Mill Valley News: At what point did you decide a Corvette C8 was the car you wanted?

Technology teacher Sean Endecott: I’ve always wanted some sort of “dream car” but I wasn’t sure as to which car was for me. The Corvette C8 came out around my birthday, after I did one of the biggest house flip projects and right as I was about to start teaching at Mill Valley in the fall of 2019. It seemed like everything lined up and it was time to get the car.

MVN: Has the car met your expectations? 

SE: This car is comfortable and it costs a third of the car I was originally looking at; I’m fairly happy with it. I love driving the car. I honestly baby it quite a bit. I don’t want anything to happen to it. 

MVN: Do you feel like the program provided by the school was beneficial? Why or why not?

SE: I think that knowing the limitations is important for operating a machine safely. I found the school to be very valuable and I was never bored for a second. 

MVN: Where is the program located? Who taught the course?

SE: It’s in Pahrump, Nevada about an hour north of Las Vegas. [Ron Fellows Performance Driving Instructor] Rick Malone was the lead instructor. 

MVN: Why did they choose to invite you?

SE: Anyone that bought a Corvette C8 in 2020 or 2021 received a discounted price to attend the racing school at Spring Mountain.

MVN: What was the most valuable thing you learned?

SE: I learned a whole lot more about how to brake, how to steer while braking and how effective traction control really is as we were instructed to push the traction control to it’s limit.

MVN: What other activities do you engage in involving your car?

SE: I drive my car to get groceries on nice days and back and forth to school because I like the car, but I’ve taken it on a road trip and to car shows. I love go kart tracks too, since you can apply your skill in a legal and appropriate environment.  

MVN: How has your life changed since purchasing the car?

SE: I can’t go to a gas station without meeting new people or having them come up to me. I can’t even get through a stop light without someone in the lane next to me saying something. I get a lot of questions about it, but I’ve met a lot of new people and I like meeting new people as it also helps my business.

MVN: What is your favorite aspect of the car?

SE: My favorite traits of the car are the color and the automatic convertible top. I had been looking at convertible cars for a number of years from BMW, Mercedes, Audi R8 and Ferraris. I like the Corvette C8 because the maintenance on those are pretty hardcore, and since I intend to keep it forever and start to collect them, the Corvette C8 was the best option. 

MVN: Would you change anything about it?

SE: I’ve already made a few modifications myself. I added a spoiler, ground defects and I upgraded the rims. There’s not much else I’d change. The pack I chose had the convertible aspect which is what I was really looking for. I preferred it over all the technical aspects like heated seats, an electronic windshield, etc.  

MVN: What advice would you give someone attempting to save for a car like this?

SE: Learn hard and work hard. There are no shortcuts that I have experienced.  

MVN: What do you hope to achieve by showing students your car?

SE: I hope to inspire students to achieve their dreams by sharing some of these experiences with them. I don’t want to see students misconstrue the facts and go the wrong direction.