Driving a Bagged Car in an Urban Environment

I was driving my '62 a few Saturday nights ago and decided to take advantage of what may be one of the last few mild nights before winter comes. I opted to take a long way home and make a detour through a part of the city where many of the ultra-hip as well as the culturally and financially upscale types tend to congregate.

It was about 8:30 PM, had been dark for about an hour or so and the sidewalks were crowded with foot traffic. As traffic slowed to a crawl I ended up coming to complete stop in front of a very busy street-side cafe. I sat there enjoying the pleasant fall air and appreciating one of the few moments that I was actually content to be stuck in traffic. 

I glanced over and noticed that many of the outdoor diners started to turn and look at my car. There were the occasional fingers pointing and heads craning around to get a look so I did exactly what it says to do on page 13 of the official Guidelines for Driving a Bagged Car in an Urban Environment. I slowly moved my right hand from the steering wheel down to the seat where my switchbox resides and pancaked it.

The crowd let out a loud, collective, gasp which was followed by a smattering of applause. There was an instant electricity in the air and as traffic in front of me started to move I locked up the front and dragged my tailpipes as I began to crawl forward. Now the crowd went downright bonkers. After a few seconds, traffic started to loosen up so I popped some air in the back and dropped the front down to ride height as I drove away.

At this point I had a moment of clarity that helped me understand a significant advantage a bagged car has over one that is statically lowered. It is illustrated below in the following excerpt from page 69 of the Guidelines for Driving a Bagged Car in an Urban Environment:

Scenario #1. Non-adjustable suspension.

Imagine you're standing on a corner waiting to cross the street. Out of the corner of your eye you spot a cool old car. Your eyes follow it as it stops at the red light. You make eye contact with the driver, he returns the nod and by this time the light is green and he drives off.

Now imagine a situation where you're relaxing at the beach. An ultra-hot girl in a bikini walks by. As she approaches you make eye contact, at which time she slows down, smiles, and walks on.

Scenario #2. Adjustable Suspension

You're standing on a corner waiting to cross the street. Out of the corner of your eye you spot a cool old car. Your eyes follow it as it stops at the red light. As you make eye contact with the driver he returns the nod and at that moment the car lets out a hiss and drops to the ground. The light turns green, the car raises back up, and drives off.

Imagine you're relaxing at the beach. An ultra-hot girl in a bikini walks by. As she approaches you make eye contact, at which time she slows down, smiles, and takes her top off.