Even as the automobile has entered an important transition across the threshold of the 20th Century into the 21st Century with re-engineering of drivetrain propulsion from reliance on petroleum to alternative fuels and electric power, the community of people that is united by the shared experience and collective expertise about maintaining, repairing, restoring or collecting cars continues. Even the unfolding “hybrid” and EV car cultures bring an esprit de corps within these communities of vehicle owners.

On any weekend in cities and towns and roadsides car enthusiasts can be found gathering to share their energies and efforts to take on projects together. Across the years through generations, perhaps it may continue to be about swapping out a camshaft or induction system. Yet today, there are increasing numbers of high-tech projects that are more about recalibrating fuel trim and spark control for computer controls via a laptop.

For the more “finished” wheels that can show up, it might mean simply waxing paint finishes and cleaning up the chrome trim. What has been around as long as the cars has been the “camaraderie” in the friendships and bonds that are forged around the shared understandings that give ready admittance into a circle of individuals who speak with a common vocabulary — not a code, necessarily, though not everyone could walk up and speak the language of car guys. It might just be knowing when you hear it right, or hear it wrong … and know the difference. Maybe you’ve been there in a circle of discussion: “Anyone hear got small-block 327 Ford?” Another might gently correct the statement, “You mean a 327 Chevy, don’t you?” “Yeah, I mean Chevy. That’s it, the one with the four-bolt camshaft and cross-drilled injectors.” Maybe that’s the invisible price of admission — you may inherit wealth, but when you are authentic it becomes something that money can’t buy. In the subjects and people invited into this website the common denominator is what is authentic — and the celebration of that gift of camaraderie.