Fall Driving, From the Top Down

Along Route 340, outside Waynesboro, we heard the unmistakable sound of slightly bigger car engines being revved in anger. We pulled into Eastside Speedway to watch the drag racing.

The MGA looked like an ant among elephants. But seeing the cars in close proximity -- the vest-pocket MGA in the same parking lot as the scoop-hooded, wheelie-popping Camaros, Mavericks and Mustangs -- reminded us of the plasticity of the automotive form. The same impulse that led early man to transform the mangy canines that crept near his campfire into both Chihauhaus and Bernese mountain dogs explains the kinship we felt for our Eastside brethren and their Super Pro machines.

By the time we left, the sun had gotten low and the air had cooled. The warmth from the engine that earlier in the day had seemed almost oppressive now was toasty and welcome as it seeped through the cockpit of the MGA.

We still hadn't answered that question -- why, against our better judgment, did we like cars like this? -- but we were having fun trying.

Details: Blue Ridge Motoring

GETTING THERE: Sports Car Rentals is on Route 692 in Batesville, Va., about 130 miles from D.C. and southwest of Charlottesville (434-823-4442, www.sportscarrentals.com). The cars rent for $95 a day, $180 a weekend, and include a '57 Austin-Healey, a '60 Triumph TR3 and an '81 Fiat Spider. We drove the MGA in a rough rectangle that went from Batesville to Montebello, past Waynesboro, up to Grottoes and then down to Charlottesville. We preferred the Blue Ridge Parkway (speed limit 45, passing allowed; www.blueridgeparkway.org) to Skyline Drive (speed limit 35, no passing; www.nps.gov/shen). Old British sports cars can best be described as spartan. Ours had neither windows nor door handles. John Pollock's cars are not in showroom condition, but they're well-maintained, and ours leapt to life every time we pulled the starter.

OTHER RENTALS: Want something with a little more horsepower? Good to U Exotic Car Rentals (800-378-2803, www.goodtou.com) has a stable that includes a Porsche Boxster, BMW Z3, Chevrolet Corvette, Plymouth Prowler and, most popular of all, a 450-horsepower Dodge Viper. Rates range from $149 to $399 a day. They're in Lancaster County, Pa., so you're perfectly situated to blast past Amish carriages. Baltimore's Viperrent (410-581-7915, www.viperrent.com) also rents the V-10 Viper. Rates start at $399 a day.

STAYING: If you want to actually stop and savor the view, rather than blast past it, check out the Inn at Afton (800-860-855, www.theinnatafton.com; $68-$84), which overlooks scenic Rockfish Gap. The Mark Addy Inn (800-278-2154, www.mark-addy.com; $90-$145) is an 1890s B&B with eight rooms and a suite in the tiny crossroads town of Nellysford. Farther north, at Mile 41 of Skyline Drive, is Skyland Resort (800-778-2851, www.visitshenandoah.com), with accommodations ranging from cabins to suites (rates this month are $59-$182).

EATING: A Nelson County institution is the Blue Ridge Pig (Route 151, 434-361-1170), where tastefully named owner Strawberry Goodwin smokes his own pork, beef, turkey and chicken and serves it with side orders of house-made coleslaw, potato salad and beans. The Mark Addy Inn serves a three-course dinner Thursday through Saturday evenings.

INFO: Nelson County Visitor Center, 800-282-8223, www.nelsoncounty.com.