I dunno. Just don't do anything wrong that they notice! But I live in a big city so the cops have more important things to do instead of write a ticket for a plate.

 

For some reason, coupes are legal with no front plate. But try that on a sedan and watch out! I don't get it. Check out all the corvettes, 99% don't have a front plate. Check out all the G35 coupes, 99.99% don't have a front plate.

 

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cato, it's not really legal on any cars, just most cops have better things to do than write a plate ticket. I got one in my old 95 ford escort for no front plate. since then I
ve had the G35 coupe and teh STi. never ahd front plates on any of my cars and havne't been harassed at all since the ticket in the escort. in the process of giving me one of my speeding tickets in the coupe the officer said he could write me up for no plate but he understand why I don't have it so he'd overlook it. not like it'd matter at all, I'd pay the ticket and still not have a front plate and an 88$ plte fine doens't would have been sprinkles on the top of the $300+ speeding ticket I was getting.

 

Got AIM or MSN? Send it to me over that.

 

No, don't want the spyware....

 

I haven't gotten one in my Coupe, either. Was fortunate enough to call Infiniti Austin right as they were preparing to mutilate the front of my then brand new G with holes for a license plate bracket.

Around the bigger metro areas, cops won't (as far as everyone I know has experienced) pull you over for no front plate. My brother on the other hand who's lived in College Station for a decade has been popped 5 or 6 times for it. Take your chances.

On another note, outstanding drive, guys. Wish I could have been there for the duration, but Saturday certainly wet my whistle (literally in the morning) as far as need for speed goes. Certainly had some faster speeds than I expected even with the wet weather in the morning. Loved the route, too (RBStampede I flashbacks.... those roads are downright awesome), so gg Turk.

Hated waking up Sunday morning, looking out the window, and not seeing a cloud in the sky. Maybe next time. \:

 

I imagine the wet weather made it a bit more interesting... Any more pics?

 

I'm mailing John a CD of my pics and vids today. He should have them posted soon.

 

Yes, Cato, the wet roads Saturday morning made the first half of the day a little more interesting. It was a long exercise in wet road handling. Imagine driving on roads on ridges and valleys where one side of the road is a rock wall, the other side is a cliff and valley, curves are marked mostly 25 mph and many are marked 15 mph, and finally, where the there are guardrails on these curves not more than a few inches from the edge of the road. There is practically no room for error. The adrenaline is high. And the roads are still wet as the clouds are slowly clearing the sky!

Everyone did very well on these roads. Everyone was responsible. I was very impressed. I am sure there were some close calls but I didn't see them because I was in the very front.

I believe that everyone became a better driver and now has a much better understanding of the limits of their vehicle's handling...and their own driving abilities.

 

Let's see more pics!

 

You're a persistent fellow, aren't you? Well, here are some more pictures.

The Stampede scared away many wild animals including buzzards, deer, sheep, cattle, rabbits, and squirrels (how many radio announcements did I hear for squirrels? Man, there must have been a lot of squirrels).

So why did Wile E. Coyote never catch the Road Runner? He wasn’t driving a Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo! Sad to say, there is one fewer road runner in the Texas hill country. It ran into Mike's 300ZX TT. Yep, straight into the intake. The critter had no idea where the Z came from. Whole body intact except for the head (which was decapitated upon impact). It is Beep!Beep! no longer. This is the first time I have seen or heard of someone who had a run-in with a road runner. Pictures of the extraction and burial are shown below.

 

I must clarify and elaborate on that statement. I think we caught most of the animals by total surprise. It might have had a little to do with our "spirited" pace. Deer are known to have very good hearing and are easily spooked. I cleared one hill and there was a little Bambi just standing in the middle of the road. Thanks to my new brakes and brake fluid, I was able to stop in time. The scariest situation for me was as I was approaching an object covering the median. First I thought it was roadkill, then I thought it was a giant cowboy hat. Keep in mind that this is a long open road. When I got to about 150 ft I realized it was a huge buzzard crouched down feeding on some tiny animal. Buzzards, in my experience, always ascend towards the vehicle. There was no use trying to brake; I would've hit it as I was trying to slow down. I had to get by it as soon as possible. This animal did not notice me until my car door was next to it. It was amazing and a close call.

 

Great story..... Keep em coming! Poor Hill Country wild life...... Next time you need to announce your impending arrival with some blaring Rock n Roll music. Give the poor animals a chance to GET OUT OF THE WAY!

 

I enjoyed it so much, I'll be going out again this weekend to drive with the Austin mazda rx club. I replaced that bad upper radiator hose so no worries this time!