[Heel n Toe]

Embraer, that TR4 is absolutely beautiful... that is quite an accomplishment to have built that thing up from such humble beginnings. Do you still have it? Post some more pix if you have 'em.

I remember the first time I ever saw one... our 7th grade Astronomy class went on a day trip to Chapel Hill to visit their planetarium and I think I saw 3 or 4 of them that day and thought they were very cool.

I did a lot of wet sanding and priming on a '51 Ford pickup my dad bought to haul hay for my sister's horses, etc. and he paid to have it painted black... that was my ride in h.s. ...it was okay to have the semi-independence, but it was nothing really fun to drive like your TR4.

My two sons each got a car from their grandpa on their mom's side about the time they got their license... the oldest got grandma's '84 LTD II 6 cylinder and the youngest got a '93 Corolla off the not-quite-good-enough-for-the-used-lot that someone had traded in at the local Nissan dealership. Both cars worked out pretty well. They each paid for their own gas and about 90% of the insurance.

Matt, you can get killed in any old clunker that can hit 50, but I hear ya on the Z06... the temptation is just too strong for a teenage boy to see what 140 MPH feels like.

But I basically agree with you totally... I've heard the best first car for a teenager is something "big and slow."