Commute Heros

Most mornings I meet a Lotus Elise on the way to work. On the way home I meet an extremely clean 1st gen RX7.

There are a couple of guys with Teslas I see at the hospital too, I know they are quite competent, but don't care for them. Guy I see just about every day when I am walking the dog rolling in an old sepia brown longhood 911t. Considering what those go for now, it impresses me.

Only thing I ask in this thread is you not take and or post pictures from behind the steering wheel. Taking pictures with your phone or other device while in the act of driving (including while stopped but in traffic) is bad, dangerous, and makes you vulnerable. Think about this, we always ask photographers at events to have spotters. Why? Because you do not have your full field of vision when focused (pun intended) on taking a picture. Be smart. Pull over, set the brake, and shoot all the pics you want. Otherwise, is it really worth it? I think a description will suffice for this crowd.
Thank you,
Your friendly neighborhood DE instructor.

/P.S.A.

At the gas station a couple of days ago, I watched an older dude kick start his 50s Harley whilst wearing Crocs- I think he's retired, but he was at a gas station during commuting hours so I'm counting it

I like to think I am contributing positively to this phenomenon by driving a Miata almost every day. Commuted in the Alfa for about 2.5 months and it survived. That one got a lot of attention but nobody gives a hoot about a Miata.

As for ones seen...there is an uncatted G35 coupe that I'd end up behind once or twice a month, looked and sounded absolutely glorious. Around here there's a lot of muscle car culture so on nice days you'll see old guys commuting in their pride'n'joy every so often but I'm not sure "twice a year on sunny Fridays" counts as 'commuting' really. I see more tractors on my commute than nice cars. Seriously.

Robbie wrote: I've been working in NYC (upper east side) from monday-thursday for the last 6 months or so. My office is actually a block away from a jaguar specialist shop. I see quite a few "GRM commute heros" in the area - quite to my surprise actually. These are all cars I have seen on a frequent basis within the few blocks I walk each day. - at least 2 different NA miatas - a mazda 323 that HAS to have been cheaper than the monthly rate for the parking space it occupies - a 1970s mid-size american sedan in near showroom condition - a 1980s woodgrain wagoneer, also in near showroom condition - nice e46s and audis (clearly tuned, but understated) Then there was an e92 m3 that looked great right up until I saw the words "Baja Panty" in vinyl on the windshield...stay classy. I really need to start taking photos for the board.

I have started taking photos. I see something cool almost every day. Don't know why the red is so common so far.

That red sentra is the same model as my first car. I bought it in silver, wet sanded it myself and had it painted blue. Never could get it to run right because we had the wrong carb on it.

I was behind a Tesla Roadster the other day. Definitely did a double take on that one.

There's also a bright yellow Cayman parked outside in the Century Bank parking lot on Mystic Ave - you can see it from 93 South. It was there all winter.

I was my own commute hero for 2 years.

2008 KTM Super Duke. Rain or shine, every day, 20k miles worth. Even went cross country with it once. Best dumb thing I've done in a while. I was working at the Boeing plant in Everett at the time and parking a car meant walking almost 3/4 mile. With the bike you could park right up front.

This was my 110 miles a day commute-a-car for two years. Good times.

There's a guy I occasionally see rolling around Bowling Green in a bright yellow Honda Beat.

Robbie wrote: I have started taking photos. I see something cool almost every day. Don't know why the red is so common so far.

I had a late B12 like that. I wouldn't have classified it as "something cool". Great fuel economy, remarkably comfortable seats, sure, but those qualities were its only redeeming ones.

In reply to Knurled:

I think it's cool because of where it is and how it's used. In Manhattan, it's likely that the monthly parking fee is larger than the total value of the car. If that's how you roll, you are awesome in my book.

I AM the commute hero. I rarely see anyone driving something more unlikely than whatever i'm driving. I just put a post on Instagram about hitting 100mph in my 1987 Montero on brand new mud terrains. I am doing the weirdest things in the weirdest cars wherever i go 99.9% of the time. And i'm always happy when I see someone crazier.

I do enjoy seeing exotics on the street (rare in my city) but I don't really put it in the same category since it's going to be driven by someone that can afford to miss work if it breaks anyway. Otherwise they wouldn't have bought it. It's rolling privilege any way you look at it. There's an element of privilege when I'm driving something old and weird that I don't HAVE to drive, but when i get into a turbocharged 30 year old minivan i built INSTEAD of my newer Porsche 911 i'm displaying a different sort of enthusiast bent then someone who gets into their 30 year old Ferrari instead of their newer Acura MDX. But, there's room for all of us.

I occasionally see a guy commuting around Vancouver in a street legal sand rail!

I saw a stickered up Daytona Turbo Z almost every day coming into Dayton on my commute in the morning.

I put over a 100k miles on a cammed lt1 z28.

I drive my c5 like 85 percent of the time. I call it my beater with a heater. When i was renovating my new house my truck broke and i just used the vette as a work truck. Even hauled some trim and 2x4s in it.

Some guy has an early c5 he has right at 700k miles.

There was a local guy jalopnik did a story on, he has a black gallardo he put like 100k on and then strecthed the timong chain and bent all the valves. He used to drive it everyday. Hes a really cool guy, hed come ibto the shop every few months anf id see him at waffle house like 3 times a week.

Out here i see GTrs, elises, during the summer months i ser a maroon mclaren almost everyday, a black ford gt, a gt350r, not too much old stuff except for a really clean 70 chevelle.

Thin

I daily an 81 DeLorean. All seasons, all conditions, except if heavy snow is expected - I think the car would do fine, just too many idiots on the road. When I lived in my previous house, I used to pass a bright orange Elise most days going the other way - he also drove almost year round.

I know another local DeLorean owner who drives his to work 1-2 times a week, and has a 170 mile round-trip commute!

Some guy has an early c5 he has right at 700k miles.

See, i like that. I like a guy driving a Lambo until it breaks from wear (at 100k lol). They're driving those cars because they want to drive and they want to drive those cars, not because it represents the best status symbol they're willing to spend money on in the car world. I mean, anyone driving a new car has points against them off the bat because new cars are generally reliable. If they're driving it only a small part of the time, strike 2. If they have nothing to do with the fact of its current state other than they paid money to buy it in that condition, strike 3. It really takes a lot for me to think of a lot of people driving 'high end' cars as eligible for 'commute hero' status. I mean, put 100k on the same Lambo when you don't have to and you've definitely got something. But I know when I'm driving my 911 (which is cheap but currently the 'nicest' car i own) it's on some level a copout from commute hero-dom because regardless of the fact that it's a sports car, I'm probably driving it that day because it's the most 'normal' car i own and i'm taking a break from actual craziness!

These are cars I regularly see in Manhattan:

On the lower east side:

Near Columbia University:

In a prime spot right outside the Plaza Hotel:

The Wife and I put 413,000 miles on her before a minor collision and 12 years of heavily salted roads put an end to her. She still didn't burn/leak any oil and ran like new:

A shameless plug, These RTSs were designed by GM in the 70s and the last ones rolled off an assembly line in Roswell, New Mexico in 1999 built by Nova, the third company to take over production. We still have them and they remain more reliable than anything built since. Pretty much as long as the turn over they will start and run the 20+ hour day. Drivers generally hate them for their tight cockpit and small 80s mirrors, customers hate them because they have to climb steps to board them but they have the best AC/Heat of anything we have and will probably survive an atomic blast.