Paul Flood rolled down the windows to his Honda on Thursday night and merged onto I-495. He switched gears, wove in between two tractor-trailers and reached the left lane. Increasing his speed, he passed the 70-mph mark.
Flood was beyond the traffic lights and stop-and-go traffic of Route 1. With the warm spring air grazing his face, friends driving behind and next to him, and miles of road before him, Flood was finally cruising.
It’s a rare moment of serenity for the sophomore letters and sciences major, who, as treasurer of student automotive club College Park Tuning, spends his free time immersed in a car world chock full of headaches.
Speeding tickets pile up, car parts get stolen, time is eaten up, and bank accounts are emptied in the pursuit of repairs. But for CPT members, the sacrifices are worth the thrill of the drive.
“There’s nothing else I’d rather be doing or spending my money on,” said sophomore economics major Steve Sessa.
An audio system alone can set a student back upwards of $1,000. The hobby is an expensive investment, and a bad one too, because cars depreciate so quickly, Flood said. But he echoed Sessa’s sentiments and willingly drops his dollars on car improvements.
Flood’s drive down I-495 was part of a bi-weekly CPT ritual. But this time, as often happens, his carefree cruise was ended by the sight of a police car on the road ahead of him. Flood slowed down to the speed limit and alerted his friends, while soccer-mom-like sedans sped past them. CPT members’ altered cars are pulled over more quickly than innocent-looking vehicles, Flood said.
Still, members maintain they are responsible when it comes to their hobby.
“It’s not like The Fast and the Furious,” Sessa said. Unlike Vin Diesel and his cop-dodging racers in the popular film, CPT members don’t condone illegal street racing.
“Everyone knows someone who’s been in an accident from racing,” Flood said. Members opt instead for tracks, like one in nearby Laurel. The tracks have definite advantages, such as being free of other motorists and having paramedics on hand in case things go awry, Sessa said.
When they can’t make it out to the track, a group gets together to cruise. One or two are usually in charge of ensuring the cars stick together until they get to the highway, using cell phones and getting constant calls.
Every other week, anywhere from 20 to 40 CPT members meet in a campus parking lot. Standing around their vehicles, they talk cars, showing off new parts or pointing out to each other their trouble areas. They’ll often hop in their cars after an indoor meeting and cruise to a Rockville Starbucks parking lot, where other car aficionados park and show off their prized possessions.
Standing in the Starbucks lot last Thursday, a car revved its engine as it drove by. The CPT members halted all conversation and gawked at it, much like stereotypical construction workers staring at a pretty woman walking down the street.
On the campus, they are on a constant lookout for potential members. Members say they sometimes approach people who are in their cars and even leave notes. CPT vice president Louis Bryant, a junior criminology major, once left a note that simply read: “You have a really nice car. Give me a call,” along with his phone number.
“I hope he didn’t think I was a chick,” Bryant said. But he laughed it off. His zeal for automobiles has made him bold in his pursuit for members and their cars.
CPT, like the rest of the car world, is predominately male, with only three active female CPT members. These female students say male members have been welcoming, but the car world at-large is often more skeptical. Women at car events are typically looked upon as girlfriends who were dragged there by their car-savvy boyfriends.
“Sometimes you have to prove yourself,” said freshman letters and sciences major Emily Menzen. “They try to trip you up on the language.”
Members also pride themselves on being welcoming to all kinds of cars, ranging from domestic to imports, from used to new. Some members have Hondas, which are ideal for those on a tight budget because the car parts are cheaper. However, they are also common targets for car thieves, something drivers try to prevent with antitheft systems.
When they aren’t in class or working, these students put their time into fixing their beloved hunks of metal.
“You can’t even drive your car half the time,” Sessa said.
On-campus students have used open lots for their constant car repairs. On any nice day, a member is likely under their hood on the top level of Mowatt Lane Garage, Flood said.
Members also meet on weekends to drive to car shows or races, and they even have their own auto show planned on the campus for May 7. The group plans to donate proceeds to Martha’s Table, a local food bank and charity organization.
But CPT members aren’t always seen as society’s do-gooders, with the police topping their worry-list. Many members are only tickets away from having their licenses revoked, and citations for illegal modifications such as over-tinted windows are frequent annoyances, Flood said.
Last Thursday, as the group gathered in a campus lot before heading out on their I-495 cruise, two police cars pulled in to the lot, causing about 20 members to scatter into their cars and drive off. Flood, who went to speak with the officer, said later the police were responding to a noise complaint, though no one had been revving their engines that night. He said he received the usual stern warning with a serious reminder to be careful because of the rise in car thefts.
And then he said the officer peered out of his window and noticed one car in particular.
“Hey, nice Mustang.”
Contact reporter Elahe Izadi at izadidbk@gmail.com.
