Couch Potato: by Bill Howell VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
If Steve thinks he's green then you
guys are really going to have trouble with
me. I have been self-employed since 1986
but didn't click onto the Internet for the
first time until a couple years ago. I was
46! Once I'd found the car forums, I started
thinking about a having a site of my own.
The more I looked into it, though, the more
I became disenchanted about the prospect.
Fast forward to March 2006. Steve Chryssos was on a business trip to the area and he stopped by to tune the 4L80 in my 1965 Pro Touring-style GTO. I had one of his Shrifter™ paddle shifters, but the tranny just never changed gears right. Aware that my computer skills were bunk, he'd decided to do it himself rather than explain it over the phone. That evening, after a bit of fun with the car, and a good dinner, we dove into deep conversation about some type of business venture. At first, the plan was for me to start a site and Steve would help me get it going, but he's got a day job as well as the Shrifter™ business that he must tend to. It took me about a week to realize there was no way
I could do this on my own so I asked Steve
to be a partner. Long story short, the result
of that conversation, a few bucks, and a
lot of hard work by some key people is what
you see here right now, musclerides.com.
Once we decided this was the course we wanted
to take, then it was a matter of the editorial
expertise. We both admire Ro McGonegal's
skill as a seasoned writer, so when Steve
told me there was a chance he might be interested
in what we had in mind, I was excited. I
wrote a timid email to him, then called
and discussed the venture. Amazingly, Ro
agreed to help out and act as editor. After
you read his articles, I'm sure you will
understand why he's such a great fit for
our website. Ro, thanks again for all your
help, support, and friendship. You will
never know how much your presence here means
to me.
Steve and I are proud you are here and hope you will become an active, helpful member in our virtual club house. Our advertisers will pay for most of what you see here. Please throw a little business their way next time you need something. If this is your first time, poke around the entire site. Go to the forum, join up, and say hi. Post a picture of your ride. Ask questions about your car or our site. You have free access to about 90% of MuscleRides.com™. The remaining 10% consists of our Web Mag: Feature and tech articles by Ro and other well-known writers that will be joining us very shortly. This crew will produce new features and articles monthly, but this is their livelihood, so they won't do it for free. Access to the Web Mag starts at $12.95. That gets you a year's subscription to all the tech articles and feature stories. For $26.95 you get an all Access Pass that lets you into the Web Mag, the Gold Club Member Area, plus you get a MuscleRides.com™ T-shirt (retail $16.95). The Gold Club Member Area contains special sections that regular forum members will be unable to access. We are happy to have you here and look forward to meeting as many of you as we can. Larry Callahan, owner of pro-touring.com, is hosting an event in Pigeon Forge, TN, for his website and musclerides.com will sponsor it.
>MuscleRides is more than just a website;
it's a car club and we want it to have a
club atmosphere every time you drop in.
That is not to say we will always agree
on everything, I have never yet been in
a car club that that happened, but we do
hope you have fun and come back. So sign
up, join in, and let Steve or I know what
we can do to improve the club.
Bill
