In the student parking lot, you can find two S2000 Hondas parked side by side each day. Friends Aiden Hidalgo, sophomore, and Andrew Felix, sophomore, each own the coveted luxury sports cars, currently no longer produced by Honda.
Hidalgo owns the 2004 model in the Silverstone Metallic exterior. This past April, he purchased the car with his father through Facebook Marketplace. They traveled about 55 miles up into the mountains of Crestline to buy the S2000.
Since owning the car, Hidalgo has added a front bumper lip and replaced his modified intake with the stock intake. Intakes, commonly referred to as engine intakes, bring the oxygen necessary to the car’s engine for combustion. Knowledgeable about his S2000, Hidalgo decided with rainy winter weather approaching it would be best to restore the intake to its original state.
“The intake before was on the bottom. So there was more risk of getting water in the intake, which is bad for the engine,” said Hidalgo.
Hidalgo credits his father for his love of cars. Growing up, he enjoyed spending time with his father going to car shows and car meets.
Owning his S2000 has been an enjoyable experience for Hidalgo giving him a sense of freedom and privacy. He expressed that he feels a sense of belonging when driving his car.
“Just sitting in the driver’s seat just cruising or doing whatever I want in the car has given me a sense of joy. It just feels really in my place to drive a car,” said Hidalgo.
Felix traveled about 200 miles from West Covina to purchase his 2003 model of the S2000 with the Rio Yellow Pearl exterior. After having owned the car for just about 6 months he has added a modded intake and exhaust.
Felix grew up watching the Fast & Furious movies which started his love for Honda S2000’s.
“I would watch the Fast and Furious movies. And I’d always see Johnny Tran with his S2000 which made me get inspired to buy my own,” said Felix.
With both boys driving a Honda S2000 they have grown close to each other, spending time cruising, attending car meets, and even talking about parts for their cars. They enjoy owning the same car because they are able to compare cars and learn from each other.
“We could just talk about our experiences with our own car saying how it runs, we drive each other’s cars-and just talking about like new parts for our car because we are more knowledgeable in that area,” said Hildago.
They shared that when initially introduced in middle school, they did not like each other. Since then they have solved their issues and become close friends outside of school, bonding specifically over their love of S2000’s.
“When we hang out we go to car meets and we usually just ride around and sometimes drive in the mountains,” said Felix.
