Car culture and community
I have to say, sometimes the best things come together unplanned. Randomly, my good friend Rami hit me up on a Saturday at the start of the new year and asked if I was interested in going for a Sunday morning drive, as one of his friends Blake wanted to put a drive together.
Next thing I know, I am at a Discount Tire with a stunning baby blue Porsche 911 Carrera LSX (997) with a ducktail that I hadn’t seen in person – at least not on this version – and wow it was stunning! Slowly other cars begin showing up, a yellow Gen 3 Toyota MR2, green Lotus Elise and a blue Porsche 911 Carrera 4 (996).
I met Sam the owner of the blue 911 first and quickly realized his car was not stock. It was indeed swapped with a Chevy LSX V8 motor. For those who do not know what a Chevy LSX V8 motor is, just think of it as having a Porsche that you stuffed a Chevy Corvette motor in. Sam told me about a small coolant leak he had been chasing down and was hoping he got it taken care of and would be good for the drive. Sam also had his kids with him and I was excited because I had planned for that.
My son and wife love going for drives, but this particular morning they were tired and had stayed back. I had planned ahead and instead of taking our Lexus RC F which I had just put new shoes on (Michelin Pilots 4S’s), I took the VW GTI for which I have been chipping away at over the years ever since purchasing it from a friend for $1,300. So I called up my wife and asked if they wanted to come over to the meet up. They eventually met us at the Yankee Tavern, which is a story in and of itself (one we will get to).
So, after a bit of chatting and checking out each other’s cars, we lined up and headed out for the drive. I got a cool shot of the cars on the highway. As we drove, I got an update that Sam needed gas for his thirsty 911 V8 monster, so we pulled off and we all went ahead and got some petrol. Sadly, as Sam pumped, some coolant began seeping down and didn’t stop, so he and the kids had to drop out of the drive. I didn’t say anything then, but wow I was so excited to see that car in action and just check it out in general. But alas, for another post it seems (we did talk and plan to do one btw)!
So where were we going to drive? We went on Texas FM 3090 – a road I had never heard of. However, I assumed that if a group of enthusiasts vouched for it, it was bound to deliver. And boy did it. No photos or video of that unfortunately – the drive was too beautiful. Nice straights and curves, on and off camber turns. It was a central Texas majestic drive. The weather was perfect too, with temps in the 60’s. No 110 degree summer drive day, thankfully.
On a personal note, I have to say the VW GTI drove so well that I feel I will never have another experience with it like that ever again with such perfect conditions. It’s probably partially a sense of pride that it drove perfectly after me working on it for so long, having redone the coolant system and oil cooler this past summer. It performed flawlessly as I rowed the gears and the temps stayed perfectly inline.
Watching the other cars dance along 3090 was also amazing. I love seeing amazing cars along great scenic landscapes and 3090 delivered that. I have to say, if you are in the Central Texas area, Houston, Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, there are so many great roads to drive – including 3090 around the BCS area where you could get a hotel, Air BnB or campsite (depending on budget) and have a full couple days of great drives all over. I have done the Round Top Rally with Michael Satterfield and that was an amazing drive as well.
So there we were – finishing up 3090, and we rolled into Yankee Tavern and WOW! Yes, WOW! There must have been 75 bikes there and my inner Dorothy quickly realized that we were not in Kansas anymore, Toto. We were in biker country…and we were but 4 cars rolling up like a bunch of nerdy car geeks. It was wonderful!
The bikes were amazing, surprisingly to my naive experiences at biker bars there was a vast array of types of bikes. A group of about 30 sport bikes, 30 hogs, and about 10 touring bikes were all parked outside. The crowd was all over the place in an awesome Texas way. As an anthropologist I was a pig in mud watching everyone interact with all their cool attire and lingo.
The Yankee Tavern itself was also a gem with lots of room outside and enough inside to find a table if needed. They have a great menu for being a biker bar and the food was amazing, with great taste and a reasonable price. The staff were also super friendly.
When I was about to go in and order, my wife and son showed up in our Lexus RC F, and unbeknownst to them the 2026 Porsche 911 Carrera Targa GTS that pulled up with them was not with us. My son loves 911’s and wanted to tell the owner’s kid. So they walked over and next thing I know we have a whole new friend with us at the lunch table, and Rami and the boys are off on a test drive!
It is instant camaraderie like this that makes me love automotive culture. I have seen such before, but to see it continuing just hit me in the feels like a ton of bricks. Dave, the owner, was such a nice gentleman and we all swapped stories over lunch and spoke about our cars. The boys played as if they were friends for years and ultimately his son asked to see the RC F, so I gave my son the keys and they went and checked it out. Dave was with them and I went up and asked if he wanted to take it for a spin and soon enough they went for a ride. They came back with big smiles which was nice.
Another highlight of visiting Yankee Tavern was getting to see the motorcycles fire up and head out. I got a couple of great clips of them taking off. I really enjoyed seeing the sports bikes leave and especially two Ducati’s take off, one a V2 and another a V4. It was spectacular. Again, not just the bikes, but the riders and all their gear and seeing their shared camaraderie.
After we were full from our lunch and our chatting died down we decided to head home. We all left a bit delayed from each other, my wife and I leaving after everyone. Then I noticed the 911 Targa was with us, it was great to see that car in action with a great landscape framing it up and it had a great sound to boot!
So you would think that was the end of the drive, but nope. As we made our way down 3090 on the way back I saw everyone who had left pulled over including a new red Toyota Supra MKV. So I pulled over and so did my wife and kid in the RC F. We learned YouTuber Alanis King was there reviewing the Supra and shooting some scenes. I couldn’t blame her, it was the perfect day to be out doing such a thing! We ended up hanging out for a bit with my son getting to meet her. We had a great time chatting it up.
Then we headed back to Bryan, TX and cruised on in. To say it was a surreal day would be an understatement, it was cool to get home and show my son Alanis’ videos and explain to him what she does for a living. We ended up relaxing a bit and then Rami invited us over so my son could drive his go kart with his family and well, that’s a whole other story. To say the least a good time was had!
For me, this is what car culture is all about. That random drive that lets everyone have a moment away from life. Away from the responsibilities of work, bills, taxes, politics and just enjoy our hobby, for some profession and just be in the moment. For me personally, as you all know I love capturing these moments and I have to say while I did not plan on writing a blog post about this experience from the get go, I definitely saw something coming together as we progressed.
I encourage all automotive enthusiasts to reach out to your friends and go for a drive, whether it is 20 minutes or 3 hours, just go and have a good time and get away and have your moment. And yes, maybe it is the anthropologist in me, get a photo of you and your friend/s to remember those times when things are tough, when the chips are down or you are battling something beyond your control. So you can remember that feeling and help pass those experiences down to the next generation. Thank you Rami and Blake for this experience. I also want to shout out to Michael Satterfield, for while he wasn’t a part of this drive, the Round Top Rally was very similar and I encourage you to check out his Rally series he has put together for 2026. I look forward to more drives like this and I look forward to seeing my readers and their friends posting online about their outings. What a great way to ring in 2026!
