Camaro XV

[PTAddict]

This is just an amazing car. It makes me wonder, where can it go from here?

I'm in this hobby because of you, Mark. It definitely isn't your nature to promote yourself or your role in this hobby, but the truth is that you had a clear individual vision that started with Tri Tip, and that vision engaged the minds of some other key folk, and together a movement was built. If you want to think of it in corporate terms, you were and are the Chief Engineer and Technology Officer. Jeff Smith is SVP of PR. And the CEO isn't one person, it's the community: the forums like Pro-touring and Lat-g, the many small/medium businesses like DSE, Ridetech, Wilwood, etc, and the individual craftsmen who raise the bar every year. What a force this movement has become.

For me, the Red Witch cover story in Hot Rod in '96 twisted a couple of threads together for me - the thread that never got over my first ride as a nine year old in a muscle car in 1969, and the thread that appreciates modern engineering, performance, convenience. I've followed every build closely since, and much of what I learned is reflected in my latest car.

I think the most interesting thing I take away is your approach: build, learn, refine. The biggest mistakes I've made, and that I see others have made, are to shoot for the moon before achieving orbit. Your approach always seems to be: Let's start with what is proven. Decide what are the priorities for improvement. Take risks only for the highest priority items, and then research those risks as thoroughly as possible. Build and test in the real world. Rinse and repeat. It's a formula we would all do well to follow - at least if real world results are the criteria. If I'm not mistaken, it's the formula that ultimately built this ultimate car.

Best of luck at OUSCI!

Scott

[syborg tt]

Mark,

I was going to type up pretty much what Scott just wrote but honestly he said it much better then I could have ever said it so please pretend I just wrote what Scott did. I will add this you and your team are truly inspirational.

Originally Posted by PTAddict

This is just an amazing car. It makes me wonder, where can it go from here?

I'm in this hobby because of you, Mark. It definitely isn't your nature to promote yourself or your role in this hobby, but the truth is that you had a clear individual vision that started with Tri Tip, and that vision engaged the minds of some other key folk, and together a movement was built. If you want to think of it in corporate terms, you were and are the Chief Engineer and Technology Officer. Jeff Smith is SVP of PR. And the CEO isn't one person, it's the community: the forums like Pro-touring and Lat-g, the many small/medium businesses like DSE, Ridetech, Wilwood, etc, and the individual craftsmen who raise the bar every year. What a force this movement has become.

For me, the Red Witch cover story in Hot Rod in '96 twisted a couple of threads together for me - the thread that never got over my first ride as a nine year old in a muscle car in 1969, and the thread that appreciates modern engineering, performance, convenience. I've followed every build closely since, and much of what I learned is reflected in my latest car.

I think the most interesting thing I take away is your approach: build, learn, refine. The biggest mistakes I've made, and that I see others have made, are to shoot for the moon before achieving orbit. Your approach always seems to be: Let's start with what is proven. Decide what are the priorities for improvement. Take risks only for the highest priority items, and then research those risks as thoroughly as possible. Build and test in the real world. Rinse and repeat. It's a formula we would all do well to follow - at least if real world results are the criteria. If I'm not mistaken, it's the formula that ultimately built this ultimate car.

Best of luck at OUSCI!

Scott