Do I Have a Favorite Car?

 When I had three Slot.it cars, way back towards the start of this blog, it was pretty easy to tell which car was my favorite. There were only three, and each were good in their own way. But it was the Shell GT40 that I couldn't get enough of:

The Alfa Romeo was a runner up for favorite car, but this one just edged it out. I think the reason why is because it started out rough and I got the satisfaction and benefit of getting it running right. Took a lot of time, but I eventually got it.

I ran a lot of laps with the #8, and it grew to be a very competitive race car. I still enjoy it very much whenever I race it, and it's a frequent pick to represent the three GT40 cars I have in a race.

I ran these three cars for two years before adding more cars to my "collection", when I picked up the 962C and the Ford MKII. But it wasn't until I got the Matra that I went up to the next level in speed:

The competition was pretty close until this came along.

Upon getting the Matra, it was pretty much all I ran. It started off needing a little weight in front to keep the nose down, and once it had that it became the most solid performer I have. It's not surprising that Slot.it races a Matra as their team car when they do their 24hr contests. If someone told me we were racing Slot.it cars, this is the car I would race. Hands down.

So this is where things got a little crazy. Last year I doubled my collection, adding a number of cars from NSR, Revoslot and Thunderslot. I got them at such a fast rate that I barely had time to set one up when another would show up in the post. A few stuck out, though:

My first 917, and it continues to be the favorite of the three that I have, even if one the Gulf car is faster. For whatever reason, this car is just a lot of fun to drive, and although it has a pretty conservative livery, it's a much nicer looking race car in person.

The Tergal 908 is also one of those cars that's a blast to drive and dang fast. It would come 3rd in a beauty contest of the three 908s that I have, though.

I went on a bit of a purchasing tear in December 2020 that involved new cars from new brands. Getting these NSR cars was excellent, and I was finding a lot of great stuff about each of them. 

When I bought my first Thunderslot, I knew I had to get more of those as well:

This car had me laughing and giggling like a 6 year old when I got it. All 'woo-hoo' and stuff.

And then a few more cars came along. All of these cars shared a similar experience: they were all driven extensively because they were so fun. But if you asked me what my favorite car is, I don't think that I can answer that. I mean, when I have a race session, I pull all the cars out and set them in a staging area. I usually grab the newer ones first; mostly to get them some track time. Then I'll pretty much grab anything that I've highlighted in this post and do some racing. 

My second Gulf livery, my third 908, a very recent acquisition, and extremely fun to drive.

So as things progress, I find it harder and harder to have a true "favorite" race car. While the cars above are just examples, I still enjoy every car in my collection. Even the ones that might be struggling a little right now. They're still great looking race cars that have the potential to go really fast. 

There's also no way of telling what will become a favorite and what won't. Case in point, the Gulf 908. I also have a Gulf 917, which is a fast and smooth race car, so why isn't it up here? It's pretty much one of the most iconic race cars ever. I don't know, it just isn't. There's just something about the Rothmans 917 that I like better. The Gulf car is actually faster, but that's not really the issue. It's hard to explain, but I feel more connected to the Rothmans car. It feels more organic, whereas the Gulf 917 feels a bit 3rd person.

There you have it. If I was to start a session after this post, I could drop any number of cars on the track first. I remember way back writing about how I thought the limit of cars that a person should own should be relatively low so they don't neglect cars. That doesn't happen here. A nice by product of that is that I have equal enthusiasm to get any of the cars running faster and handling better. I guess a case could be made of the Gulf GT40 being neglected because it was my ex wife's car until relatively recently. But now that it's my daughter's car, it's experiencing a revival as well, and will be updated soon. 

Funny....the fastest car didn't even make this list. Weird how that works.