My goal this year is not to be killed in a fiery crash. Others have more ambitious plans. Here are Jalopnik readers' ten best automotive resolutions. May your new year be filled with tire smoke and motor oil.
Welcome back to Answers of the Day — our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!
Photo Credit: Greg Jarem/Subaru
10.) Make a pilgrimage
Suggested By: rossmarshall21m
This year I'll… …get down to Austin next November for my first F1 race. Lord willing.
Photo Credit: Kevin McCauley
9.) Learn to wrench
Suggested By: Jack Trade
This year I'll… …do at least one new repair I've never done before.
This past year's highlight was getting to (intimately) know drum brakes on VWs. A real pain in the ass, gunk under my fingernails for weeks, but I learned a lot, fixed a nasty squeal, and felt like I'd, if momentarily, countered the entropy of the universe.
Photo Credit: pekhty
8.) Be an awesome dad
Suggested By: armatar
This year I'll… …rent, maybe even buy, an old beater with a manual gearbox, and teach my sons how to drive a stick.
Photo Credit: jon Large
7.) Keep the old car running
Suggested By: 87CE 95PV Type Я says HAPPY NEW YEAR
This year I'll… …keep Sandy the Voyager going even beyond her 18th birthday which is this coming August. If I get a job in California I intend to drive her there all the way from New York.
PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE BE DAMNED!
Photo Credit: Raphael Orlove
6.) Really learn to drive
Suggested By: BrtStlnd
This year I'll… …go to do the 3 day Dirtfish Rally School.
Photo Credit: Jason Paur/Wired.com
5.) Restore the Family classic
Suggested By: Chris Gladbach- #77
This year I'll… …start the restoration of our family's '53 Hudson. It's been bugging me for years, and I figure I might as well get it out of the way.
Photo Credit: Chris Gladbach- #77
4.) Better than Forza
Suggested By: ncasolo
This year I'll… …turn laps in anger on a race track. I've done enough sim racing I have to find a way on track even if it is a LeMons race.
Photo Credit: Brandon Powell
3.) Thrill of the road
Suggested By: cobrajoe
This year I'll… …get out and drive more often, just for the fun of it.
Photo Credit: Raphael Orlove
2.) Buy a classic, damn the bureaucracy
Suggested By: R.E.D.64
This year I'll… … keep a Classic Muscle Car alive by using it as a daily driver. I'm still on the planning stages, like looking for a suitable car and clearing all the red tape to import it to Brazil, but this is definitely happening because I managed to get into a Federal (read: free) College.
With the money I saved on that, I have more than enough cash to buy a nice, smooth and straight Chevy Nova and keep it fueled for a while.
Photo Credit: Alden Jewell
1.) Run what you brung
Suggested By: 472CID
This year I'll… …autocross my Deville!
Photo Credit: Jim Culp (pictured is a Cadillac in a rally, not an autocross)