a bunch of races and win the Festival. With over 100 cars of different varieties, the game has an addictive charm to it. Add in a functioning radio system with some solid songs, you have what I consider one of my favorite racing series. Actually, scratch that, one of my favorite video game series, only dethroned by the Halo franchise.  But I am not alone in my love for racing games. I asked my friend Todd, who's as much of a car guy as me, how he got into cars. Other than being raised around a 71’ Cutlass S, Todd told me that games like  Forza Horizon 3 really invoked the tuner inside him. He texted me saying “They(Forza Horizon 3) really help with putting pictures in my head to build a car of mine own one day.” So, to bring this back to the title, why are racing games important?  Racing games are Gen Z’s Buillitt and Smokey and the Bandit.  Racing games today are what make car guys and car girls.  Racing games are important because it’s introduced a new generation to the thrill of cars. Being able to build and modify your own cars, almost exactly to your liking. Do you wanna build a pink 85’ Trans Am and take a McLaren to gapple bees? No ones stopping you. Does the concept of sending an AE86 down a mountain like Takumi Fujiwara bake your beans? Well, you can’t do that in real life, but with an Xbox and a couple hours to burn, you can live out the dreams of being a street racer. Just like in real life, cars in racing games can be the ultimate form of self expression.  Racing games are important for the future of the car community. It's the ultimate, and to be honest, the only way young people are being introduced to cars and Motorsports. My name is Sam, and thank you for reading.    Todd’s instagram-Todd_price22 ... View more

Hey every, my names Sam. You may know me from my interview back in October. For everyone who didn’t read that, I’m fourteen and love cars. That’s gonna be my post for today, just talking about my relationship with cars.    I can remember being eight, maybe nine. My dad, mom, two older brothers, and I went to the New Hope car show, in New Hope Pennsylvania. We pulled up to a spot, hopped out the car, and to our right was a late 1950s Corvette. I really don’t remember much about the car, other than it was this beautiful pearl white with a gorgeous red interior. It’s quad headlights looked deep into my impressionable eyes, burning the image into my brain. From what my brain’s telling me, that was my earliest car memory.    My main exposure to motorsports and the like came from video games. Forza Horizon was the game that made 8 year old me love cars. Ripping around the Colorado wilderness in a Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa and Shelby Cobra Daytona all while blasting Arctic Monkeys and Black Keys is what made me a car enthusiast. But I didn’t really know that at the time. My brain could only process what I could do in Forza.    Fast forward a couple of years. Now, I’m 11. Life was turbulent but beginning to stabilize. I had always wanted a Razor dirtbike. I think every boy in my age range has wanted a Razor dirtbike or something like it. Fast enough to scare a child, but not enough to kill them. The perfect toy for boy. Anyways, as an 11 year old, I wanted a Razor dirtbike, so I watched YouTube videos of them. Well, YouTube has this funny thing called an algorithm. It recommends videos similar to the ones you watched previously. So, as I’m watching these videos on Razor bikes, videos for mini bikes pop up. Me, being the curious kid I was, watched those videos. And I fell in love with mini bikes. They were cool, loud, and looked like tons of fun. So I only watched mini bike videos.    With the videos on mini bikes, and then eventually go karts, I learned that I was more interested in getting those old machines working rather than actually, ya know, riding them. Youtube also realized that, and handed internet obsessed me videos on cars, mainly classic American muscle. It was like heaven.   There’s times I wish I could forget about cars and then learn about them again. I was in a state of Nirvana. All I thought about was cars. Shelby's, Camaros, Plymouths, you name it, I loved it. I loved hearing them drive, and I loved learning about them. Cars were a great distraction for school, I can tell you that.    But it was a fateful day in 7th grade, where I discovered my favorite car of all time. I was coming off of my critical reading class, which I absolutely despised by the way, and I walked into our school’s library. I walked up to our librarian and I asked her “Do we have any books on cars?” Her face was perplexed, then she looked down at her computer, and gave me my answer. “Sure, there's a small section right next to the elevator.” I walked over, and she was right. The selection was small, but there was one book that piqued my interest. It was Consumer Guides’ Cars of the 1960s. The book was very well worn, with the pages falling out of the book when I had borrowed it.    I remember sitting in my bedroom and flipping through the sections and landing on the Chevrolet section. I read through it, and on the next page, it read about the Corvair. It was like falling in love. A rear engine, air cooled, flat six? With a turbocharger? Sign me up sir. After reading that, I went on my computer, and just googled everything about the Corvair for a solid hour. I loved everything about the Corvair. It's history, its controversy, the Yenko and Fitch Sprint cars, etc.    I don’t wanna drag this post on for much longer. You guys get the gist. And to those who read all the way through that, cheers. What got you into cars? ... View more

Hey, it's me. I'm now 14, and legal to work. I recently just had my working papers filled out, so I can get a job. That's actually what I'm doing instead of my school work lol. Anyways, I should probably explain my circumstances better. I live right outside of the Philadelphia suburbs, and have a pretty good idea of how cars work and stuff. My love for the Corvair has not faded, but early imports, especially British and Japanese cars have my heart. I do have some tools from my dad's old toolbox, but nothing very specific for automotive maintenance. I've seen some pretty cool corvairs on FB marketplace, and most are exactly what I want for the money (Monza 110's/ Corsa 140s with 4/spds). Now, I understand the concept of reliability, practicality, and ya know, usefulness. My mom is going to get me and my brothers a group car, so I will have a reliable daily.    A couple of months ago, me and my mom went to a local Euro shop and shot the stuff with a few of the employees. They told me that most shops probably wont hire me because I'm 14. However, they did comment I may be able to work the phones or something like that.    Now, what should I do to get my Corvair/muscle car/roadster/whatever I see on FB marketplace for reasonable cash? Where can I get hired to work on cars or car related at my age. Also, any advice on classic car ownership for a teenager who won't be able to get a 30 grand restoration? Finally, I'd like to say thank you for all the help as of recently.  ... View more

of my first car. My parents are allowing me to get an old first car under the condition I have to maintain and fix it. With that being said, what should I buy? I love old American sedans of the 60s, MGBs, and early Japanese imports. Mind you, I have about $7,000 saved from my Bar Mitzvah and other things, and I'm getting a job post corona-cation. So let's just say I have $8,000 for a car+maintenance. The cars I've looked at include the 60's ford Sedans (Galaxie, Fairlane, etc), an MGB GT, or an old Toyota Celica/Corona. Basically I just want something RWD thats simple to work on. So, with my request being made, what should I buy? ... View more

Well, my name is Sam and I'm 13. I've been in love with cars for the better half of a year and a half. My obsession began with Corvairs of all cars, and it's now graduated to early imports. However, I don't own a garage, and I've never worked on a car. What should I do? ... View more