Friends in Low Places

[Steve Chryssos]

We (Twist Machine) had a great time at SEMA. The paddle shifter won an award; We had three feature vehicles in the show; plenty of awesome response at the booth thanks to a killer booth location. I even got to drive the Billygoat around Vegas a coupla times.

But we had some bad news, too. One of our paddle shifter/steering wheel assemblies was stolen right off the display we had set up in the PCS (Powertrain Control Solutions) SEMA booth. So much for security. A $180 LeCarra steering wheel bolted to a $539 Shrifter--gone. Bummer!! They didn't steal the receiver, so the paddle shifter is kinda useless.

SEMA was no help at all, so I made a call to Charlie Tuna, a friend in LV who travels in all the wrong circles, and he got the thing back.

A friend of Charlie's hangs out with the crotch rocket crowd. Another crotch rocket punk was trying to hock our parts--still intact. My peeps explain what it is he's trying to sell and tell the "salesman" that it doesn't even work without the missing parts. The crotch rocket kid says he bought it off a guy who got it from a guy blah blah blah, so he wants his $100 back.

Bottom line: It cost us $100 but we got our parts back. Amazing.