At The Wheel: Eli

My name: Eli
Gay.com Member Name: rocktopus
My age: 29
My profession: Broadcast TV
City/town: Los Angeles, CA
Relationship status: Partnered
Sexuality: GAY!
My ride: 1997 red Jeep Wrangler lifted with 35"x15" tires, rock crawler rims, straight 6 4.0L engine with cold air intake. ARG ARG ARG!!!!

What is the best thing that you like about your ride?
I love the fact that I can do just about anything in my jeep. We can go anywhere and cross almost any obstacle.

Do you like to take road trips in your car? Describe your favorite road trip -- where did you go? What did you do?
I love to! The best one was a 4 day road trip driving from Los Angeles, CA to Milwaukee, WI. I did it with my boyfriend and it was a blast. We camped every night of the trip. In fact we got rained on one of the nights because I forgot the rain cover for the trip. The rain was cold but the night turned out pretty hot. We traversed California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, and finally Wisconsin. It was great to see all the different terrain that makes up this country and take the jeep on some cool new trails. It was also great to see the looks the jeep got with its rainbow smiley sticker.

Do you like tinkering under the hood, or do you leave repairs and routine maintenance to your mechanic?
I love to tinker with the jeep. I do most of my own maintenance and upgrades and most recently I replaced the rear drive shaft by myself. I was pretty pleased.

What special touches have you added to your car that reflect your personality and individuality?
I'd say the main thing I have done to reflect me is the rainbow sticker. I think its great to let people know that even us gay boys can have butch cars. It has gone a long way to pushing away stereo types about the gay community. Often times I have pulled out other stuck 4wheelers and gotten comments by some pretty rough people about the sticker and it being cool that I put it on there. The best time was pulling out a stuck bronco of a group of college frat boys that 30 mins prior to getting stuck had shouted a derogatory thing about the gay sticker. Then who should come to their rescue but Captain Homo and his gay jeep. It was great to see them with their tails between their legs and the driver actually apologized for his earlier comments. Oh straight frat boys. What would we do without them. Other than that all of the other tweaks really reflect my love for being outside and exploring nature.

What is the most you’ve ever paid for a car? What is the most you would ever pay for a car?
Hm. Well I got my jeep used of off Craigslist (I love Craigslist), so I actually did not pay a lot for it. I think I like the idea of getting an awesome deal and then turning it into somthing really cool, so I probably would not pay too much for a car.

Do you have a great memory of a date that relates to you car?
It wasn't really a date but it was an awesome memory. I spent New Years Eve one year in my jeep. I went to the store and got all of my favorite foods and snacks. Then I took the jeep up into the mountains and parked on the edge of a cliff that over looked a valley and took the top off and just looked up at the stars and pigged out. One of my best New Years ever.

Do you find yourself more attracted to people with similar car tastes to your own? Or doesn’t it matter?
To be honest it doesn't really matter to me. However, it is awesome to find other gay guys with cool jeeps simply because we can share in the Jeep lifestlye. They understand what its like to have a Jeep and take it out to do crazy things.

If you had an unlimited budget and could change anything you wanted on your car, what modifications or accessories would you add?
MONSTER TRUCK JEEP! I would love to lift it more and add monster truck tires to it. For some reason I think that would be fun! And no, I am not compensating! :) I would also add some kind of crazy engine to it. OH! And rainbow flames!!!

Do you think your car has a personality or soul? What kind of sound or behavior does it have that makes it unmistakably your car?
I think the Jeep definitely has a personality of its own. The sound of the tires makes it mine. It sounds like an army of bees coming to get you as I head down the road.

Do you have a nickname for your car?
Gay Jeep!

Have you upgraded the car stereo? What is your "dream" sound system?
I did upgrade the stereo. I went with a system that is all hard drive based with shock mounts and added an upgraded sound bar above and some subs for the "oompsta" of the dance music. :) The hard drive system is great for being out on the trails and playing in mud because it doesn't skip and I have all my music at my fingertips. It all makes me pretty happy so I think I'm at nirvana with my music system.

What aspect of your ride most attracted you when you decided to own and drive it?
The fact that it really felt like it could do almost anything.

Have you ever pushed your car to its performance limit? What was the fastest speed?
Every time I take it out on the trail. With the jeep it isn't so much speed as it is dealing with obstacles. I'd say the most I pushed it was crawling over some pretty intense rocks in California. We took the last hill too fast and ended up breaking the rear drive shaft. It was well worth it and a wicked awesome time!

Are you a member of any car clubs or other auto related organizations?
I am trying to find a gay jeep club. If anyone knows of any drop me a line or lets start one of our own.

What was the first car you ever had? Do you ever get nostalgic for it?
An Isuzu Rodeo and I do at times miss it just because it was my running buddy in high school and got me to and from lots of trouble.

If you could trade your ride in for any other car, what would it be, regardless of the price?
I wouldn't trade my jeep in for anything. Perhaps another jeep. :)

If you share a burning passion for your car like thousands of other gays, now you have a chance to let the world know. We don't just want to see your auto obsession, we want to hear all about it!