Stop in for a cup of coffee

It’s a cool summer evening as the young man comes to a stop at the red light. He is thinking that it is the last light for quite a distance and what better time than now to test his latest adjustments on his tuner car. The exhaust is ringing with that new Turbo tail pipe that he just installed and the throttle response is immediate. As he quickly scans the gauges to see if everything is in order for a solid run he hears a rumble that at first sounds as though his exhaust is coming apart or leaking. He now notices an older gentleman pulling up in the lane next to him. Ah…thank goodness he thinks, it is his car that is doing the rumbling. The old fellow must be hard of hearing and does not realize his exhaust is making such a noise or perhaps he does not have the money to have his exhaust fixed. The young guy looks over and realizes that it is an old man, and he is driving an “old” car (complete with roof rack) as well. He remembers his father telling him of such a car and fun vacations so many years ago. With a great deal of pride the youngster decides to rev his engine to let the old guy know just what is sitting beside him and the performance the “old coot” is about to witness when the light turns green. As he revs his engine he notices that the older guy never looks over but stares straight ahead. But something else catches the young man’s attention… it is a scoop that begins to rise up out of the hood of the old four door relic complete with roof rack. With very little concern he is wondering what is happening to the old man’s car he begins to press the accelerator of his “tuner car” anxiously waiting for the green light and his chance to show his car off to all who may be watching. But the rumble from the old white car gets louder and stronger as well and the young man begins to wonder if this old gentleman is challenging his finely tuned automobile. It was then that the light turned green and the young man’s foot jumped off of the brakes as his other foot slams the accelerator pedal all the way to the floor and his tires begin to smoke as they spin as they try to grip the asphalt for the launch. To the young man’s amazement he notices that his wheels are spinning and grabbing aggressively but the old white car is now moving forward and his is at a standstill…how could this be his speedometer shows 35 in a heartbeat and his engine is singing at the red line on his tach, but it is as though he is not moving because the amazing old four door car, roof rack and all, driven by the older gentleman is steadily pulling away. As he quickly shifts into second gear thinking that this might be his problem he notices even more smoke forming around the rear of the older classic car. Tire smoke that is obviously not his is drifting into his lane. The rumble that he had heard at the red light has now turned in to a thunderous roar of power that is seemingly making the ground around him vibrate. He remembers his father telling him of such cars and in his father’s day they called them sleepers… could this be what he was encountering? As his speed grew even faster he noticed that the beautiful old Dart driven by the charming older gentleman had just left him and his whirring, tinny sounding car behind in smoke. And as the old car pulls away ….etched in the young man’s mind is the question….what is a Popmobile 440? :thumbsup: