2013 NYIAS: Hoon-In-Training – In which we unleash a 13 year old onto the show floor

Al Navarro

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NYIAS_0151

The recent Hooniverse post about the coolest car toy of your youth got me to thinking about the question “When did it start for me?”

That is, when exactly did my love of cars begin?

I’m pretty certain it all started when I was around 7 years old, sparked by a Matchbox Motorway race set. But it didn’t bloom into to a true obsession until my late tween years, probably right around 12 or 13. I would spend hours at the library poring over the leading car mags of the day: memorizing the names and exploits of Formula 1 drivers and teams, and fantasizing about what car I’d buy if price was no object. For the record, in my youth I was always partial to Italian cars (Countach!). This later changed to a fancy for German cars, and now, as you probably know, a certain flyweight product of the British Isles .

How into cars was I in middle school? Well, consider that in 8th grade, one of my friends nicknamed me “Michele”…as in Alboreto, though probably more because of the similarity between his last name and my first name than any fandom on my part. That particular friend still calls me Michele, 30+ years later.

So what does this have to do with today’s Hooniverse coverage of the New York International Auto Show?

 In a word, everything. Because we’ve brought a seventh grade car enthusiast to the NYIAS press days. The point? To try and see the automotive world from the eyes of a HIT (hoon in training). Or rather, you, however many years ago you were 13.

Meet Jack P., a Navarro family friend who reads all the trade pubs monthly and can pronounce Estoque correctly. The fact that he even knew what an Estoque was when we talked cars a few summers ago really impressed me.

While Jack’s been to the NYIAS before, he’d only gone during the public days…when all of the fun cars are locked up tight and the coolest car you might actually get to sit in is an Subaru STI or something like that. So it will be very interesting to see what he does today with the access afforded by his Hooniverse press pass.  Stick around and see what develops.  Because today, young Jack’s driving…and Jeff and I are just along for the ride.

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Al Navarro

Al Navarro

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26 responses to “2013 NYIAS: Hoon-In-Training – In which we unleash a 13 year old onto the show floor”

  1. Maxichamp Avatar
    Maxichamp

    The shadow makes it look like the kid has a beard!

    Reply
    1. dukeisduke Avatar
      dukeisduke

      They grow up so fast these days…

      Reply
  2. muthalovin Avatar
    muthalovin

    When I was a kid, the only thing I didn't hate were cars. And boobs. I was very angst-y.

    Reply
    1. Kamil_K Avatar
      Kamil_K

      So… things haven;'t changed much?

      Reply
  3. MVEilenstein Avatar
    MVEilenstein

    When I was 13, I was obsessed with sport trucks. Every truck I saw, I wanted to lower it, give it a roof spoiler, and cover the bed.
    Remember those Polk Audio posters? I had the one of the Chevy crew cab dually that was about an inch off the ground.

    Reply
  4. racer139 Avatar
    racer139

    My grandfather taught me how to read when I was three. I used to sit up on his lap and read Road & Track outloud to him. I.ve been hooked on anything automotive ever since.

    Reply
    1. trhyne Avatar
      trhyne

      What a fantastic grandfather…

      Reply
  5. skitter Avatar
    skitter

    Core curriculum for Hoons-In-Training:
    103: The Manual Transmission
    A multi-speed transmission uses gears to turn the wheels faster [1] or slower than the engine. The shifter is used to put the car in and out of gear. In neutral, no gears are engaged, and the engine can turn without moving the car. When the car is in gear, one toothed gear is connected to the engine, and another toothed gear connected the wheels. The number of teeth on the two gears determines the gear ratio. For example, a pair of gear might turn the wheels 1/3 the speed of the engine.
    In order to select a gear, it is best for there to be no connection between the engine and transmission. Pushing the clutch pedal separates the clutch plates, so the engine can turn without turning the transmission. Moving the shifter into gear locks one toothed gear to the engine side, and another to the wheel side. For a smooth shift, it is best for the engine speed to be close to the transmission input speed [2] before releasing the clutch pedal.
    When a running car is stopped, the car must be in neutral or have the clutch pedal pushed in, because the engine is turning. In order to start moving, the shifter should be moved to the lowest gear, the engine should be given a little gas and held there, and the clutch should be let out slightly. The spinning engine clutch plate will rub against the stopped clutch plate and begin to move the car. As the clutch is let out more, the engine will need more gas. Balancing the gas and clutch just takes practice.
    [1] Turning the transmission output faster than the engine is known as overdrive.
    [2] The transmission input speed is the wheel speed multiplied by the gear ratio.
    [3] Techinical things I left out: drop gears, dogs, synchros, final drive.

    Reply
  6. BЯдΖǐL-ЯЄРΘЯΤЄЯ Avatar
    BЯдΖǐL-ЯЄРΘЯΤЄЯ

    My two older brothers were hilbillie hoons, they were rallying old Bug's (yes they ruined split windows in the late sixties), Morris Minors,and some Opels on my dad's farm.
    So as a little kid my younger brother and I would join them as soon as we could.
    I started rallying mopeds with 8 years and probably around 12 I started to drive cars on my own.

    Reply
  7. OA5599 Avatar
    OA5599

    I expect to see a writeup with a Jack P byline this evening or tomorrow. Homework can wait.

    Reply
    1. Jeff Glucker Avatar
      Jeff Glucker

      Tomorrow… but no byline. Also video. Story doesn't turn out quite like we expected though.

      Reply
      1. Rust-MyEnemy Avatar
        Rust-MyEnemy

        What, he thinks the current gen Prius is teh awesomez?

        Reply
  8. engineerd Avatar
    engineerd

    I would have loved to do this when I was 13. Of course, my thought process would have been something along the lines of:
    1. Skip school
    2. Go to auto show on press pass
    3. ???
    4. Get laid.
    I was (is) a horn ball.

    Reply
  9. JayP2112 Avatar
    JayP2112

    My son attracts attention from the booth babes and he hates it.
    I've tried to use that power for good but he will have none of it.
    He'd been on the turnstyle with the G8, sat in several off-limits cars and had a Porsche rep (tall, brunette, omg) asking him to pose for a pic with her. No dice on that one.
    He can say Jaguar properly thanks to watching every Top Gear UK since 2005.

    Reply
    1. Devin Avatar
      Devin

      And then, when he finally wants to use that power, he'll be an awkward teenager and it'll be gone forever.

      Reply
      1. JayP2112 Avatar
        JayP2112

        Really.

        Reply
      2. skitter Avatar
        skitter

        In the name of all that is beautiful, tell him not to be like me.

        Reply
  10. Number_Six Avatar
    Number_Six

    Oh man, there was nothing better than being at an auto show at that age.

    Reply
    1. Dean Bigglesworth Avatar
      Dean Bigglesworth

      It was pretty awesome.. I used to sit in all the cars I could and row thru the gears and tell my dad which ones felt good and which ones were crap.

      Reply
    2. danleym Avatar
      danleym

      I can remember one thing that was better. When I was a kid I wanted to be a helicopter pilot (before I realized crappy eyes don't give you that option), and in 8th grade my dad surprised me by getting me out of school(!) to go to a helicopter show. Every branch of the military had flown their stuff in, from Apaches to Cobras to Blackhawks to Super Stallions and everything in between, plus the local emergency medical helicopters and a few news choppers, too. You could sit in just about all of them (except the Apache and Cobra), and the crew was right there explaining everything to you. And at the end of the show we got to sit back and watch every one of them take off.
      For me at the time, that was by far the coolest day a twelve year old could have.
      But auto shows were pretty awesome, too.

      Reply
  11. MMcG Avatar
    MMcG

    I can't ever remember NOT being a petrolhhead. Earliest memories were being fascinated by the weird Renaults and Citroens that my Dad's family obsessed about, and the Audis my mum's family had. There was no real car culture though. Not a subject for the dinner table. Dad just spent more than he should on them though. and bought some serious lemons along the way.
    I remember being gutted when Mum declined my ageing granddad's 2.8L Granada Ghia . The guy retired, handed back the Bentley and bought a few ford Capris before the Granada. Suppose he was the family Hoon.

    Reply
  12. Maxichamp Avatar
    Maxichamp

    I need to dig out my 1992 LA Auto Show pics.

    Reply
  13. MattC Avatar
    MattC

    I cannot fathom a time when I didn"t love cars. My best friend of over 40 years used to have massive Hotwheels races in his backyard (imagine 50+ feet of day glow orange track spanning from the top of his hill to the base in the center of his yard) we would place baby powder at the end to see which car came first of our races. Then mopeds, minibikes, gokarts and perusing car magazines and going to car shows with my friends. We also learned to drive stick at 15 in his father's Datsun 510.
    What makes me proud is that both of my 13 year old twin daughters have stated that they want to have a "cool" car when they drive. They are also actively saving for one. The apple does not fall far from the tree

    Reply
  14. stigshift Avatar
    stigshift

    I remember when car styling still changed every year. I remember driving with my parents to the Eastern Shore of Maryland in late '69 when I was about 4 and a half, and yelling out "Look- it's a '70 Pontiac Bonneville". I still remember seeing it. It was light blue metallic, and I saw it from the back, at a gas station in Easton. Yeah, I was a weird gearhead even then…

    Reply
  15. salguod Avatar
    salguod

    I've been a car nut since day one. Mom says my first word was 'car'. For years I thought she was kidding, but she swears it's true. My second word was Doug, so I guess I had my priorities set early.
    My earliest car memory was seeing a '70-'73 Camaro pass by on the highway and seeing that sloping rear deck and 4 round taillights and being absolutely smitten. I dreamed of Camaros after that and had one, a lowly lime green straight 6 automatic '76 coupe, in HS.
    I come from a line of gearheads. Dad had a '37 Ford on stands in the garage for years, a project he was going to get to someday but never did. He sold it to make room for a '56 T'bird my grandfather sold him. Grandpa had that T'bird, a '60 T'bird convertible (now mine), a '57 Eldorado Biarritz (now Dad's) and a '37 Cord 812 Phaeton (sold) while I was growing up. My uncle on my Dad's side has a '64 Corvette Stingray that he's owned since new. So I was doomed, so to speak.
    Growing up I loved everything. When I was around 13 I had an entire wall of my room plastered with any poster-ish page from the car brochures I grabbed at the local auto show. I mean anything, not just the Lambos & Ferraris. I had a Fiat Strada, Buick Skylark and other mundane vehicles lost to my memory up there. Didn't matter to me, they were cars and I loved them all.

    Reply
    1. OA5599 Avatar
      OA5599

      Maybe your second word wasn't your name, and you were really saying "dug" to show how much you dug cars. My kid spoke several other words before he learned "car", but his first attempt to string together more than one word to make a sentence was "Ride Mommy car". That was a request, not a report, since it happened in the house as he motioned towards the driveway.

      Reply