August is just a couple of days away, and for ACC, that means it’s road trip time again. Associate Editor Chad Tyson and I are hitting the highway for Hot August Nights on Thursday, and this time we’re going in style — in our low-mile 2000 Dodge Viper ACR.
A lot of people think I’m nuts to take this car that far. When we bought it, the odometer had just clicked over to 1,700 miles. Beyond that, it has a stiffly-sprung racing suspension and super wide tires that love to grab ruts in the road. This car demands your attention all the time. When I told Ken Klickman, our local Viper repair specialist, that we were planning a 9-hour drive to Reno, he just laughed at me. “You’re going to do what?”
But the way I see it, you only live once, right? We’ve been using the car a lot since we got it — the odometer now shows 4,000 miles — and we just installed a brand new set of tires front and rear (since the originals, while not technically worn out, were older than most high school freshmen). It has air conditioning and a decent radio, and it’s actually pretty comfortable out on the road. Add in a good radar detector and a credit card for fuel and you’ve got a fantastic road trip car. Or, at least, that’s what I think now. We’ll see if 530 miles of open road change my mind.
We’ll be rolling into town on Thursday night, as long as no problems pop up, and we’ll be on-site at Barrett-Jackson’s Reno auction as well as cruising, car shows, and more from Friday morning through Saturday night. The Viper’s too new to participate in the cruises or shows, but it’ll be around — and we’ll be wearing our ACC shirts and hats, too. Be sure to say hi if you see us — we love to kick tires and chat with our readers.
Otherwise, watch this space, as we’ll be checking in periodically from the road and from the events this weekend!