It's Just a Car..

“It’s just a car”

Ever since I was a young child, I had a love and appreciation of cars.  I had the biggest collection of Hot Wheels and Micro Machines out of anyone that I knew.  My bed sheets and window treatments were that of exotic sports cars and my father had bought me automotive games for the computer that showcased all the wonderful characteristics that make up an automobile. My father would point out nice cars when they drove by and he told me story’s from his younger years about the cars that he owned. I was the only kid that I knew who had a “Power Wheels” to drive around in at a very young age.   Is it any surprise that I became an automotive enthusiast?

                When I was 14 years old, I was told that whatever money I saved for a car, my father would match.  At 14 years old, I’m sure my father thought that was a safe bet, but I was motivated young individual. My inspiration came from my mother’s friend who owned a red Dodge Stealth that I saw just one time, and from that moment on, I was hooked. She told me that I could buy it from her one day, so that was my plan.   For the next year, all I did was look at car prices, specs, performance statistics, etc.  Kelly Blue book, Edmunds, Car and Driver, Road and Track….I couldn’t get enough.  I knew the price & details of any car on the road. At night, I could tell you kind of car was driving down the street just by the shining of the headlights (and I still can for the most part) J

As soon as I hit 15 years old, I went out and got a job.  Most of the kids at my age were just working on being kids and were not motivated to start their working career.  I remember being the first of my friends with a job.  I watched my bank account grow, knowing that each time it did, I was one step closer to getting the car that I wanted. I went to school, played 3 sports and worked when I could.  I still managed to have time with friends, but my bank account was growing.  When it came time to pull the trigger on a car, my father had a different plan in mind. It was spring of my junior year and I had just returned home from my spring training baseball trip to the Carolina’s. While I was away, my father had worked with his cousin to secure a car for me at a local auction.  I will never forget standing in the kitchen with my mother when I saw my first car pull in the driveway.  I knew it was mine because my father was driving, the car had nice wheels on it and it certainly wasn’t a rental.  It may sound ungrateful, but I really wasn’t thrilled with what I saw. I remember looking at my mom and saying “ that isn’t my car, is it?”.  Now you’re probably thinking, “man, what a spoiled brat”, but let me explain.   I had a list of 22 cars that I was interested in and this Thunderbird that showed up in the driveway was an imposter because it wasn’t on the list.  It was Sky blue, big, and it wasn’t what I had been saving my money for.   I also had to pay for half of it, so it wasn’t just given to me.  Now, in truth, it was a pretty nice first car (wasn’t expensive) and I think what my father did was wise in that he wanted me safe car for my first vehicle. I ended up liking the car ok, but it wasn’t what I had been saving my money for.   

The following summer, I decided to take a trip out to see my sister in Rochester, NY.  How convenient that there happened to be a 3000GT (sister car of the Stealth) for sale in Rochester not too far from where she was at a local dealership.  I showed up at the dealer with my friend and the car had been sold and wasn’t even there to drool at. To make matters worse, on the drive home, a deer had decided to jump over a guard rail in front of my car at 72mph and effectively totaled my car.  I remember limping the car home and parking it in the street (leaking coolant everywhere) and then running inside with tears in my eyes and hugging my dad and telling him I ruined the car.  At that point in time I felt like I would never end up with the car that I wanted.  Without going into all the details, I was able to take the insurance check from the totaled Thunderbird and I bought myself a Dodge Avenger.  It was the closest thing that to a Stealth that I was allowed to buy.  I liked the car, but the entire time I owned it, I was still figuring out how to get my stealth.    My neighbor down the street (who was a kid my age) ended up getting a 3000GT.  I was devastated because I would see him drive by every day and be jealous of what he had.  I couldn’t figure out how it was fair that someone who wasn’t even an enthusiast had the car that I wanted and was just two doors down from where I lived.  That might have been a blessing in disguise, because I think my father knew how painful that was for me and he caved and let me get the car that I wanted.  Now, it could have been because I was in my college years and he was letting go, but the end result was the same.  With that said I got my 3000GT and drove that for a few years before my Stealth Twin Turbo finally showed up. I had finally reached my ultimate goal after 6 years of working towards getting that car.   At that point in time, I was in my sophomore year in college and I had already paid off my car. 

I owned the stealth for just over 3 years and probably would have held on to it forever if the engine didn’t blow up on my birthday.  With the engine blown on the stealth, I did what any responsible kid living at home would do and went out and bought a Corvette :-P .  Now, truthfully this was probably the craziest decision I ever made with cars…. but it happened anyway.  I once read that “you’re not a true automotive enthusiast until you buy a car you cannot afford”.  Well….I received my certification for enthusiasm here I suppose.     I drove that for a year and half and then the real world caught up with me when my student loans kicked in.  I had to get rid of it, work harder, make more money and that was that.   I sold it and kept on with the history of cars until I finally was able to afford another corvette 7 years later.

So that is the very condensed history with my cars. I could have gone into the S2000 years after the Vette, which I ended up selling to move out to Rochester and free up some money to buy Liz’s engagement ring.  I could talk about the short stint with the GTO, Drama of the Lancer Evolution, or history of the Infiniti that I traded for so I could have a better car for work.  But…I need to get to a point here somewhere.

  This article is an explanation of how and why I have a fun car and a way to express this to those who may question it.  It also aims to explain why cars mean so much to me.   This is my passion and just as everyone else has their own vices, cars happen to be mine.  It doesn’t come without a price, but it was something that I have been working for since I was a young boy.  I made a long list of sacrifice’s to be able to have my car.  A lot of my friends would spend what money they had from their minimum wage jobs on “going out”.  I never did that.  That’s not to say that I didn’t go out and have fun, but I was never spending money at the bar drinking away my hard earned dollars. I was saving for my car and that was my choice.  I didn’t go on trips every year like a lot of my friends because that was a lot of money that I could save for my car.  I even went as far as NOT playing college baseball so that I could work more and have money for my car.    Those were sacrifice’s that I made from the time that I could start working all through my college years.  I was committed and hard working towards my goals and thus was able to achieve them. Rather than people being happy for me, they generally only focus on what they can’t comprehend.  People see me now with a Corvette and feel the need to make comments regarding finances.  Here is what they don’t understand.  My Corvette probably has a smaller monthly payment then their new Toyota Camry.   Of course, that is just an example that I’m using, but I know that the people who make comments, generally don’t know very much about the automotive world. Is a brand new Corvette expensive?  Yes, it is.  This is exactly why I purchased mine when it was 7 years old with just fewer than 30k miles on it.  I drove half way across the country to find one that was the right deal for me. Yup…I’m that crazy :-P.  Additionally, all the money that I had saved up over the years and put into cars was still there, so that was rolled into the new car payments.  In truth, it’s really very affordable to someone who has worked hard for one and made it a priority.  Both Liz and I know what is affordable and without knowing what we make or spend our money on, it’s impossible for someone else to make that assessment.  Just keep in mind that I live with an adorable CPA and that we are both planners.  Liz understands what it means for me to have a “fun car” ;)

For me, those “A to B” cars just never did it for me. If you’re not a car person, you might not understand that, but cars have done a lot for me throughout my life.  There’s “more than meets the eye” when it comes to a true enthusiast.   I learned that if you work hard enough towards a goal, that it will pay off if you keep at it.  I learned discipline in my spending and the sacrifice of giving up some smaller items to attain a bigger goal.   I experienced the responsibility of ownership and at a young age.  I took pride in that ownership and learned to take care of my possessions. I developed a habit for cleaning and appreciation of being neat and organized. Ask Liz if she minds that ;)  I learned to keep track of maintenance and everything that goes along with owning a car.    I also was able to have the experience of running my own business and having people come to me for service/help. (This was back when I had my own detailing business).  Cars also helped me develop my visual side as well.  I spent a lot of time on design and learning how to use Photoshop so that I could better visualize what I wanted things to look like.  I also found my way into photography from being inspired by pictures others took of their cars and I wanted to do the same.  I began to really gain confidence and skill with both design and photography, which are now other outlets that I have and love.  In the end, the lessons and experiences that I’ve gained with cars has helped me in all aspects of my life and weren’t limited to the automotive realm. 

Cars also filled a very big void in my life. My college years weren’t exactly easy as the world as I knew it was turned upside down and changed forever.  With my parents now in different locations and my sister in Rochester, the family core was gone. In addition to that, my friends were all away at college and had reached the point in their college careers where they stayed at their respective schools for the summer.  My out was cars, and they were the one constant that did not change.  Despite whatever was going on, I could get in my car and go for a drive and those issues seem to melt away for times when I was behind the wheel.  I could find peace in something that I loved and really enjoyed.  It’s true that I could have gone out and made bad decisions, but I chose to cling to cars.   Eventually, cars led me to a local car group that became very large over just a few years.  I made plenty of new friends who were local and shared the same passion that I did.  These were people who understood a side of me that many did not.   Rather than crawling into a hole and vanishing, I ended up as the center hub for my group of car friends who all became so much more than just car buddies. We were essentially family as I would see them just about every day. We would always find something fun to do, car related or not.  Some of my best memories to this day are those found with the people that I met through cars. 

In the end, this is my passion and it’s something that I’ve worked hard at for what is now more than half of my life here on Earth.   It may not be for you and that’s ok, but hopefully you understand a little more about what this part of my life means to me and how it translates to where I am today.  Everyone is entitled to work for whatever makes them happy.  I encourage anyone who has a goal, to work hard towards that goal, even if others may not understand why it’s important to you.  “It’s just a car” does not apply here ;-)