Small update. I secured a pair of nice stainless steel performance mufflers, used off another C4, from kijiji for very little $. I'll polish them up and install them in the spring to take care of that obnoxious noise.
As for gaming, my earliest automotive gaming experience was 'death race' on PC...pretty epic, and it had a 3rd gen Camaro! I didn't really get into gaming until the late 90's though with NFS Hot Pursuit, it had the new C5 and I was smitten. To this day, a base C5 coupe in Artic White or Black on the silver painted wagon wheels remains one of my favorite Corvettes...and I'd have that over any C4. Though a late C4 in Polo green on tan with a 6-speed would be a close runner up. I lose interest in Corvette's almost entirely after the C5...
To reminisce a little more on Corvette stuff - and in particular red C4's. One of my earliest really vivid childhood memories from around 3-4 years old was going to Toys R Us with my parents to pick out a PowerWheels car (I was getting it for Christmas or a Birthday). They had 4 cars lined up; two Jeeps (red and pink), a grey off-road truck/Jeep, a dune buggy and a red C4 Corvette. I remember getting into each of them and play around to make my decision, and ultimately deciding on the C4 which became my most prized possession for years to come.
In fact, I still have it, it's got a little patina, but now that Firm Jr. is getting close to an age where he can use it, I am very excited to dig it out, upgrade it to a 12V system (a popular thing with these older Powerwheels) and let him enjoy ripping around in it. The photo op here with him and the Powerwheels and me with the full-sized example was too sweet to pass up, so it was definitely a factor in my decision to purchase this particular car.
This is the powerwheels from a few years ago when I moved it from my parents to my place.
