According to statistics most people spend 101 minutes behind the wheel of their car. That's roughly 7% of their day. Some people learn to love and respect their car because it's an important part of their life. Others, not so much.
I'm one of those people who has a lot of love for cars and I often find myself wondering what kind of journey my car has been through.
My car was manufactured in 1989. I was also born in 1989 therefore my car is the same age as me.
While I have multiple cars, the car I'm referring to has only been in my life for 3 years. That means for 25 years this car has been on an adventure. It could have been owned by a CEO, farmer, banker, drug lord, or just an average joe like me.
Wouldn't you like to know the story behind your car and what it's been through? You have the choice to follow the life of "Suki", a Nissan from Japan, or "Frank", a Dodge from the United States. Watch the videos below to decide which path you would like to take.
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[[Suki's first years]]
[[Frank's first years]]
Suki is a 1989 Nissan Silvia (S13). She was manufactured in Kanda Japan, which is one of four main islands in Japan. Before we wake up Suki, we must understand why she was built.
In the late 80's/early 90's Japan became a lead developer of cars that had reliability, good gas mileage, good looks, and power. When the S13 was released in 1989 it actually won the "Car of the Year Japan Award". It was immensly popular throughout Japan. It was so popular that Japan stopped exporting the vehicle and the U.S. made it's own version, which is known as the 240sx.
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Now Suki came with 160hp and 162 foot pounds of torque. Not very powerful but Suki is very light weight so still a quick car overall. What Suki lacks for power she makes up in her looks. She's a 2 door, black, and full of curves.
Let's go ahead and see if we can wake her up.
[[Wake up Suki]]
Frank is a 2003 Dodge Neon SRT-4. He was manufactured in Detroit, Michigan. This is where most American model cars are born. Before we wake up Frank, you must understand his purpose. He was built to race and race he did.
The Dodge Neon SRT-4 was the sport version of the Neon. SRT (Street Racing Technologies) is a subdivision of Dodge that focuses on taking a base model vehicle and turning it into a racing machine for mass production. This is how Frank was born.
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Frank has a 4 cylinder engine that produces 230 wheel horse power and 245 foot pounds of torque. Now that may not seem like a whole lot of power but what Frank lacked for power he made up in weight. Frank only weighed about 2,900lbs and when you combine 2,900lbs with 230whp you get a pretty quick car, especially coming from a 4 cylinder.
Alright now that we know what Frank is made of let's go ahead and wake him up.
[[Wake up Frank]]
Hi, I'm Frank and I'm going to tell you my story.
After I left the manufacturing plant in Detroit I went on a journey to a little place called Fort Collins, Colorado. While I was there I met so many other cars. Most of them didn't look like me so I knew I was special. I wasn't sure how special I was until I used my power and quickly realized I was very fast.
I was alone for quite awhile just sitting in a parking lot waiting to be bought. I would watch the cars go by and wonder if I would ever be able to race them. I just want to race!
Eventually, I did get an owner. I was excited because now I could go race other cars. Oh boy did I race. I was quickly modified to make even more power and then I went to the track to race all kinds of fast cars. My owner was an Mark and he was a full time mechanic so he knew how to take care of me.
It wasn't long until Mark had to move to Conneticut. I was excited to see the entire country on this long drive.
[[Frank's journey to Conneticut]]Hi, my name is Suki and I'm going to tell you my story.
After I left the manufacturing plant in Kanda Japan, I was placed on a boat, where I was shipped to the Tokyo Japan. When I arrived I saw so many people and buildings. I didn't think I would have enough room to drive because the roads were so narrow.
It didn't take long for me to find an owner due to my popular reputation. I knew there was something different about my owner right away. He was different than most Japanese people that I have seen.
[[Who is Suki's new owner?]]Well come to find out that the midwest is pretty boring so the drive wasn't that much fun. I won't bore you to death with the details.
When I got to Conneticut I was quickly sold to a drug dealer. My owner's new job didn't work out so well, he needed cash fast, and I was the ticket. My new owner wasn't very nice to me. He abused me, didn't take care of me, and mainly used me to get around the city quickly for drug sales. I was actually shot at a few times but luckily I wasn't hit by anything.
Luckily, a few years went by and my drug dealer was arrested and thrown in jail. I was auctioned off and I found a new owner.
[[The move to New York]]My new owner was from Northern New York and so of course he brought me back to his home. We had so much fun. We would drive up in the Adirondack mountains on the curvy roads, go camping, and I would watch him swim because I can't swim or I'll die.
One day he packed up all his stuff and we hit the road together to head to San Antonio, Texas. Oh boy, I was excited to see another part of the country and I always heard how much fun Texas was.
[[Frank head's to Texas]]Well this was the last stop for me and my adventure. Once we got to Texas my owner wanted a convertible because it was so hot down there. I went to a dealership parking lot where I baked out in the sun everyday for a long time.
After a few months I found a new owner. He was a rancher. I have no idea why in the world he wanted me. I didn't feel like I was any use to a rancher. I was a race car not a tractor. After arriving on the ranch things got weird. Stay tuned to find out what happened on the ranch...
<img src="https://s.hdnux.com/photos/36/32/26/7972228/7/920x920.jpg"/>After realizing my new owner was different than most Japanese people he decided to take me to Osaka Japan. I was then introduced to his friends and then it dawned on me that my owner was in fact Yakuza. I saw many crimes being committed while being a part of his crew. The crazy part though is when he was arrested the cops never questioned me. I could have told them everything.
Well since my owner was in jail I had to find a new owner. I was then sold to a rice farmer in northern Japan. He lived in a little farm village called Misawa. I really liked him. He was nice and took care of me. The one thing I didn't like was he didn't drive me much. I sat in the garage most of the time and just stared as the cars drove down the street.
I knew times were getting rough for the rice farmer because he was selling a lot of his stuff. I thought to myself, I wonder if I will be next. Sure enough, I was sold.
[[Journy to America]]The rice farmer sold me to an American military man who eventually brought me to America. Before that we had an awesome time. We went up into the mountains and experienced so much stuff. He eventually started to modified my parts so that I was more of a race spec vehicle. That's when I started to have some real fun.
We drove to a race track, this wasn't a normal race track though. This was a drifting track. It was the greatest feeling I have ever experienced. I was out of control but yet in control at the same time. I can't quite explain it.
After we had our fun it was time to head off to America.
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After spending 30 days on a ship I was ready to touch the ground again. I ended up in St. Louis, Missouri where my owner picked me up.
[[Where do we end up next?]]After my owner picked up from the port we hit the road. I had no idea where we were going, I was trying to read the signs to figure it out. I quickly realized that we were heading to Florida, the sunshine state. I was happy to go there but I was very scared that the ocean spray and sand from the beaches would kill me.
No worries though my owner takes care of me and makes sure that I don't end up with any damage.
Well, this is where my story ends. I live in Tampa Bay, Florida with my owner, why don't you come visit me sometime.
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