Been Too Long......

I have really been slacking on writing about the car cruises that we've been to this summer.  Sorry about that.  The weather this year has just been okay for getting the cars out so we haven't been to much so you haven't missed a lot.  Let me get you got up on the main three car cruises that we've been to.

First, the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix.  The Marque Car of the Year was the Mustang.  And what a great turnout!  There was several hundred Mustangs to look at.  We attended, along with my dad in our Saleens.  This is a wonderful cruise for a great cause!  However, getting there & home from there is never fun since we have to drive through downtown Pittsburgh.  But it was a fabulous time there. They have so many great cars to check out & everything is placed in it's own area.  The Mustangs had their own area.  I think our favorite place though was Italian hill.  Wow!  I have never seen so many Ferrari's & Lamborghini's.  It was awesome to see!  The show runs two days & we attended both days there.  The turnout on both days was great.  Next year's Marque Car of the Year is the Mini Cooper.

Next, we had our Mustang (TC-TC) club's car show.  The club put on a fabulous show.  Everything went smoothly & we raised a lot of many for some great causes.  Once again, we had our Parnelli Jones Saleen there, along with my dad's Saleen & our Viper.  Any car is welcome at the show, it's not just for Mustangs or Fords.  There was a very nice turnout this year.  Weather was great too.  Not too hot, not too cool & no rain.  Perfect day for a car show!  Everyone there seemed to really enjoy themselves.  Looking forward to doing it all again next year!

Then, what had to be the biggest car cruise in the area this year, the Moon Twp Volunteer Fire Dept's car cruise.  It is always a big event, but this year it seemed a lot bigger.  The cars coming in never seemed to stop.  And I have never seen the playground as filled as it was this year.  Mike went there early to save us some spots.  He got in the row behind where we had been last year.  However, I was disappointed in where they decided to place the dj.  It ended up being next to us.  The dj wasn't too thrilled either, but he was extremely nice & promised not to blast us out & to make sure his equipment didn't fall on our cars.  And he did as promised.  But the cars in front of us decided to leave early so we moved our cars up & had excellent seats.  We were once again sitting by the road, watching as all the cars came into the cruise.  Everything really does work out!  The cars that came in were awesome.  And they just kept coming!  And as always the food here is great!  A little pricey for a hamburger, $6, but it was large & it was good.  (Our son wanted one, ate half, so I ate the rest)  They also have a burn-out row for people who want to do burn-outs.  They set it up pretty nicely too.  Safety is their #1 priority.  The burn-outs are a very popular draw to this car cruise.  We didn't walk around much to see all the cars, but since we had excellent parking spots, we got to see a lot of cool cars.  Already looking forward to heading back there again next year.  (And probably sending Mike out even earlier to save us spots)

To see more pictures of the events listed above, please visit us on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/2FastCars

And I promise to try to write more.......

Horrible car cruising summer until.....

This summer has just not been a good summer for cruising.  It has rained every weekend.  We've even been chased home from a car cruise because of a storm that was approaching.  The last time we made it to a car cruise had been the All Ford Nationals in Carlisle in the beginning of June.  Until this past weekend.

Last weekend we surprised our son with a trip to the Pittsburgh International Race Complex.  They had a drifting demo going on.  And he loves drifting.  He had a great time & the set up there was fabulous.  The Pittsburgh International Race Complex is a great place & they have a lot of different things going on.  I'll have to blog about them later because there is a lot to do there.  But after this trip there, are son has now decided that he wants to take up kart racing.  Guess we'll go back to let him ride the karts there.

This weekend we actually made it to two car cruises in one day.  It was beautiful, no rain in sight, finally.  We took the Saleen Mustang & the Viper, which was the first time the Viper had been out to a car cruise this summer.  The first car cruise we went to was a local one, right down the street from us.  It was held at the Monaca Turner's & benefitted the gymnastics team there.  There was a nice turn out of cars, but not a lot.  The prices for food & drink was excellent.  Very inexpensive & the food was pretty good.  They had the kitchen open & placed inside to eat.   We stayed at that cruise for about two hours before we packed up & headed to the Robinson Quaker Steak & Lube car cruise.  We've been trying to get to that one for the past couple of weeks, but they keep cancelling because of the weather.

Just one pet peeve, when driving along, why do people feel the need to tailgate my Saleen Mustang?  I really can't stand when anyone tailgates me when I drive any car, but especially my Saleen Mustang.  Just don't get it..... Now back to the cruises.....We made it to the car cruise at Quaker Steak.  When we first got there, there was not a lot of cars.  But they did start to come as the day progressed.  One thing I do like at this car cruise is that they rope off an area where the cruise cars are to be parked.  Doesn't mean everyone always listens to this, but the majority of the people do.  It was just so nice to be able to be out at a car cruise & looking at cars.  Hopefully as the summer goes on, more & more weekends will be nice & more cars will come out. 

Next weekend, our Saleen Mustang & my dad's Saleen Mustang will be going to the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix.  The Marque of the year is the Mustang.  Spending this week shining up the Saleen.  Come on out to Schenely Park this coming weekend & check out all the great cars that are sure to be there.

For more pictures of the car cruises, please follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/2FastCars   You can also find us on Instagram as 2FastCars & our twitter account is 2FastCarsDawnMike

All Ford Nationals Carlisle 2013

Second year at the All Ford Nationals in Carlisle, Pa.  What a fantastic time!  Left on Friday with my dad in his Saleen & our Parnelli Jones Saleen.  It seems though that every Friday we travel to Carlisle, it rains.  Most of the drive was clear, but then the rain came.  Luckily, we brought enough car cleaner equipment with us to clean off the cars on Saturday at the Fairgrounds.  But if we hadn't, there are plenty of vendors on site that have what ever you need to take care of your cars.

Arrived at the Fairgrounds bright & early on Saturday morning.  First thing we did, was clean up the cars.  This year there was over 100 Saleen Mustangs in attendance.  The reason for that many, Steve Saleen was there.  We were really looking forward to meeting him.  And our son was looking forward to meeting drifting champ, Vaughn Gittin Jr.  We had a fun filled day ahead of us.  First stop though, was to check out our friends brand new 2014 Saleen.  What an awesome car!  Looking forward to seeing it again at the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix in July.

After that, we went over to meet Vaughn Gittin Jr.  He really made our son's day!  He walked around the rest of the day with a huge grin.  Vaughn was extremely nice to our son.  Even offering to take a picture with him in front of his Mustang.  Our son was so thrilled!  Vaughn has made a fan for life!

We walked around, checking out all the cars, even making our way up to the top of the hill.  At the top they were doing ride alongs in a Ford Raptor & Ford Focus & Mustangs.  Looked like a lot of fun & may have to try that next year.  Just never seems to be enough time to do & look at everything.  So many vendors, events, & cars to look at.  I know we missed a lot, but what we saw was great!  The people there are true car people. 

Then we met Steve Saleen.  What a great guy!  Signed our car in the trunk & under the hood & then took a picture with us in front of our car.  This was definitely the highlight of our weekend.  His daughter was also there along with his wife.  The entire family is extremely nice.  We talked to Steve about the car for a little bit & then he went off to sign my Dad's Saleen & other's.  But it is a day that we won't soon be forgetting.

It was a great weekend & we were sorry to see it end.  But we are already looking forward to next year.  If you ever get a chance to go to the All Ford Nationals in Carlisle, Pa., go!  You won't be sorry.  Great time, great people, & great event!

For more pictures of our time at the All Ford Nationals, please visit us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/2FastCars

Midway Car Cruise June 5th

We finally made it to the World Famous Midway Bar & Grill car cruise.  I can not remember making it there at all last year.  It's held every other Wednesday during the summer months.  So this was the first time that our Parnelli Jones Saleen Mustang was there.  Mike drove the General Lee & I drove the Saleen Mustang.  We questioned taking the Mustang there since it's all cleaned & detailed to go to the All-Ford Nationals in Carlisle this weekend, but I wanted to get it out & drive it.  It's too fun a car to just sit in the garage looking clean.

We got to the cruise a little late & was told at first that there was no room at the cruise.  However they made room for the Saleen Mustang & the General Lee.  The guys that run the cruise are great.  We really appreciated them making room for us.  The minute we pull in, people start coming up to the Saleen.  Most people think it is a Boss 302 because of the stickers on the side.  Most do not realize what it truly is which is way I have a sign on the car explaining that it is a Parnelli Jones Saleen Mustang.  But the first person up to look at the car actually knew what it was.  Very nice to talk to someone who knows the car. 

And of course, the General Lee is the star of the car cruise.  So many people taking pictures of it & surrounding it.

It was a perfect evening for a car cruise, not too hot & not cold at all.  Walked around & enjoyed all the nice Hot Rods that were there.  They have a very nice set up at the cruise.  Different food to choose from.  Pizza, hot dogs, & Italian Sausage sandwiches were the most popular.

I hope that we can make it to another car cruise at the World Famous Midway Bar & Grill.  We've always enjoyed the cruises there.  Great cars, great people, & great atmosphere.  One of the best cruises around.

For more pictures of the car cruise find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/2FastCars?ref=hl

Next blog will be on the All-Ford Nationals in Carlisle, PA

Memorial Day Weekend

We finally made it to our first car cruise of the season.  Unfortunately this Memorial Day weekend was one of the coldest in recent memory.  But it was sunny & no rain in the forecast so we took the Saleen up to Quaker Steak & Lube in Cranberry for the cruise.  We got there early & there was not a lot of cars there yet.  I think that the colder weather kept a lot of the cars at home.

There were some nice cars there, but even as the day progressed, there still was not a lot of cars showing up.  So we didn't stay too long, but we do plan on going back as they usually have nice cruises there.  The cruise in Cranberry takes place every Saturday starting at 5pm.  And they give you a discount on their food there which is an added bonus, especially if you are in the mood for wings.

Then on Memorial Day, the Viper was in our local Memorial Day parade.  Friends of ours asked us if their daughter, who was the Poppy Princess, could ride in the Viper & wave to the crowd.  We were more than happy to help out.  So the Viper got cleaned up & ready for its Memorial Day parade.  And it was a huge success.  Lots of people loved seeing a little Poppy Princess in an awesome car waving to the crowd. 

The rest of the weekend was spent washing & waxing the Saleen Mustang, getting it ready for the All-Ford Nationals in Carlisle.  That will be taking place on June 7-9.  Really looking forward to heading there.  The biggest reason is Steve Saleen will be there.  Can't wait to meet him!  Hoping to have him sign our car under the hood since his signature along with Parnelli Jones is on our dashboard.  But I will tell you all about that weekend after it happens.

I wish that the weather would have been better for some more car fun, but it happens.  We will be back out & about with the cars this weekend so look for another blog about the fun we have this coming weekend. 

For more pictures of the cruise & the parade, please check us out on Facebook at 2FastCars.

Reflections

Sitting here listening to the weather tell us about the possibility of snow this weekend & next week.  Bummer!  Had been hoping to get the cars out to one final car cruise this Saturday.  But I don’t think that it will be happening.  Time to winterize the cars & put them away until next spring.

 

 



So I will take a look back on one of our most fun years with cars.  I think one of the main reasons it was so much fun was we did it as a family.  The kids enjoyed it as much as we do.  And they are learning their cars.  Now they will point out cars they see on the road & tell us what they are.  But I also think the other reason was because of the Parnelli Jones Saleen Mustang we purchased last year.  We were finally able to go to some of the cruises all together in the same car. 

 

But let’s take a look back at some of the cruises we attended & the fun we had, shall we?  The most memorable cruise & moment this past summer had to be at the All Ford National show in Carlisle, PA were we took 1^st place in our division.  First time there & we do hope to be back.  We had a lot of fun at the show & winning just made it all the more special.  At that moment, I was beginning to realize what a special car we truly had.

The other cruises we attended were just as fun.  We spent time talking to other car enthusiasts & began to truly introduce our kids to the car crazy world.  Our son began his picture taking career by taking his camera with him to every car cruise. 

We ended to car crazy season with a fabulous Pony Trail with our Mustang club.  It was a great way to end the season with our Mustang.

 

But now we must winterize our cars & put them away in the garage until next spring.  The thought makes me very sad.  Number one, I am not a fan of winter or snow.  And number two, I truly enjoy driving my Mustang.  Now all I will be able to do is to go down to our garage & look at it.  L 

We will be back cruising with our cars the first nice spring day in 2013. 

 

 

Please find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/2FastCars?ref=hl
We are also on Twitter under the name FastCarDawnMike & we are also on Instagram at 2FastCars.

PONY TRAIL DRIVE FALL 2012

Sitting here & I can not believe how cold & damp it is.  This past weekend was gorgeous!  The perfect weekend for a cruise looking at the leaves changing colors.  And that is exactly what our Mustang Club did.  Several Mustangs & their owners got together for an 85 mile drive.

After a little bit of a rough start at home, our General Lee which was blocking the Mustang didn't want to start, we headed out to meet our Mustang Club for the Pony Trail.  It was an absolutely wonderful time.  We took our Parnelli Jones Saleen Mustang & my dad drove his Saleen Mustang.  There were about 14 Mustangs in all.  It must have been quit a sight to see all these Mustangs cruising along together.  We saw several people stop & stare as we all drove by. 

As we drove along though, I couldn't help but wish that my dad had his co-pilot with him.  My mom, who passed away a little over a year ago, would have loved the cruise & the beautiful weather.  She loved that Saleen Mustang. 

We had left around 10 in the morning for the cruise & finished around 1ish that afternoon.  We made one pit stop along the way, which was good since we had the kids with us.  We also stopped along the roads a few times to make sure that we didn't lose anyone.  After the wonderful cruise, we had a great lunch at a restaurant called Pizzazz.  The service was a little slow because they only had one waitress but she was great.  She really did the best that she could.  And the food was excellent.

So as I sit here watching the changing weather, I wonder if that will be the last time that we have the Mustang out.  I certainly hope not.  I would love to take it out a few more times before old man winter comes. 

To see more pictures from our Mustang club's Pony Trail, please go to our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/2FastCars?ref=hl

General Lee Buzz

This past weekend was beautiful so we decided to take our Parnelli Jones Saleen & General Lee to a local park to get pictures taken of them.  We have a lot of great pictures of the Saleen, but none that were really nice of the General Lee. 

I am continually amazed at the response the General Lee receives.  We pulled into the park & parked both cars together on a grassy area.  As soon as we pulled in, people began to flock over to the cars.  Most of them were drawn to the General Lee.  But how cool is it to see both of these cars together!

Everyone started taking pictures of our General Lee & of course, they all wanted their pictures taken with the General Lee.  Everyone was great as they looked at the cars.  They all asked if they could get pictures with the cars.  The people around here are great!  It was a while before we could actually take the pictures that we wanted, but we did finally get some great pictures of the General Lee by itself & with both cars together.

To see more pictures, please go to our Facebook page  http://www.facebook.com/#!/2FastCars

As always I am amazed at how much people love the General Lee.  It is an iconic car & will forever remind people of their youth.

Now we just need to find a way to get the Saleen, General Lee, & the Viper to this park so we can get some great pictures of all three of them.  Any volunteers to drive one?  LOL!

Parnelli Jones Saleen Mustang

As you know, we own a 2007 Parnelli Jones Saleen Mustang & we love it.  It is an incredibly fun car to drive & own.  It gets a lot of attention at car shows.  Some people know exactly what it is & others think that it is just a Boss 302.  But what is it exactly?  We decided to share with you our knowledge on a rare & fun car that is part of our garage.

Steve Saleen & Parnelli Jones teamed up to build the 2007 Parnelli Jones Saleen Mustang.  Parnelli Jones is a very accomplished race driver who won the 1963 Indy 500 along with many more races in different styles.  He piloted a Boss 302 to the 1970 SCCA Trans-Am title & this Mustang is a replica of his winning 1970 Boss 302.

Steve Saleen, President & CEO of Saleen, said, "Parnelli Jones is an American racing icon. In the fifties, sixties, and seventies Parnelli won just about every race that he appeared in, including the Indy 500. 1970 was the year that the SCCA Trans Am Series boasted the most competitive field ever, and Parnelli Jones and his Boss 302 Mustang competed against the likes of Mark Donahue and Dan Gurney, and there he captured the championship. Our relationship began in 1987 when Parnelli raced for me on the Saleen team, and helped us win our first SCCA Manufacturer's Championship at Sebring, Florida. I can't think of any other individual that brings with him the unique connection between championship winning Mustangs and Saleen."

Parnelli Jones commented, "It's a true honor to have a special edition Saleen wearing my name. This impressive car takes me back in time -- it makes me want to take it for a run around the track. I'm sure that this car will be an adrenaline-pumping experience for anyone who has the chance to own or drive one. I think that this car is going to evoke nostalgia not only for Steve Saleen and myself, but for everyone that lays their eyes on it."

The 2007 Saleen Mustang comes with only the best from Saleen.  It has a new Saleen 302 cid V-8, 3-valve engine that produces 400HP at 6000 RPM with a 390 ft-lb torque at 4700 RPM.  It is an extremely fun ride with all that power at your beck & call.  It is also equipped with a high compression, high revving valve train.  And adding additional high performance capabilities is the new exhaust system that has a low-resonating sound that is a legacy of Saleen.  (Love the sound of our PJ!)

The Parnelli Jones Saleen Mustang comes only in one color, Grabber Orange.  It has a black striped “shaker” hood, race-style hood pins, black trunk deck, 302 side stripes, rear 1970 replica wing, & a racing-style billet gas cap.  They also came with removable #15 static cling race decals just like the one on Parnelli Jones racing 1970 Boss 302.  (However, ours were made into real decals for the car & are not removable.) 

The interior of the Saleen has black with Grabber Orange inserts leather seats in both the front & back seats.  And also inside are both Steve Saleen & Parnelli Jones signatures.

The Parnelli Jones Saleen uses Saleen’s own precision suspension, Watts-Link, and it offers the car the purest in race-type handling.  The superior springs, shocks, & swaybars provide greater handling capabilities.

Parnelli Jones is an extraordinary example of a legend maker. Even after nearly four decades, his abilities and visions for the sport have very few equals. I anticipate that Parnelli's racing spirit will come alive in every Saleen / Parnelli Jones Limited Edition that we manufacture. Capping on our motto, 'Power in the Hands of a Few,' we will produce a limited number -- up to only 500 -- in honor of Parnelli winning the Indy 500 in 1963," said Steve Saleen.

The 2007 Parnelli Jones Saleen Mustang may have been made as a replica of Parnelli Jones 1970 Boss 302, but it is making its own mark on the automobile industry as it one of the most incredible Mustangs on the road today.

Last Cruise at Wexford Starlite for 2012

We went to the last Cruise at the Wexford Starlite for 2012.  We weren't able to leave early to get there like we usually do so we ended up parking in their upper lot.  They had at least 3000 cars show up this past Friday night to end the season.  Great turn out.  But because we got there late, we didn't walk around.  Instead we had a great place to watch the cars as they left the cruise.  So we sat in front of our Parnelli Jones Saleen Mustang & watched the cars as they drove by.

There have been a lot of rumors floating around this year about this cruise for next year.  Last night those rumors were put to rest.  The cruise will continue exactly the same next year.  What a huge relief!  This is a great car cruise.  Great cars here every Friday night.  And the people that show up are wonderful too.  Never had a problem at this cruise with people.  They are all very respectful of the cars & I have never seen anyone touching any cars.  Very happy that the cruise will be back next year.

It is very sad though to see the end of the cruises for the year.  Summer is coming to an end.  It will soon be time to keep the cars in the garage.  This has been a great summer for us at the car cruises.  We are able to go to the cruises as a family & enjoy time spent together.  Our kids are learning to love cars also.  There are still a few more cruises left this season & hopefully the weather will be nice for them.  But for the Wexford Starlite Car Cruise....the season has come to an end.  So farewell for now, but we will see you again at the Wexford Starlite Car Cruise next year....May 24, 2013.

To see more photos from the car cruise, please view our Facebook page at  http://www.facebook.com/#!/2FastCars

Moon Township Volunteer Fire Department Car Cruise

Every year around the end of August is one of the largest car cruises in our area.  This year there was easily over a thousand cars that were there this year.  This cruise also offers a burn-out pit for the ones that would like to do burn-outs with their cars.  But I don't believe it was too popular this year as we didn't hear or see any burn-outs.

 We arrived early to the cruise so that we could get a spot along the road & in the shade.  We arrived with the General Lee, our Parnelli Jones Saleen Mustang, & my Dad's Saleen Mustang.  The cruise was to begin at 11am, but they open the gates at 6am & there is a line to get into the park at that time.  We arrived at 7am & there was still a line, but we managed to find the perfect spot for us.  We parked in the shade & right next to the road.  We were able to watch the cars drive by.  So many beautiful cars.

We did walk around a little bit, but the park is huge & with there being so many cars, we didn't walk around the whole park.  Instead, we decided to sit by the road & watch as the cars drove by.  We did take a break to go to the food vendors & to the playground (to let the kids loose).  The hamburgers they had were huge & excellent.  And the other food that we always recommend when there is the corn on the cob.  They have a nice selection of food to choose from.  Hot dogs for kids, hamburgers, hot sausage sandwiches, french fries, cabbage & noodles, & more.

 All in all, it was a wonderful day.  The only downside was getting up early in order to get a good spot for three cars.  I feel that more & more at the car cruises, it's a competition to get the good spots.  I would like to see them keeping the cruises closed until it actually starts.  But, it was still a great day even though we were all very tired that evening.

To see more pictures, of the car cruise, please go to our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/#!/2FastCars

Talk to you all soon!