BlackLotus
08-20-2006, 03:32 PM
Hi everybody
Intro:
I'm 23 years old and I live near Basle in Switzerland. I'm currently working in Berne as a freelance programmer in the area of web applications/content management. I've been hooked on American cars since a friend of mine bought a 2nd Generation Camaro when I was around 14 years old. As soon as I got my drivers license 4 years ago, I bought a black 1998 Camaro Z28 with 34000 kilometres(one previous owner); now the car has around 84000 kilometres. I recently bought an Opel station wagon as my daily driver, which kinda sucks. But the funny thing is, since I have the Opel, it is way more fun to drive the Z28 on weekends. *g*
Current Mods:
- US mirrors (probably installed by the previous owner)
- no sun visors (removed by the previous owner)
- Z28 3rd brake light cover
- chrome license plate holders
- Dension DMP3
In Progress:
- Billet Grille (check out my post in the appearance section)
- Chrome Bumper Inserts (ordered)
- Chrome Emblem Overlays (ordered)
Planned:
- Borla CatBack with QTEC, i've had it with the lame european exhaust. Unfortunately aftermarket exhausts are not quite street-legal in Switzerland. So I will have to re-install the factory exhaust every two years for the technical inspection and also hope that the police never notice it.
Maybe in the future:
- paint the side trim strips in chrome
- replace the BCM to add keyless entry
- rims
- tail lights
- paintjob
Some funny things about driving an American car in Europe:
- Your family and friends will call you crazy for driving that "over-sized, gas-guzzling battleship" and you will just laugh at them.
- The kiddies always think they can beat you in their pimped out Volkswagens, FIATs or ricers, just to realize seconds later that they've been owned by a V8. :D
- Everybody thinks your car uses 30 litres per 100 kilometres.
- The owner of the gas station always welcomes you with a big smile on his face.
- The police don't really know about American cars. One time they asked to see the "special permission" for my factory rims. *lol*
- It's very time-consuming and expensive to get "special permissions" if you want to install aftermarket rims, exhausts, etc. because the authorities want a lot of paperwork and do not accept American certificates of conformity. Aftermarket exhausts are practically never permitted, because of "noise regulations".
- In Switzerland you see quite a lot of American cars compared to other european countries(Germany, France, Luxembourg). Funny thing is most Z28s I've seen in my area are driven by people aged 50+.
- After the frontier-guard tells you "have a lot of fun" with a big grin on his face, you can really drive over 300km/h in a Corvette C6 on the German autobahn. *woohoo*
Feel free to ask me if you have any questions, be it about myself, my car or anything else.
Regards,
Mike
Intro:
I'm 23 years old and I live near Basle in Switzerland. I'm currently working in Berne as a freelance programmer in the area of web applications/content management. I've been hooked on American cars since a friend of mine bought a 2nd Generation Camaro when I was around 14 years old. As soon as I got my drivers license 4 years ago, I bought a black 1998 Camaro Z28 with 34000 kilometres(one previous owner); now the car has around 84000 kilometres. I recently bought an Opel station wagon as my daily driver, which kinda sucks. But the funny thing is, since I have the Opel, it is way more fun to drive the Z28 on weekends. *g*
Current Mods:
- US mirrors (probably installed by the previous owner)
- no sun visors (removed by the previous owner)
- Z28 3rd brake light cover
- chrome license plate holders
- Dension DMP3
In Progress:
- Billet Grille (check out my post in the appearance section)
- Chrome Bumper Inserts (ordered)
- Chrome Emblem Overlays (ordered)
Planned:
- Borla CatBack with QTEC, i've had it with the lame european exhaust. Unfortunately aftermarket exhausts are not quite street-legal in Switzerland. So I will have to re-install the factory exhaust every two years for the technical inspection and also hope that the police never notice it.
Maybe in the future:
- paint the side trim strips in chrome
- replace the BCM to add keyless entry
- rims
- tail lights
- paintjob
Some funny things about driving an American car in Europe:
- Your family and friends will call you crazy for driving that "over-sized, gas-guzzling battleship" and you will just laugh at them.
- The kiddies always think they can beat you in their pimped out Volkswagens, FIATs or ricers, just to realize seconds later that they've been owned by a V8. :D
- Everybody thinks your car uses 30 litres per 100 kilometres.
- The owner of the gas station always welcomes you with a big smile on his face.
- The police don't really know about American cars. One time they asked to see the "special permission" for my factory rims. *lol*
- It's very time-consuming and expensive to get "special permissions" if you want to install aftermarket rims, exhausts, etc. because the authorities want a lot of paperwork and do not accept American certificates of conformity. Aftermarket exhausts are practically never permitted, because of "noise regulations".
- In Switzerland you see quite a lot of American cars compared to other european countries(Germany, France, Luxembourg). Funny thing is most Z28s I've seen in my area are driven by people aged 50+.
- After the frontier-guard tells you "have a lot of fun" with a big grin on his face, you can really drive over 300km/h in a Corvette C6 on the German autobahn. *woohoo*
Feel free to ask me if you have any questions, be it about myself, my car or anything else.
Regards,
Mike