‘Blue666’ takes an unforgettable cross-country trip home in his factory-fresh Admiral Blue Grand Sport.
Epic experiences, such as going to Disney World or Europe for the first time, are filled with joy, photo opportunities…and pressure. When you spend a lot of money on such a trip, you feel an enormous amount of pressure to have the best time of your life. Sometimes it may not live up to your expectations.
Luckily, Corvette Forum member Blue666 visit to the National Corvette Museum to pick up his Admiral Blue 2018 Corvette Grand Sport convertible and his trip home to North Carolina went so well that he decided to create an entire thread about it.
Thanks to the friendly and helpful staff at the NCM, Blue666’s visit got off to a great start. They placed Blue666’s Corvette in delivery bay #8, making it the first car other museum visitors saw as they entered the facility. They got an eyeful of its gray top and interior, which Blue666’s wife selected — and seven-speed manual gearbox. However, none of them would get the pleasure of firing it up and driving it away.
Blue666 wanted some splash guards installed on his new ‘Vette before he drove it home and one of the museum’s employees gladly obliged. The gesture didn’t go unnoticed. Blue666 said, “Things could not have gone any smoother with the museum delivery. If any of you are contemplating the museum delivery option, I cannot recommend it more strongly! It was a day that will live in my memory forever.”
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
