7:00 a.m., Room 203, Country Inn, Columbus, OH
The windup alarm clock rattles me out of a deep sleep. You just can't trust wake-up calls. As I roll out of bed, I can already hear the now-familiar sound of V-8 engines roaring to life in the parking lot outside. To non-Power Tour hotel guests, it must sound as if Rommel's Africa Corps is mobilizing for warfare. Brush the teeth, wet the hair, sign the express checkout form. Hit the road.
8:15 a.m., Route 70, heading west toward Cleveland at 75 mph in a supercharged RK Sport 2001 Camaro SS convertible. The top is down.
My primary assignment is to ride along with Power Tour participants and get their stories. Although I own seven cars, on Tour, I'm a glorified hitchhiker. So here I am riding shotgun with Geoff Knechtel, a 28-year-old engineering student from Beverly Hills, Michigan. Geoff uses hand controls to work the gas and brakes because he was paralyzed from the waist down when he was 24. He's on the Tour to help showcase GM Mobility products and to spread the word about iCan, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people with physical disabilities. His folding wheelchair stowed behind the seats, Geoff is a model of optimism and a fully capable driver. When he said; "If you'd have told me that on July 18, 1998, I was going to wake up in a hospital bed without the use of my legs, I wouldn't have believed it," I felt an awkward tinge of survival guilt. But after we talked some more I realized any one of us could endure a similar setback at any time. The punchline is that we must appreciate and respect our physical and mental faculties while we have them. But if they're diminished, life goes on, and as Geoff proves, we can keep moving, learning, and doing.
12:00 p.m., Route 75 north, Sbarro Pizza
The scheduled gas stops offer a nice break in the action and plenty of opportunity to abuse yourself with a heavy dose of junk food. A confirmed pizza fiend, I did my part to make the world a safer place by taking five whole slices of the cheesy stuff out of circulation. After a post-meal trip to the parts-washer, I ventured outside and once again leveled my thumb.
12:45 p.m., Route 75 north, driving a pre-production Mercury Marauder
Scott Herberg and his team of professional drivers brought along five Mercury Marauders for a sneak peek and to get the public behind the wheel of this long-awaited fullsize performance car. The one I hopped in bore serial number 2MEHM75V03X600056 and numbers 00040, 00059, 00039, and 00053 were also along for ride-and-drive evaluations. (Some day historians will appreciate this trivia.) To my jaundiced right foot, the 302hp, 32-valve 4.6L seems a little flat below 3,000 rpm, but I was amazed to watch the tachometer quickly sweep to 6,800 rpm before the automatic overdrive transmission snapped into the next gear. These things are going to sell like hotcakes.
2:00 p.m., Big Buck Lodge, Pontiac, MI
HOT ROD TV Producer's Assistant Doug McFarland and I find ourselves sitting at a very long table at this very posh restaurant with the heavy brass from Primedia and Chevrolet. They're sitting right next to us, but they're talking business. Doug and I try to keep our heads low and not look too out of place in our T-shirts and sneakers.
4:00 p.m., Deadend street, Pontiac, MI
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