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What Was Your Automotive News for 2020?

Greg Kachadurian

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I don’t need to sit here wax poetic about how 2020 was a shit show. You’ve heard it all before. Instead let’s focus on the good things that happened to us this year – the car-related things. We’re all here because of our love for cars and all the things that come with it. With the world turned upside down, we had more reason than ever to kill time with our projects and take the long road home from our essential trips. For myself and many others, our cars became more of an escape from reality than ever. So while we hope for a better tomorrow, let’s take a look back and try to find something good from the year.

If you made a bunch of progress on a new project, acquired new ones, learned a new skill because you were bored shitless, took advantage of the light traffic and went on a road trip, or literally anything else, we want to hear about it.

Congratulations on making it through the year. We’ll see you all in 2021.

About

Greg Kachadurian

Greg Kachadurian

I’m the guy that spoiled the site with all the new car stuff. Hooniverse News Editor since 2011, amateur motorsport photographer, sim racer, and mountain road enthusiast.

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31 responses to “What Was Your Automotive News for 2020?”

  1. roguetoaster Avatar
    roguetoaster

    In order:

    Bought- https://imgur.com/bqfMvKe
    Sold- https://imgur.com/2QaLI0B
    Sold after a decade of ownership- https://imgur.com/CDRJwYm
    Bought- https://imgur.com/Qkm93VM
    Sold- https://imgur.com/X2G73zV

    After being unable to find a radiator support/hood donor all year I think I’ll just move the SVT Contour on, which will leave me with one vehicle, that F-150 (RWD, 4.9L & MT!) for the first time in ages.

    Basically it was a bummer to say goodbye to all of the bimmers, but it’s time for something new, maybe Alfas in 2021.

    Reply
  2. Greg Kachadurian Avatar
    Greg Kachadurian

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/083395701260b3acf0b828f21c0b4b7c3528284d76b04c1ad0729a260136fe6b.jpg

    The year started out normal enough with another trip to the Rolex 24. Had more friends join me this time which was nice. It was by far my best experience at that race in the 5 years I’ve been going. If only the rest of the year went that well lol.

    Just before the lockdown I was able to see the Ferrari Cliente programs (Challenge, FXX, F1) at Road Atlanta and took my dad to see a true F1 car for the first time. That was pretty special. Then once lockdown hit I’d take advantage of the empty roads to cruise with the Mustang. They’d be essential trips, sure, but I’d find a grocery store more out of the way to have an excuse to drive more. Working from home has its perks but I’d often escape for a little bit with that car while keeping myself isolated in the car. It made lockdown much more bearable.

    When things began to open up, I was able to get a track day in at Road Atlanta. Other than it being hot as hell and losing a lot of track time because of dumped oil and some crashes, it was everything I wanted it to be. Felt great being out on my favorite track with my own car and have it actually be fun to drive there. It definitely exposed some weak points though but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed with money.

    Later on I was able to go to both of IMSA’s events at Road Atlanta this year – Petit and then the 6 Hours at the Glen replacement the month before. The day after Petit I then drove up to Charlotte to have my mind absolutely fuckin blown by the GT500. That would’ve been my highlight of the year had it not been for what I did the day after…

    I loaded up the Mustang again and started driving from Georgia to California via Oklahoma City and Flagstaff. I’ve been working from home since March and the boss said he didn’t care where we called home. So for a month and a half I made California home. I drove solo from Atlanta to San Jose in 3 days. 2,557 miles (from my odo which might be *slightly* off) in 37:43. I was too stubborn to give myself more time and couldn’t miss too much work, but I made it happen somehow. Then for the next 10 days I was in San Jose (staying in a hotel) I managed to see some family from a distance. But every night after work I was up in the Santa Cruz mountains having the time of my fuckin life. Since getting my car, each time I went to California I would wonder what it would be like to have my car there… and there I was, on my favorite roads with my car. It was surreal. I did the mandatory cruise down PCH and back as well. Then on my way back home I detoured to Los Angeles and spent a whole day in the Angeles Forest getting my mind blown again. Truly unreal roads up there. The drive home was uneventful and a fair bit easier than the way out. I took I-10 and I-20 to get home, stopping in Las Cruces, NM and a random town in east Texas. Being out on the open highways, particularly out west in the desert, was incredible after being locked up for so long. It was the closest I’ve felt to being free in a long time. I may never get the chance to do that again but I HAVE to find a way. It was a dream come true.

    Reply
  3. Greg Kachadurian Avatar
    Greg Kachadurian

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/083395701260b3acf0b828f21c0b4b7c3528284d76b04c1ad0729a260136fe6b.jpg

    The year started out normal enough with another trip to the Rolex 24. Had more friends join me this time which was nice. It was by far my best experience at that race in the 5 years I’ve been going. If only the rest of the year went that well lol.

    Just before the lockdown I was able to see the Ferrari Cliente programs (Challenge, FXX, F1) at Road Atlanta and took my dad to see a true F1 car for the first time. That was pretty special. Then once lockdown hit I’d take advantage of the empty roads to cruise with the Mustang. They’d be essential trips, sure, but I’d find a grocery store more out of the way to have an excuse to drive more. Working from home has its perks but I’d often escape for a little bit with that car while keeping myself isolated in the car. It made lockdown much more bearable.

    When things began to open up, I was able to get a track day in at Road Atlanta. Other than it being hot as hell and losing a lot of track time because of dumped oil and some crashes, it was everything I wanted it to be. Felt great being out on my favorite track with my own car and have it actually be fun to drive there. It definitely exposed some weak points though but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed with money.

    Later on I was able to go to both of IMSA’s events at Road Atlanta this year – Petit and then the 6 Hours at the Glen replacement the month before. The day after Petit I then drove up to Charlotte to have my mind absolutely fuckin blown by the GT500. That would’ve been my highlight of the year had it not been for what I did the day after…

    I loaded up the Mustang again and started driving from Georgia to California via Oklahoma City and Flagstaff. I’ve been working from home since March and the boss said he didn’t care where we called home. So for a month and a half I made California home. I drove solo from Atlanta to San Jose in 3 days. 2,557 miles (from my odo which might be *slightly* off) in 37:43. I was too stubborn to give myself more time and couldn’t miss too much work, but I made it happen somehow. Then for the next 10 days I was in San Jose (staying in a hotel) I managed to see some family from a distance. But every night after work I was up in the Santa Cruz mountains having the time of my fuckin life. Since getting my car, each time I went to California I would wonder what it would be like to have my car there… and there I was, on my favorite roads with my car. It was surreal. I did the mandatory cruise down PCH and back as well. Then on my way back home I detoured to Los Angeles and spent a whole day in the Angeles Forest getting my mind blown again. Truly unreal roads up there. The drive home was uneventful and a fair bit easier than the way out. I took I-10 and I-20 to get home, stopping in Las Cruces, NM and a random town in east Texas. Being out on the open highways, particularly out west in the desert, was incredible after being locked up for so long. It was the closest I’ve felt to being free in a long time. I may never get the chance to do that again but I HAVE to find a way. It was a dream come true.

    Reply
  4. Greg Kachadurian Avatar
    Greg Kachadurian

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/083395701260b3acf0b828f21c0b4b7c3528284d76b04c1ad0729a260136fe6b.jpg

    The year started out normal enough with another trip to the Rolex 24. Had more friends join me this time which was nice. It was by far my best experience at that race in the 5 years I’ve been going. If only the rest of the year went that well lol.

    Just before the lockdown I was able to see the Ferrari Cliente programs (Challenge, FXX, F1) at Road Atlanta and took my dad to see a true F1 car for the first time. That was pretty special. Then once lockdown hit I’d take advantage of the empty roads to cruise with the Mustang. They’d be essential trips, sure, but I’d find a grocery store more out of the way to have an excuse to drive more. Working from home has its perks but I’d often escape for a little bit with that car while keeping myself isolated in the car. It made lockdown much more bearable.

    When things began to open up, I was able to get a track day in at Road Atlanta. Other than it being hot as hell and losing a lot of track time because of dumped oil and some crashes, it was everything I wanted it to be. Felt great being out on my favorite track with my own car and have it actually be fun to drive there. It definitely exposed some weak points though but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed with money.

    Later on I was able to go to both of IMSA’s events at Road Atlanta this year – Petit and then the 6 Hours at the Glen replacement the month before. The day after Petit I then drove up to Charlotte to have my mind absolutely fuckin blown by the GT500. That would’ve been my highlight of the year had it not been for what I did the day after…

    I loaded up the Mustang again and started driving from Georgia to California via Oklahoma City and Flagstaff. I’ve been working from home since March and the boss said he didn’t care where we called home. So for a month and a half I made California home. I drove solo from Atlanta to San Jose in 3 days. 2,557 miles (from my odo which might be *slightly* off) in 37:43. I was too stubborn to give myself more time and couldn’t miss too much work, but I made it happen somehow. Then for the next 10 days I was in San Jose (staying in a hotel) I managed to see some family from a distance. But every night after work I was up in the Santa Cruz mountains having the time of my fuckin life. Since getting my car, each time I went to California I would wonder what it would be like to have my car there… and there I was, on my favorite roads with my car. It was surreal. I did the mandatory cruise down PCH and back as well. Then on my way back home I detoured to Los Angeles and spent a whole day in the Angeles Forest getting my mind blown again. Truly unreal roads up there. The drive home was uneventful and a fair bit easier than the way out. I took I-10 and I-20 to get home, stopping in Las Cruces, NM and a random town in east Texas. Being out on the open highways, particularly out west in the desert, was incredible after being locked up for so long. It was the closest I’ve felt to being free in a long time. I may never get the chance to do that again but I HAVE to find a way. It was a dream come true.

    Reply
  5. Greg Kachadurian Avatar
    Greg Kachadurian

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/083395701260b3acf0b828f21c0b4b7c3528284d76b04c1ad0729a260136fe6b.jpg

    The year started out normal enough with another trip to the Rolex 24. Had more friends join me this time which was nice. It was by far my best experience at that race in the 5 years I’ve been going. If only the rest of the year went that well lol.

    Just before the lockdown I was able to see the Ferrari Cliente programs (Challenge, FXX, F1) at Road Atlanta and took my dad to see a true F1 car for the first time. That was pretty special. Then once lockdown hit I’d take advantage of the empty roads to cruise with the Mustang. They’d be essential trips, sure, but I’d find a grocery store more out of the way to have an excuse to drive more. Working from home has its perks but I’d often escape for a little bit with that car while keeping myself isolated in the car. It made lockdown much more bearable.

    When things began to open up, I was able to get a track day in at Road Atlanta. Other than it being hot as hell and losing a lot of track time because of dumped oil and some crashes, it was everything I wanted it to be. Felt great being out on my favorite track with my own car and have it actually be fun to drive there. It definitely exposed some weak points though but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed with money.

    Later on I was able to go to both of IMSA’s events at Road Atlanta this year – Petit and then the 6 Hours at the Glen replacement the month before. The day after Petit I then drove up to Charlotte to have my mind absolutely fuckin blown by the GT500. That would’ve been my highlight of the year had it not been for what I did the day after…

    I loaded up the Mustang again and started driving from Georgia to California via Oklahoma City and Flagstaff. I’ve been working from home since March and the boss said he didn’t care where we called home. So for a month and a half I made California home. I drove solo from Atlanta to San Jose in 3 days. 2,557 miles (from my odo which might be *slightly* off) in 37:43. I was too stubborn to give myself more time and couldn’t miss too much work, but I made it happen somehow. Then for the next 10 days I was in San Jose (staying in a hotel) I managed to see some family from a distance. But every night after work I was up in the Santa Cruz mountains having the time of my fuckin life. Since getting my car, each time I went to California I would wonder what it would be like to have my car there… and there I was, on my favorite roads with my car. It was surreal. I did the mandatory cruise down PCH and back as well. Then on my way back home I detoured to Los Angeles and spent a whole day in the Angeles Forest getting my mind blown again. Truly unreal roads up there. The drive home was uneventful and a fair bit easier than the way out. I took I-10 and I-20 to get home, stopping in Las Cruces, NM and a random town in east Texas. Being out on the open highways, particularly out west in the desert, was incredible after being locked up for so long. It was the closest I’ve felt to being free in a long time. I may never get the chance to do that again but I HAVE to find a way. It was a dream come true.

    Reply
  6. Greg Kachadurian Avatar
    Greg Kachadurian

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/083395701260b3acf0b828f21c0b4b7c3528284d76b04c1ad0729a260136fe6b.jpg

    The year started out normal enough with another trip to the Rolex 24. Had more friends join me this time which was nice. It was by far my best experience at that race in the 5 years I’ve been going. If only the rest of the year went that well lol.

    Just before the lockdown I was able to see the Ferrari Cliente programs (Challenge, FXX, F1) at Road Atlanta and took my dad to see a true F1 car for the first time. That was pretty special. Then once lockdown hit I’d take advantage of the empty roads to cruise with the Mustang. They’d be essential trips, sure, but I’d find a grocery store more out of the way to have an excuse to drive more. Working from home has its perks but I’d often escape for a little bit with that car while keeping myself isolated in the car. It made lockdown much more bearable.

    When things began to open up, I was able to get a track day in at Road Atlanta. Other than it being hot as hell and losing a lot of track time because of dumped oil and some crashes, it was everything I wanted it to be. Felt great being out on my favorite track with my own car and have it actually be fun to drive there. It definitely exposed some weak points though but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed with money.

    Later on I was able to go to both of IMSA’s events at Road Atlanta this year – Petit and then the 6 Hours at the Glen replacement the month before. The day after Petit I then drove up to Charlotte to have my mind absolutely fuckin blown by the GT500. That would’ve been my highlight of the year had it not been for what I did the day after…

    I loaded up the Mustang again and started driving from Georgia to California via Oklahoma City and Flagstaff. I’ve been working from home since March and the boss said he didn’t care where we called home. So for a month and a half I made California home. I drove solo from Atlanta to San Jose in 3 days. 2,557 miles (from my odo which might be *slightly* off) in 37:43. I was too stubborn to give myself more time and couldn’t miss too much work, but I made it happen somehow. Then for the next 10 days I was in San Jose (staying in a hotel) I managed to see some family from a distance. But every night after work I was up in the Santa Cruz mountains having the time of my fuckin life. Since getting my car, each time I went to California I would wonder what it would be like to have my car there… and there I was, on my favorite roads with my car. It was surreal. I did the mandatory cruise down PCH and back as well. Then on my way back home I detoured to Los Angeles and spent a whole day in the Angeles Forest getting my mind blown again. Truly unreal roads up there. The drive home was uneventful and a fair bit easier than the way out. I took I-10 and I-20 to get home, stopping in Las Cruces, NM and a random town in east Texas. Being out on the open highways, particularly out west in the desert, was incredible after being locked up for so long. It was the closest I’ve felt to being free in a long time. I may never get the chance to do that again but I HAVE to find a way. It was a dream come true.

    Reply
  7. Greg Kachadurian Avatar
    Greg Kachadurian

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/083395701260b3acf0b828f21c0b4b7c3528284d76b04c1ad0729a260136fe6b.jpg

    The year started out normal enough with another trip to the Rolex 24. Had more friends join me this time which was nice. It was by far my best experience at that race in the 5 years I’ve been going. If only the rest of the year went that well lol.

    Just before the lockdown I was able to see the Ferrari Cliente programs (Challenge, FXX, F1) at Road Atlanta and took my dad to see a true F1 car for the first time. That was pretty special. Then once lockdown hit I’d take advantage of the empty roads to cruise with the Mustang. They’d be essential trips, sure, but I’d find a grocery store more out of the way to have an excuse to drive more. Working from home has its perks but I’d often escape for a little bit with that car while keeping myself isolated in the car. It made lockdown much more bearable.

    When things began to open up, I was able to get a track day in at Road Atlanta. Other than it being hot as hell and losing a lot of track time because of dumped oil and some crashes, it was everything I wanted it to be. Felt great being out on my favorite track with my own car and have it actually be fun to drive there. It definitely exposed some weak points though but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed with money.

    Later on I was able to go to both of IMSA’s events at Road Atlanta this year – Petit and then the 6 Hours at the Glen replacement the month before. The day after Petit I then drove up to Charlotte to have my mind absolutely fuckin blown by the GT500. That would’ve been my highlight of the year had it not been for what I did the day after…

    I loaded up the Mustang again and started driving from Georgia to California via Oklahoma City and Flagstaff. I’ve been working from home since March and the boss said he didn’t care where we called home. So for a month and a half I made California home. I drove solo from Atlanta to San Jose in 3 days. 2,557 miles (from my odo which might be *slightly* off) in 37:43. I was too stubborn to give myself more time and couldn’t miss too much work, but I made it happen somehow. Then for the next 10 days I was in San Jose (staying in a hotel) I managed to see some family from a distance. But every night after work I was up in the Santa Cruz mountains having the time of my fuckin life. Since getting my car, each time I went to California I would wonder what it would be like to have my car there… and there I was, on my favorite roads with my car. It was surreal. I did the mandatory cruise down PCH and back as well. Then on my way back home I detoured to Los Angeles and spent a whole day in the Angeles Forest getting my mind blown again. Truly unreal roads up there. The drive home was uneventful and a fair bit easier than the way out. I took I-10 and I-20 to get home, stopping in Las Cruces, NM and a random town in east Texas. Being out on the open highways, particularly out west in the desert, was incredible after being locked up for so long. It was the closest I’ve felt to being free in a long time. I may never get the chance to do that again but I HAVE to find a way. It was a dream come true.

    Reply
  8. Greg Kachadurian Avatar
    Greg Kachadurian

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/083395701260b3acf0b828f21c0b4b7c3528284d76b04c1ad0729a260136fe6b.jpg

    The year started out normal enough with another trip to the Rolex 24. Had more friends join me this time which was nice. It was by far my best experience at that race in the 5 years I’ve been going. If only the rest of the year went that well lol.

    Just before the lockdown I was able to see the Ferrari Cliente programs (Challenge, FXX, F1) at Road Atlanta and took my dad to see a true F1 car for the first time. That was pretty special. Then once lockdown hit I’d take advantage of the empty roads to cruise with the Mustang. They’d be essential trips, sure, but I’d find a grocery store more out of the way to have an excuse to drive more. Working from home has its perks but I’d often escape for a little bit with that car while keeping myself isolated in the car. It made lockdown much more bearable.

    When things began to open up, I was able to get a track day in at Road Atlanta. Other than it being hot as hell and losing a lot of track time because of dumped oil and some crashes, it was everything I wanted it to be. Felt great being out on my favorite track with my own car and have it actually be fun to drive there. It definitely exposed some weak points though but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed with money.

    Later on I was able to go to both of IMSA’s events at Road Atlanta this year – Petit and then the 6 Hours at the Glen replacement the month before. The day after Petit I then drove up to Charlotte to have my mind absolutely fuckin blown by the GT500. That would’ve been my highlight of the year had it not been for what I did the day after…

    I loaded up the Mustang again and started driving from Georgia to California via Oklahoma City and Flagstaff. I’ve been working from home since March and the boss said he didn’t care where we called home. So for a month and a half I made California home. I drove solo from Atlanta to San Jose in 3 days. 2,557 miles (from my odo which might be *slightly* off) in 37:43. I was too stubborn to give myself more time and couldn’t miss too much work, but I made it happen somehow. Then for the next 10 days I was in San Jose (staying in a hotel) I managed to see some family from a distance. But every night after work I was up in the Santa Cruz mountains having the time of my fuckin life. Since getting my car, each time I went to California I would wonder what it would be like to have my car there… and there I was, on my favorite roads with my car. It was surreal. I did the mandatory cruise down PCH and back as well. Then on my way back home I detoured to Los Angeles and spent a whole day in the Angeles Forest getting my mind blown again. Truly unreal roads up there. The drive home was uneventful and a fair bit easier than the way out. I took I-10 and I-20 to get home, stopping in Las Cruces, NM and a random town in east Texas. Being out on the open highways, particularly out west in the desert, was incredible after being locked up for so long. It was the closest I’ve felt to being free in a long time. I may never get the chance to do that again but I HAVE to find a way. It was a dream come true.

    Reply
  9. Greg Kachadurian Avatar
    Greg Kachadurian

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/083395701260b3acf0b828f21c0b4b7c3528284d76b04c1ad0729a260136fe6b.jpg

    The year started out normal enough with another trip to the Rolex 24. Had more friends join me this time which was nice. It was by far my best experience at that race in the 5 years I’ve been going. If only the rest of the year went that well lol.

    Just before the lockdown I was able to see the Ferrari Cliente programs (Challenge, FXX, F1) at Road Atlanta and took my dad to see a true F1 car for the first time. That was pretty special. Then once lockdown hit I’d take advantage of the empty roads to cruise with the Mustang. They’d be essential trips, sure, but I’d find a grocery store more out of the way to have an excuse to drive more. Working from home has its perks but I’d often escape for a little bit with that car while keeping myself isolated in the car. It made lockdown much more bearable.

    When things began to open up, I was able to get a track day in at Road Atlanta. Other than it being hot as hell and losing a lot of track time because of dumped oil and some crashes, it was everything I wanted it to be. Felt great being out on my favorite track with my own car and have it actually be fun to drive there. It definitely exposed some weak points though but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed with money.

    Later on I was able to go to both of IMSA’s events at Road Atlanta this year – Petit and then the 6 Hours at the Glen replacement the month before. The day after Petit I then drove up to Charlotte to have my mind absolutely fuckin blown by the GT500. That would’ve been my highlight of the year had it not been for what I did the day after…

    I loaded up the Mustang again and started driving from Georgia to California via Oklahoma City and Flagstaff. I’ve been working from home since March and the boss said he didn’t care where we called home. So for a month and a half I made California home. I drove solo from Atlanta to San Jose in 3 days. 2,557 miles (from my odo which might be *slightly* off) in 37:43. I was too stubborn to give myself more time and couldn’t miss too much work, but I made it happen somehow. Then for the next 10 days I was in San Jose (staying in a hotel) I managed to see some family from a distance. But every night after work I was up in the Santa Cruz mountains having the time of my fuckin life. Since getting my car, each time I went to California I would wonder what it would be like to have my car there… and there I was, on my favorite roads with my car. It was surreal. I did the mandatory cruise down PCH and back as well. Then on my way back home I detoured to Los Angeles and spent a whole day in the Angeles Forest getting my mind blown again. Truly unreal roads up there. The drive home was uneventful and a fair bit easier than the way out. I took I-10 and I-20 to get home, stopping in Las Cruces, NM and a random town in east Texas. Being out on the open highways, particularly out west in the desert, was incredible after being locked up for so long. It was the closest I’ve felt to being free in a long time. I may never get the chance to do that again but I HAVE to find a way. It was a dream come true.

    Reply
  10. Greg Kachadurian Avatar
    Greg Kachadurian

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/083395701260b3acf0b828f21c0b4b7c3528284d76b04c1ad0729a260136fe6b.jpg

    The year started out normal enough with another trip to the Rolex 24. Had more friends join me this time which was nice. It was by far my best experience at that race in the 5 years I’ve been going. If only the rest of the year went that well lol.

    Just before the lockdown I was able to see the Ferrari Cliente programs (Challenge, FXX, F1) at Road Atlanta and took my dad to see a true F1 car for the first time. That was pretty special. Then once lockdown hit I’d take advantage of the empty roads to cruise with the Mustang. They’d be essential trips, sure, but I’d find a grocery store more out of the way to have an excuse to drive more. Working from home has its perks but I’d often escape for a little bit with that car while keeping myself isolated in the car. It made lockdown much more bearable.

    When things began to open up, I was able to get a track day in at Road Atlanta. Other than it being hot as hell and losing a lot of track time because of dumped oil and some crashes, it was everything I wanted it to be. Felt great being out on my favorite track with my own car and have it actually be fun to drive there. It definitely exposed some weak points though but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed with money.

    Later on I was able to go to both of IMSA’s events at Road Atlanta this year – Petit and then the 6 Hours at the Glen replacement the month before. The day after Petit I then drove up to Charlotte to have my mind absolutely fuckin blown by the GT500. That would’ve been my highlight of the year had it not been for what I did the day after…

    I loaded up the Mustang again and started driving from Georgia to California via Oklahoma City and Flagstaff. I’ve been working from home since March and the boss said he didn’t care where we called home. So for a month and a half I made California home. I drove solo from Atlanta to San Jose in 3 days. 2,557 miles (from my odo which might be *slightly* off) in 37:43. I was too stubborn to give myself more time and couldn’t miss too much work, but I made it happen somehow. Then for the next 10 days I was in San Jose (staying in a hotel) I managed to see some family from a distance. But every night after work I was up in the Santa Cruz mountains having the time of my fuckin life. Since getting my car, each time I went to California I would wonder what it would be like to have my car there… and there I was, on my favorite roads with my car. It was surreal. I did the mandatory cruise down PCH and back as well. Then on my way back home I detoured to Los Angeles and spent a whole day in the Angeles Forest getting my mind blown again. Truly unreal roads up there. The drive home was uneventful and a fair bit easier than the way out. I took I-10 and I-20 to get home, stopping in Las Cruces, NM and a random town in east Texas. Being out on the open highways, particularly out west in the desert, was incredible after being locked up for so long. It was the closest I’ve felt to being free in a long time. I may never get the chance to do that again but I HAVE to find a way. It was a dream come true.

    Reply
  11. Greg Kachadurian Avatar
    Greg Kachadurian

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/083395701260b3acf0b828f21c0b4b7c3528284d76b04c1ad0729a260136fe6b.jpg

    The year started out normal enough with another trip to the Rolex 24. Had more friends join me this time which was nice. It was by far my best experience at that race in the 5 years I’ve been going. If only the rest of the year went that well lol.

    Just before the lockdown I was able to see the Ferrari Cliente programs (Challenge, FXX, F1) at Road Atlanta and took my dad to see a true F1 car for the first time. That was pretty special. Then once lockdown hit I’d take advantage of the empty roads to cruise with the Mustang. They’d be essential trips, sure, but I’d find a grocery store more out of the way to have an excuse to drive more. Working from home has its perks but I’d often escape for a little bit with that car while keeping myself isolated in the car. It made lockdown much more bearable.

    When things began to open up, I was able to get a track day in at Road Atlanta. Other than it being hot as hell and losing a lot of track time because of dumped oil and some crashes, it was everything I wanted it to be. Felt great being out on my favorite track with my own car and have it actually be fun to drive there. It definitely exposed some weak points though but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed with money.

    Later on I was able to go to both of IMSA’s events at Road Atlanta this year – Petit and then the 6 Hours at the Glen replacement the month before. The day after Petit I then drove up to Charlotte to have my mind absolutely fuckin blown by the GT500. That would’ve been my highlight of the year had it not been for what I did the day after…

    I loaded up the Mustang again and started driving from Georgia to California via Oklahoma City and Flagstaff. I’ve been working from home since March and the boss said he didn’t care where we called home. So for a month and a half I made California home. I drove solo from Atlanta to San Jose in 3 days. 2,557 miles (from my odo which might be *slightly* off) in 37:43. I was too stubborn to give myself more time and couldn’t miss too much work, but I made it happen somehow. Then for the next 10 days I was in San Jose (staying in a hotel) I managed to see some family from a distance. But every night after work I was up in the Santa Cruz mountains having the time of my fuckin life. Since getting my car, each time I went to California I would wonder what it would be like to have my car there… and there I was, on my favorite roads with my car. It was surreal. I did the mandatory cruise down PCH and back as well. Then on my way back home I detoured to Los Angeles and spent a whole day in the Angeles Forest getting my mind blown again. Truly unreal roads up there. The drive home was uneventful and a fair bit easier than the way out. I took I-10 and I-20 to get home, stopping in Las Cruces, NM and a random town in east Texas. Being out on the open highways, particularly out west in the desert, was incredible after being locked up for so long. It was the closest I’ve felt to being free in a long time. I may never get the chance to do that again but I HAVE to find a way. It was a dream come true.

    Reply
  12. nanoop Avatar
    nanoop

    The monobrow came to Europe: first the rear light of some Audi freighter, and then a continuous white stripe on the VW ID.somenumeral.
    Personally, the scooter wreck is 94% fixed, all that is missing is a reliable carburettor configuration and an insurance/registration plate.

    Reply
  13. Smaglik Avatar
    Smaglik

    2020 saw me really get serious about doing my own wrenching, adding a lift to the garage, mostly motivated by a certain e61. I also impulse bought a fourth vehicle, bringing the total number of bmw n52 engines under my care to three. The impulsively bought vehicle is really in incredible shape (completely clean and dry), but I’ll be starting 2021 by giving it a maintenance baseline, since all I can see is oil changes at the dealer.

    I’m thankful for this site, because it gives me somewhere to read stories of similarly nutso people, and share my trials and tribulations with like minded people, since must of my friends and neighbor just think I’m nucking futs. ?

    Reply
  14. Lokki Avatar
    Lokki

    It was the best of years – nothing bad happened to the cars, and I took our spring stimulus checks (remember them?) and pumped all of it into the wife’s 22-year old 328i just because it’s 22 years old; it still has less than 70,000 miles on it. Since then , the car has run probably less than 100 miles all year so it lives hooked up to the trickle charger. It got new tires too because the old ones were ?7? years old. It broke my darn heart too because those Michelins definitely had less than 10,000 miles on them and, living all their life in the garage had zero signs of age. But, years ago, she spun the car on some cobblestones in the rain, so: gotta do it. Hope at least they are making somebody very happy right now.

    The lease car ran less than 5,000 miles this year. To be fair I am really deep into this retirement thing so, even before the-great-masked-devil-of-2020 appeared I was only averaging 8,000 or 9,000 a year anyhow. Oh, Amazon Prime loves us and we love them too. When I worked I would click off at least 15,000 with my commute and a few road trips. Now the car lives in the driveway with a sunscreen in the windshield because my wife gets one stall of the garage, and in the other lives…..

    The Spider. My precious…. It’s a 71 Alfa Romeo. Maybe 400 miles this year? She was supposed to get a fresh respray this year, but…. well, even a same color respray is going to cost about half the value of the car, or more, since paint is expensive and Alfas really aren’t that valuable. Yeah, paint would increase the value of the car by roughly: not much. And, yeah, I could afford it since we didn’t do any traveling this year, but…. I feel guilty spending the money for a purely vanity project that no one would notice from 2 meters away- except Mrs Lokki who clearly notice how unnoticeable it is for all that money.

    It was also the worst of years because I didn’t get ANY road trips or visits to F1 races this year. I like to travel, and I couldn’t. Oh, and my wife’s car is 22 years old and she refuses to buy a new one. Grumble, grumble….. But a new car, or even a new used car to drive 100 or 200 miles a year?

    Any how: I can’t wait to get the vaccine so I can hit the road again. I am going to get a big card printed up that says Vaccinated! in four languages and wear it around my neck so I can breeze through the empty airports and sit down with lonely chefs in tiny cafes…. everywhere.

    Reply
    1. Sjalabais Avatar
      Sjalabais

      except Mrs Lokki who clearly notice how unnoticeable it is for all that money

      Haha, lines are drawn in the sand. Last year, all houses in a circle around us, except one, were for sale. It’s not us, I swear!. Anyway, one of my new neighbours is a car painter. I told her we might need to talk about the Centennial “over the summer”. Little did I know that much more pressing issues would take all the focus, and all the money.

      How many miles does the Alfa see in a normal year?

      Reply
      1. Lokki Avatar
        Lokki

        To be honest probably only 500 or 600 but I try to get one nice road trip in somewhere and that didn’t happen this year. No shows, and no hanging out with the boys at the local Italian restaurant with our cars all lined up in the parking lot….

        Reply
  15. wunno sev Avatar
    wunno sev

    this year i finished putting my Volvo back together, got a tune for the new big turbo, spent the better part of the year shaking it down, hit the track with it. now I’ve got a buyer lined up pending a few details. it’s been fun for eight years, but I’m done with it.

    this summer i bought back my black W124 coupe, which I’d sold about two years before. a beautiful car that is a joy to drive slowly. my challenge is retaining its best qualities on reasonable budgets of time and money. if it starts getting fussy, I’m going to sell it and take the loss as a lesson learned. no more modern Euro cars after this.

    Reply
  16. Fuhrman16 Avatar
    Fuhrman16

    Well, my automotive news for the year:
    At the start of the year I went on a 1000+ mile road trip down to Alabama, to spend a weekend at Barber Motorsports Park racing a Nissan Axxess. The van wound up seizing the motor in the first couple laps and we spent all of Saturday swapping in a junkyard motor. It got all put back together for Sunday and everyone got some seat time. Also spent a couple hours touring the motorcycle museum.
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/913575c5e3e6f0d99fd0bb2ddb8fbdae2eccf382c6f9a3eb5fc92a73a4112dc2.jpg

    In May, I bought a ’77 Buick Century sight unseen through an online auction. The car had been sitting for 30 years let seemed to be in surprisingly good shape. I spent the summer bringing back on the road. Took it on a trip back to the dealership if was originally sold from in October. It promptly nuked the transmission a couple weeks later. It’s on hiatus for the time being.
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6f008232105a691a4e826768ddfae7cea32ef33a8e3e1ce6dfcef021b7b04530.jpg
    And to wrap it up, last week I picked up a 2021 Kia Forte GT manual in Deep Sea Blue. It’s the only one in the entire state and my first new car ever. It’s spent most of the week parked in the garage due to the fact it’s been snowing everyday since I’ve picked it up and it’s performance summer tires perform poorly. But it’s supposed to be nice this weekend, so I’ll get more time to enjoy it.
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/239c65936c93261826385997598d3883fb9a76a4105353f351c11efe5d141d9c.jpg

    Reply
  17. Sjalabais Avatar
    Sjalabais

    2020 has been the most car-busy year for me in a decade. But, first of all, I noticed how important the Hooniverse was during the seemingly never-ending lockdown. Following a certain BMW-saga from Colorado, or an Econoline getting from ridiculous to slightly less ridiculous fuel consumption, or a Volvo in Texas or a fleet of “cars” in the PNW is entertaining. I have never met any of you guys, but checking in is nice, and getting almost constant help with nagging issues or just stupid ideas is great.

    So in February I was finally ready to get my Century, alas, the world was not. I bought my Centennial instead, and it has been a mixed blessing. I enjoy driving my first fun car since my kids were born – a lot. It’s powerful, but quiet, spacious and a cubist masterpiece. I get to chat with random car guys everywhere I go, which is lovely. It is full of issues though, which I am crossing off my list as we progress. Being a closet-enthusiast for the better part of a decade, I had downplayed the costly and dirty side of the hobby a bit, and am adjusting to reality.

    Our trusty Camry, with us for seven years, failed its tech inspection spectacularly in early fall. A boring, but cheap car, that over 70k kms cost us about 24k$ – everything included. I’m a spreadsheet man, after all. We were not ready to invest more in this tired and boring dinosaur, and experienced the wildest sale I have witnessed. It took all of 40 seconds to sell it, and I had to take down the ad after four minutes because so many guys kept calling. The car is in Nigeria now.

    Next up in true 2020-is-a-dumpster-fire-style was the Leafopalypse. Our EV’s charger failed, a well-known issue with first gen Leaf and often a reason to scrap them. We just thought our low mileage gem would be spared for a while. Nissan locally quoted us a price that included selling our daughter to the highest bidder, so we politely told them to be ashamed of themselves. This week, two months later, I finally replaced the unit. “Hate” is not part of my normal vocabulary, but the Leaf…the more I see, the more I dislike the people who designed this thing. When it works, it is a cheap appliance, but planned obsolescene is a clear priority here.

    Finally, after months of varied car issues, my lovely wife and I agreed we need something that won’t break down all the time. “Nothing older than 2015”, she said, so I got the cheapest 2015 that would reasonably work for us, a Hyundai i20. My first ever dealer purchase. And…3 visits to the shop so far, on warranty. We got new brakes, struts and, soon, TPMS sensors out of that warranty. I sincerely hope all three cars respect the flipping of the calendar and behave well in the year to come.

    Reply
    1. Scoutdude Avatar
      Scoutdude

      I forgot to ask, did you get the check engine light figured out yet?

      Reply
      1. Sjalabais Avatar
        Sjalabais

        Not quite, but my mechanic agreed with you. So there are 3 coils for the 6 cylinders, and he suggested just shifting out the entire ignition setup with coils, cables and plugs. He has some health issues and will be available again in late January, I hope.

        Reply
    2. Scoutdude Avatar
      Scoutdude

      Hey I represent that remark, I think.

      Well put, I agree that it is nice to check in with everyone share our automotive news.

      Reply
    3. outback_ute Avatar
      outback_ute

      Well said in the first paragraph, it’s a great community on here.

      I started the year bringing the last of my automotive junk home from rural storage and still getting my garage set up, but as Covid dragged on and our lockdown I really lost motivation to get out there. Finished the year with a stay in hospital and what I think is the longest time of not driving a car since I’ve had a license. Sorry for the downer, but it’s nearly over now, I’m back home and could drive if I had to.

      2021 is going to be better!

      Reply
      1. Sjalabais Avatar
        Sjalabais

        What happened, did you catch the virus? In any case, good to hear that you are better!

        Reply
        1. outback_ute Avatar
          outback_ute

          No, ‘just’ a skin infection that I let get away and ended up having an operation, they are very cautious when dealing with the hand. Not quite over yet but well on the way.

          Pro tip for everyone, don’t ignore health issues and think they’ll fix themselves without doing anything about it when the warning signs are clear. This is as much about general health/wellbeing as not rushing to the doctor for stuff. First time that’s really backfired on me and first hospital stay in over 35 years

          Reply
    4. mdharrell Avatar
      mdharrell

      “…or a fleet of ‘cars’ in the PNW…”

      The 66 GL is back on the road. After replacing the starter with a rebuilt Lucas unit that had been sitting on someone’s shelf for decades awaiting a Le Car that never arrived, the actual problem turned out to be a weak fuse contact in the interlock circuit for the Variomatic which allowed the starter solenoid to “click” but not actually engage. Sigh.

      Reply
  18. Scoutdude Avatar
    Scoutdude

    The big news this year.

    My buddies van. Resurrecting a conversion van that also had a wheel chair lift and trying to make sure it was reliable transport and tracing down the intermittent wheel chair equipment took many hours. Unfortunately the trans is getting weak.

    My own van saw a lot of work and I am happy to say that it does seem that the roof seal job was successful as we have had a lot of rain since it was completed and so far so good. I still need to finish wiring up the lights I installed while resealing the roof seam. The problem is that they are too bright so I’ve got to wire in some resistors to dim them down a bit so they look like clearance lights not brake lights. So I need to play with the resistors I have on hand and find the right brightness and order up enough of the values that I decide on. I guess that is what you get for buying the cheap lights on E-bay that don’t have DOT markings.

    The truck saw a lot of use this year with a lot of construction projects that made it the vehicle I’ve put the most miles on this year. It does appear that the cheapest double DIN radio with Bluetooth was the cause of cause of the battery drain. I don’t know what changed with it because I installed it in Oct/Nov 2019 and it was able to sit for weeks at a time and start w/o issue. Then sometime after I started using it almost daily something must have gone bad with it because all of a sudden the battery would be dead in 3 days. It did sit with the fuse pulled for almost 2 weeks and was good. So I did stick the original radio back in.

    The other vehicles in the fleet pretty have mostly sat since March so not much has gone on there.

    Reply
  19. crank_case Avatar
    crank_case

    Getting increasingly annoyed as five contractors in a row still flaked out on turning up to put in my garage floor. I know there’s a pandemic on and all, but it’s been a year and all these guys said they’d do it and didn’t, rather than just saying they couldn’t do it..

    Reply
  20. Batshitbox Avatar
    Batshitbox

    The Econoline went from being kind of a dog to being an enjoyable pet project. I hate to admit it, but a large part of that was having to pass California SMOG inspection. That required my mechanic to make a deep dive into the engine compartment (“I replaced everything I could reach”), after which not only did the Check Engine light work, but the intermittent heater fan worked 100% and the mileage went from 11 mpg to 14 mpg!
    This was all in March, and the replacement of the catalytic converter and an oil change led me to put injector cleaner in the tank and run the whole thing out by driving completely around San Francisco Bay on the most car-free days of the past 30 years. That was an unforgettable experience, never going below 50 mph for hundreds of miles of freeway in what is really a very beautiful part of the country, if you can afford to take your eyes off the gibronis long enough to see it.
    Along with some new shocks and my epiphany about the Sector Shaft Adjustment Screw, and finally tightening down the floppy side view mirror, the improvements made in 2020 have made the Econoline an appealing long-haul truck.

    The Africa Twin has been a blessing during lockdown. In its second year of ownership it continued to have shiny new farkles added to it. The ability to just hop on and ride, for days if necessary, coupled with being on work furlough allowed me to ride all over this state I’ve lived in off and on for 25 years but am still kind of a stranger to, and keep my sanity.

    I think I might have sold the DRZ in 2020, I can’t remember. There’s still parts of it lying around.

    Reply
  21. salguod Avatar
    salguod

    2020 saw me pretty much get the E46 sorted with most of the major things dealt with. The only remaining issues are the oil consumption and some modest rust patches, mostly in the rockers. I’m not likely dealing with either. Now that it’s sorted, I’m kind of bored with it and I’ll likely be selling it in the spring.

    I also moved up from my 2WD 1995 Ranger to a 4WD 2001 Tundra. The Ranger is still in the stable as my daughter’s driver until, hopefully soon, she buys the first car of her own. The Tundra is a fairly clean TRD spec truck with 290K miles and non-working 4WD. Hopefully that’ll get fixed soon. I put a timing belt on it and I’ve been using it as my snow runner this winter.

    2020 saw me say goodbye to the only new car I’ve ever bought, my 2005 Mazda3 hatch. It was a great car, mechanically, running for 14 years and 215K miles with no major mechanical issues and few minor ones. It still had it’s original clutch when I sold it. Cosmetically, however, was another story. Serious rust had ravaged it’s outer skin, although the structural bits were still sound. It has had a few minor mishaps under my daughter’s care as well, so the nose was a bit bent. Still, a young kit bought it and was thrilled to start the tasks of returning it to some sense of its former glory. More power to him.

    I also picked up my first ever lease, a 2021 Accord Hybrid EX-L for my wife just a couple of weeks ago. The deal was quite attractive and will mean that her car will always be under warranty and I’ll never pay for or worry about maintenance again. (and if anyone wants to buy a 2015 Accord Hybrid with about 101K on it, hit me up. :-D)

    And lastly, I just this week put a deposit down for getting my pole barn built. Construction won’t start until May, which is fine as I’ve got a few trees to clear and a gate to get built. I’m pretty excited about this as I’ve always dreamt of having a dedicated place to store and work on my projects. It also feels like an expensive and extravagant purchase, even though we’ve thoroughly reviewed our finances and it’s within our means.

    Reply
  22. roguetoaster Avatar
    roguetoaster

    In order:

    Bought- https://imgur.com/bqfMvKe
    Sold- https://imgur.com/2QaLI0B
    Sold after a decade of ownership- https://imgur.com/CDRJwYm
    Bought- https://imgur.com/Qkm93VM
    Sold- https://imgur.com/X2G73zV

    After being unable to find a radiator support/hood donor all year I think I’ll just move the SVT Contour on, which will leave me with one vehicle, that F-150 (RWD, 4.9L & MT!) for the first time in ages.

    Basically it was a bummer to say goodbye to all of the bimmers, but it’s time for something new, maybe Alfas in 2021.

    Reply