Growling like an evil beast, the fighter slowly emerged from the darkness of its hanger. The hot Tennessee sun reflected off the canopy, burning my retina's as if to punish me for my unbended knee. Without pause, the fighter transitioned from the ramp onto the taxiway, sequenced for departure from the active. At the runway, the fighter took position and held - dead on centerline. The pilot suddenly cut the power, opened the canopy and started walking towards me. I was ever so slightly confused at the pilot's choice of parking a jet on the active runway. Apparently fighters imprinted with the tail number November-Sierra-Xray are given special parking permission. Slowly, my sense of reality returned enough for me to realize that this day, for which eclipsed all others, had finally arrived...I was now a proud new pilot of my very own NSX.
With a sad smile, hesitant to depart from his dearly beloved, KellyJoe slowly gave me the keys. After bidding farewell, I carefully took the driving position, adjusted all optical navigation equipment (some call them mirrors), identified and checked all gauges and prepared for engine start. I then slowly turn the key...one click, dead silence...two clicks, the whine of the fuel pump cranking in high-octane juice...click number three and the starter engaged igniting the fuel and disposing it with the sound of distant thunder. I engaged the Kevlar-lined Spec stage 2 clutch and shifted into first. Nervously, the clutch was released and the throttle cracked open, just enough to get rolling - after all, this drive-way was all gravel. Creeping along, it felt like eternity rolling to the improved roadway. Once there, the throttle was opened a little further and then engine came to life. The Anytime exhaust shattered the quiet peaceful woods of rural Tennessee with an orchestra of technological savagery. The goofy grin that was there since the first time my eyes laid rest to this NSX became even wider. My face felt as if would split in two - it was a dentists dream smile...even my molars were showing.
The temptation to firewall the throttle was nearly impossible to fight. The only thing holding the urge back was my friend Robert following me in my parents mini-van, hauling the OEM wheels, tires and a million little extra's that KellyJoe threw in with the car. Once we hit I-40, I could not wait any longer. I downshifted and hit the gas to wide open throttle. The Comptech headers and Anytime exhaust screamed like a banshee that sent shivers down my neck. Simultaneously, it felt like two solid rocket boosters ignited behind me, flatting my frame into the seat and the car took off like a homesick angel. Noticing all the cops on my drive from Dallas to Nashville that same morning, I hit the state cruise speed of 70 mph within just seconds and engaged the autopilot. Robert finally caught up to me in the minivan and took lead, shielding me from the millions of semi's spewing rocks and dead animal parts. Not too sure how happy my parents would be with a sand blasted minivan sprinkled with leftovers from Sparky the family pet but, at this point, my NSX took priority.
When we reached Memphis, Robert decided to video tape downtown and the bridge crossing into Arkansas. Seeing a great opportunity to have the car filmed for his folks back in Berlin, I drove past Robert making more noise than anything else. Apparently this whole event excited the guy in a Ford Taurus wagon because when I slowed down and pulled in front of Robert, this rickety tin can on 4-wheels flew past me leaving a trail of dust, oil and exhaust particles like PigPen and his atomic dust cloud.
A couple hours past Memphis, we were exhausted. I switched on the two-way radio and flashed my brights at Robert, signaling him to turn his radio on. We pulled over at the next rest area ready to sleep. We got semi-comfortable in the van but could not sleep a wink. It was just like the trip up from Dallas. We got tired, pulled over and would try to sleep and by that time, we were wide awake. This time we decided to not stop until we hit Dallas. We finally got to my apartment at 5 am and crashed until 11:30 the next day. As if to punish me for disturbing her when I left Nashville, Mother Nature decided to drench Dallas for the next two days. Hopefully, this weekend, I'll have plenty of nice weather to bond with my X.
As a last and important note, I must mention that throughout my year-long search for my perfect X, I've had the opportunity to meet several awesome X owners. From California to Texas and from North Carolina to Nashville, every NSX owner I've met so far exhibits the same traits that they love in their X - reliability and integrity. A special thanks to KellyJoe for dealing with all the uncertainties that the transaction required. The car is everything that I've dreamed it to be - even includes every after-market upgrade I ever wanted. Thanks to all the NSX Prime members who were of support through the FAQ's and forums that didn't even know they were helping. This has been the most enjoyable buying experience of my life. Thank you.
With a sad smile, hesitant to depart from his dearly beloved, KellyJoe slowly gave me the keys. After bidding farewell, I carefully took the driving position, adjusted all optical navigation equipment (some call them mirrors), identified and checked all gauges and prepared for engine start. I then slowly turn the key...one click, dead silence...two clicks, the whine of the fuel pump cranking in high-octane juice...click number three and the starter engaged igniting the fuel and disposing it with the sound of distant thunder. I engaged the Kevlar-lined Spec stage 2 clutch and shifted into first. Nervously, the clutch was released and the throttle cracked open, just enough to get rolling - after all, this drive-way was all gravel. Creeping along, it felt like eternity rolling to the improved roadway. Once there, the throttle was opened a little further and then engine came to life. The Anytime exhaust shattered the quiet peaceful woods of rural Tennessee with an orchestra of technological savagery. The goofy grin that was there since the first time my eyes laid rest to this NSX became even wider. My face felt as if would split in two - it was a dentists dream smile...even my molars were showing.
The temptation to firewall the throttle was nearly impossible to fight. The only thing holding the urge back was my friend Robert following me in my parents mini-van, hauling the OEM wheels, tires and a million little extra's that KellyJoe threw in with the car. Once we hit I-40, I could not wait any longer. I downshifted and hit the gas to wide open throttle. The Comptech headers and Anytime exhaust screamed like a banshee that sent shivers down my neck. Simultaneously, it felt like two solid rocket boosters ignited behind me, flatting my frame into the seat and the car took off like a homesick angel. Noticing all the cops on my drive from Dallas to Nashville that same morning, I hit the state cruise speed of 70 mph within just seconds and engaged the autopilot. Robert finally caught up to me in the minivan and took lead, shielding me from the millions of semi's spewing rocks and dead animal parts. Not too sure how happy my parents would be with a sand blasted minivan sprinkled with leftovers from Sparky the family pet but, at this point, my NSX took priority.
When we reached Memphis, Robert decided to video tape downtown and the bridge crossing into Arkansas. Seeing a great opportunity to have the car filmed for his folks back in Berlin, I drove past Robert making more noise than anything else. Apparently this whole event excited the guy in a Ford Taurus wagon because when I slowed down and pulled in front of Robert, this rickety tin can on 4-wheels flew past me leaving a trail of dust, oil and exhaust particles like PigPen and his atomic dust cloud.
A couple hours past Memphis, we were exhausted. I switched on the two-way radio and flashed my brights at Robert, signaling him to turn his radio on. We pulled over at the next rest area ready to sleep. We got semi-comfortable in the van but could not sleep a wink. It was just like the trip up from Dallas. We got tired, pulled over and would try to sleep and by that time, we were wide awake. This time we decided to not stop until we hit Dallas. We finally got to my apartment at 5 am and crashed until 11:30 the next day. As if to punish me for disturbing her when I left Nashville, Mother Nature decided to drench Dallas for the next two days. Hopefully, this weekend, I'll have plenty of nice weather to bond with my X.
As a last and important note, I must mention that throughout my year-long search for my perfect X, I've had the opportunity to meet several awesome X owners. From California to Texas and from North Carolina to Nashville, every NSX owner I've met so far exhibits the same traits that they love in their X - reliability and integrity. A special thanks to KellyJoe for dealing with all the uncertainties that the transaction required. The car is everything that I've dreamed it to be - even includes every after-market upgrade I ever wanted. Thanks to all the NSX Prime members who were of support through the FAQ's and forums that didn't even know they were helping. This has been the most enjoyable buying experience of my life. Thank you.
Congrad and welcome to the community.
