[lmm]

> If the speed of light is absolute (it's not relative right? it doesn't change in any reference frame?), then could the speed of light be considered the base axis, or to continue the metaphor in the parent comment, that the speed of light is the 'outside the car'?

The speed of light is the same in any (inertial) reference frame. But you can't use it as a reference to compare other speeds against, because there are more degrees of freedom than you might think: a speed is calculated from both a distance and a time. So you and I could be looking at an asteroid and you say it's stationary and I say it's going half the speed of light, and we'd both be right, even though we both agreed what the speed of light was. Special relativity works like this.

> Also, doesn't time 'stop' when you are at C, so that the whole idea of space (speed * time) sort of collapses?

If you naively plug zeroes and infinities into the equations you won't get good answers, but if you're careful and work with limits then everything works right. What specifically were you asking about when going at C?