Shadowy Flight wrote:Just wanted to thank everyone at Knight Rider Online for coming to the Cradle of Aviation this past weekend and saying hi to me and Chris. It was great meeting Neil, Chris, Sam and Rich.
Likewise!
Shadowy Flight wrote:Chris Lost Knight, thank you for posting your photos. I'm sorry you had to pay to take a picture with Chris' car. Just for the record, Chris and I did not receive any monetary compensation, trophies or awards for having our cars there. We did not make money from the photographs either. We actually had to pay to have our pictures taken with our cars to these "professional" photographers. And as you all can see, Neil, Chris and Sam's photographs came out better than the "professionals". Take a look at Lost Knight's first photograph done with a "professional" camera and compare it to the 2nd photograph he took with his camera. The "professional" shoot looks a bit purply doesn't it? What gives? You think if you're paying for the photograph I would expect nothing less of the picture quality of Neil's camera. I just wanted to address this before anyone felt ripped off. But I found out I was too late.
The $10 fee didn't matter; I actually ended up getting 2 pictures for it by accident. It's just that the way the event was organized in the front made things a bit confusing to a lot of the people in line. They were under the impression that they'd be getting a larger sized photograph when in reality there were actually 2 photography companies there, with different sized photos for each. There were no signs or any way to know the difference and even the models there didn't know at first that there was going to be a rival company. People were just told to wait in line after they paid. No big deal for me, but some of the families were getting upset. As for the pictures, yeah, I do like ours better for the quality.
Shadowy Flight wrote:Barris had contacted us because he was lacking the Knight Rider cars. Andy (Barris' partner) had told us that the original was "touring with Hasselhoff". Whether or not this is true, you'll have to ask him yourself.
That "original" is probably not an original, but more likely the car that Hasselhoff took on his
Night Rocker tour in the '80s, which was 1 of 2 built. I can't confirm that, though.
Shadowy Flight wrote:I'm sorry for those of you who felt you were ripped off by this. If anyone should feel ripped off, it should be me and my cousin. We invested so much in these vehicles a rep of Universal once told us, "Wow, you guys invested more money than we would even want to put in these vehicles." So that's what sets us apart from them. They show you a mock up that they quickly slap together. Most buttons don't work. And just to think, they have a budget and we don't. We bring the cars on OUR time OUR money OUR blood, sweat and tears. Our gauges are fully functional. Our paintjobs and bodywork are definitely better than the screen used...excuse me...I mean screen abused vehicles...yet we get chastised for making people feel ripped off...when we don't make a dime from the car shows (most of the times, we have to pay).
In my opinion things should have been the other way around, meaning you should have been paid, especially since he contacted YOU guys, but I digress. It's all about the love for the show and the pride in sharing your replica with others. What truly matters is that you guys had a great time and got some gratification from the experience. I don't think a price can be put on happiness, and if anything for that reason, the effort is fully worth it. For me, the main interest was yours and Chris' cars, which like I said I thought were built by George Barris at first.
Shadowy Flight wrote:Well, that's ok. Because like Kitt, our hearts are indestructible...almost. Corlando52 please don't use your handicap as a crutch...because I don't and I'm more handicapped than you. My entire right side suffers from paralysis. Neil, Sam and Chris may have noticed when they shook my hand. I was born with two much oxygen in my left brain that affects the entire right side of my body. I have endured this pain for 31 years. So that means I start the car with my left hand, step on the gas pedal with my left foot but this handicap has inspired me to build my lifelong dream of building a Knight Rider car. It was a goal I set out like running a marathon. We all have our reasons for doing things and I built this car to represent me; not to show off.
I'm a computer teacher in an elementary school but also work in television production. So what represents gadgetry more than Knight Rider? I lost my girlfriend on Sept. 11th and my skyline were the towers. So every morning I get up, its a constant reminder of what I and others have lost. I felt so "vulnerable". I remember the first time I heard that word was on Knight Rider as a kid and I asked my mother what that word meant and she said "weak; helpless" That's how I felt on Sept. 11. I'm sure many of us have. I never wanted to feel that way again. So Knight Rider was the image in my head that was invulnerable and so began the labor of love. My parents fully supported me taking me state to state getting each piece to put this dream together so the car has become a family heirloom. $80,000 later the car is far from perfect as you can see, there are many flaws. It may never be as nice as Scott or Chris' car but so what? It's me! Thank you Lost Knight for defending us and saying it's unique. But to call our cars fake corlando52? Damn right it is, and we're proud of it!
That's really quite a story. I'm very sorry for your loss. I had family members in the city at the time, too, and thankfully they turned out to be OK. In fact, I have an uncle who worked in one of the neighboring Trade Center buildings but did not go in that morning because of a migraine. Talk about lucky. And by the way, I did not notice your handicap and never would have known about it had you not said anything; that's how well you get by with it.
And now, I've finally uploaded the last of my pictures from the event. Enjoy.
And some more classic cars/hot rods: