Why A Corvette Forum Matters
I first went “online” back in ‘90 when I checked out the free AOL disc I got in the mail. AOL-land was fun for a few years, but in ‘95 a friend said to me, “You don’t need AOL to surf the net.” Honestly, I didn’t know that back then. A few days later, I said good-bye to AOL and “HOWDY!” to the information superhighway. People that previously had zero interest in PCs flocked to computer stores so they could be on the internet and get e-mail.
The Internet really was different back then. Nearly everyone was on dial-up, so web pages and sites were simpler. It was easier to find “information” then because the net hadn’t yet been taken over by commerce sites. Forums and chat rooms had been around since the early ’80s, but were clunky and difficult to use. AOL’s interface helped make it much easier.
While blogging began around 1994, it didn’t start to take off until ‘99 with the introduction of “blogging tools.” When political pundits glommed on to blogs in ‘02, the blog-o-sphere really took off. Now, there’s a blog for everything. This is good news and bad news. For researchers like me, when I do a search, nearly half of the links are for product, services, books, auction listings, and forum or blog comments. At first, I was kind of annoyed with the Corvette forum links because searches often linked to things such as, “I like side-pipes too.” But when I took some time to go to the Corvette forum’s home page, I was pleasantly surprised to find a rich, comprehensive information source.
Take a Corvette forum such as SmokinVette.com. The Corvette hobby is huge because it covers a 57 year lineage of cars in six distinct generations. SmokinVette has Corvette forums for all six generations. Once you’re into your generation’s forum, cruise around, and check out the topics. Every forum is unique, so spend some time poking around the links, controls, and drop-down boxes. It’s like wandering around a big box, home improvement store. It’s a little overwhelming at first, but it doesn’t take long and you know just where to find that sky hook you’re looking for.
Sometimes I’m just in the mood to look at pictures. SmokinVette has a HUGE collection of Corvette photos. And what would a high-testosterone topic like Corvettes be without a collection of Corvette Girls? BORING! You won’t find anything too over the top at SmokinVette, but you WILL find lots of SMOKIN babes. That’s a compliment, ladies.
Being a Corvette owner is not as expensively challenging as owning a pleasure boat, however you could spend extra cash on personalizing or refurbishing your Corvette. In the SmokinVette forum’s “Vette Parts” section you can find anything from a crate engine or supercharger to a little ole LED lights and even used parts. Corvette enthusiasts are extremely creative. You will locate Corvette parts that you didn’t even know was being offered.
It’s hard to be just a voyeur. After you finish the free registration, you can give your input to any forum, start a new forum topic, and ask a Corvette question, or even post images and/or photos. Corvette people are very friendly and helpful. Once you own a Vette or are simply an enthusiast, you belong to a uniquely American club. The whole “Save the Wave” thing started as a way for Corvette owners to recognize one another on the road. Corvettes are not just your ordinary car, they are something more special. It’s indescribable the feeling you get when you drive one. It’s a genuinely sensual experience when you drive one. You do not just “ride” in a Corvette, you DRIVE a Corvette, because they are made and designed to be DRIVEN. I have lost count of how many times I have read or heard a new Corvette owner say, “I never really understood this car until I drove one.” That’s the “GOTCHA!” moment.
Make some time, get comfortable, and check out some Corvette forums, such as SmokinVette.com. It’s very fun, educational, engaging, and a good way to meet like-minded people the “get” the Corvette passion. Enough said! -KST
This article was written by K. Scott Teeters, an editor for Alex Schult of www.SmokinVette.com and a freelance columnist and artist with VETTE Magazine. His monthly column, “The Illustrated Corvette Series” has been running consecutively in VETTE since 1997 and can be found on the very last page of every issue. You can find reproductions of his Corvette art at: www.IllustratedCorvetteSeries.com
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