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Greetings Saturn Enthusiasts!
Please enjoy the latest December SPS Updates…
SPS Voted ‘One of the Best’ in Sport Compact Car Readers Poll!
Many sincere thanks to all who voted in Sport Compact Car magazine’s 2001 readers poll. Thanks to the enthusiasm and loyalty of our customers and Saturn enthusiasts everywhere, SPS was voted one of the nation’s best tuner shops by the readers in this year’s poll!
This is quite an accomplishment, considering the relatively small percentage of SCC readers that are Saturn owners and SPS customers. In fact, the very fact that SPS made the list among so many other import specialists indicates that virtually every Saturn owner that reads SCC took the time to vote!
And your enthusiasm has not gone unnoticed. Not only do we appreciate the positive feedback, but more importantly, many aftermarket manufacturers also noticed. And these manufacturers are taking note of your enthusiasm and your willingness to support top-quality businesses. The positive example set by our customers combined with our best marketing, distribution, and customer service efforts at SPS are bringing new suppliers into the marketplace. Together, we will eventually create a performance aftermarket for Saturn owners that rivals that of the imports!
If you have not seen the poll results, then get the December 2001 issue of Sport Compact Car magazine and turn to page 50. Or visit SCC online and see the results at http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/archives/features/feature03_1201.jsp.
Product News
Our gorgeous black emblem set may be just what you need to give your Saturn mid-sized L series sedan or wagon a distinct look. These are a very simple replacement of the stock red emblems for all 'L' cars, but they look great! Our kit includes the hood emblem, 2 side emblems, and the rear decklid emblem. The 4-Piece Black Saturn Emblem Set for 2000+ L series sedans and wagons is part number EMB004BL for $39.00
Many more new products will be introduced very shortly. But although we are excited about the new items, we must use discretion about releasing new product information because sharing any information before solidifying all of the facts can inadvertently mislead customers, employees, and supporters. Please visit our web site often and watch for future updates. Many more exciting items are on the horizon!
December Specials
There is no mystery about the effectiveness of aluminum flywheels. Less rotating mass means less inertia against the motor – hence faster revving and less wasted energy! We made a special purchase of our new 7.25-pound aluminum flywheels and are passing our savings along to you! Part no. AFSAT115 is normally $399 each, but is on sale now for only $359.10 each, including ring-gear! (Don’t forget to order your new clutch and throw-out bearing too! Use this flywheel on any "S" car with a manual transmission.)
Our imported strut tower brace may not exude the quality craftsmanship of some others on the market, but at this low price, you may not care! This bolt-on brace strengthens the area between the front upper strut towers to increase chassis rigidity for better handling and improved steering response. And it features a highly polished cross bar with powdercoated black brackets. Fits all SOHC and 91-96 SC and SC2 Saturns. (Note: brackets will contact hood liners on some DOHC models.) The VIB1840 is normally $49.00 but is on sale now for only $39.00!
Please visit the SPS web site (http://www.spswebpage.com) for more details!
SPS Racing
In the final five races of the 2001 season, James Walker and the scR motorsports team had managed to rack up four second-place finishes and one win. But finishing well at the ARRC (American Road Race of Champions) – the end-of-year IT Championship – would be another matter altogether. With the fastest cars in the country showing up for a winner-take-all shootout, we had to be at our best just to ‘show’ well.
Somehow we made it through the vertical hills of Kentucky (30mph, foot to the floor, racecar in tow,) the suspected stalker at the Olive Garden (he doubled as our waiter,) and the North Carolina State Police (at Deal’s Gap after the race, but that’s another story) to land the #34 red SC2 in second place on Friday’s first provisional grid.
Wait a minute…a Saturn on the outside pole at the ARRC? How the heck did that happen?
Well, unfortunately, it really doesn’t matter because after the second qualifying session, we fell to fifth. Nevertheless, fifth at the ARRC is a GREAT qualifying effort! Needless to say, the team was quite jubilant. Tom bought drinks that night at dinner and Pat bought the Dairy Queen for dessert to celebrate. Go team!
At the green flag for Saturday’s race, the #9 car in fourth place lost his oil drain plug. Not only did this ruin his day, but after he spun in his own oil - not once, but twice - we inherited fourth place, right on the heels of the third-place CRX. Let the games begin!
After a few laps dodging the oil strewn over the track, James passed the CRX by diving deep into turn 1 and held on to third place for two short laps. However, the CRX was able to out-brake and overtake us going into turn 10a but was not able to open up a significant advantage until lapped traffic began to crowd the track.
Of course, there is never a good time to encounter lapped traffic. And James very quickly found himself getting caught out in several corners behind slower cars. Slowly, the CRX pulled out a multi-second advantage as the fifth-place Integra behind set his sights on our rear fascia.
Somewhere around mid-race, James tried to pass a lapped car going into turn 5, but the results were not what we had hoped. The car pushed, ran over the apex, and headed directly for the gravel at the outside of the turn! Not wanting to get stuck in the loose stuff, James pushed the throttle to the floor, but the Integra made his move and took over our fourth-place position. (Damn!)
With the Integra and Saturn being so evenly matched, we ran close, closer, and closer yet, as the laps ticked away. With two laps to go, James made a move down the hill on the inside of turn 12 (yikes!) only to have the door closed abruptly at the apex. He had to lift (double yikes!) to avoid contact, opening up a small gap that we could not then make back up. It looked like we were stuck with fifth place.
Suddenly on lap 18, the race leader suffered a mechanical failure and exited the race. Hence landing us in fourth place for the checkered flag! Honda, Honda, Honda, Saturn, Honda – the five fastest cars in the country. Who would have thunk it?!
Following the thirteen-hour tow home, the #34 Saturn was unloaded and driven somewhat ceremoniously into its winter home (it’s really just a shed.) With the car cover in place, the door was shut, and the planning for 2002 began.
In 2001, we went faster at every track, broke a lap record (an scR first,) won a race in James’ hometown (Watkins Glen,) made new friends (yes, some of them even drive Hondas,) and never finished worse than fifth. On top of that, we finished every session we started, never had a mechanical failure, and managed to tighten every lug nut every time. How are we going to top this in 2002? Who knows, but it will be fun trying.
Great Gift Ideas
Whether you are hoping to receive a great gift or hoping to give a great gift this holiday season, SPS can help with a large list of great inexpensive low-risk gift ideas. Consider the following items that appeal to virtually any Saturn enthusiast (regardless of vehicle model) and yet won’t break your budget: black emblems, STR oil cap covers, shift knobs, SPS spark plug wires, 8mm spark plug wire separators, window banners, SPS decals, scR decals, SPS t-shirts, SPS Racing lanyards, scR polo shirts, scR racing videos, Mechanix gloves, and the list goes on… (Hint: if you are hoping to receive any of these items this year, then you might want to print off this newsletter and leave it in a strategic location for others to see.)
SPS is also now offering gift certificates that simplify the giving process! These gift certificates are available for any amount and have no expiration date. So make it easy – just consider SPS gift certificates for Christmas this year. Then call our order desk at 800-632-1059! (Some restrictions apply concerning shipping addresses and payment arrangements. Please ask a representative or visit http://spswebpage.com/gift.html for more details.)
SPS 2001-2002 Event Schedule (tentative)
Dec 24: SPS closed for Christmas Eve holiday
Dec 25: SPS closed for Christmas holiday
Jan 1: SPS closed for New Year holiday
Apr 20: SCCA school at IRP
If you have any questions about anything in this newsletter, please Contact Us.
To view previous editions of the newsletter, please visit the Newsletter Archive.
If you wish to add an email address to the list, please do so at http://spswebpage.com/email/addemail.html. If you need to remove an address from the list, please do so at http://spswebpage.com/email/del.html. Please do NOT notify us directly with your removal or addition requests!
Until next month, HAVE A GREAT HOLIDAY! |
