Dream Cars

I love cars.  That’s a difficult confession for a self-proclaimed environmentalist who strongly believes we should do something to address global warming.  But it’s the truth.  I have loved cars since I was a small boy.  There was a time in the 1950s when I could name the make, model and year of almost any car on the road.  The first record I bought with my own money was “Little GTO,” by Ronnie and the Daytonas.  I have vivid memories of every car I ever owned.  I also can describe in a fair amount of detail all of the cars my father owned – at least between the time I was born and the time I moved out as a young man.

I especially like old cars.  Maybe it’s me, but they seem so much more interesting than cars being built today.  Cars from the fifties are my favorites.  I suppose there’s some nostalgia at play since I was born in the early fifties.  But with their tail fins, two-tone paint jobs, big chrome grilles and innovations like push button automatic transmissions, cars from the 1950s just scream, “Look at me!”  Every September, people couldn’t wait to see next year’s models unveiled, since they usually looked far different from the previous year’s cars.  And the difference between a 1947 and a 1957 Chevy was nothing short of astounding.  In contrast, compare a 2014 Honda to a 2004.  It’s almost impossible to tell which is which. 

So I was excited when my brother invited me to the 2014 Carlisle Car Show.  We got there early and spent a fair amount of time looking at what the various vendors had to offer.  But car parts and accessories were not the reason I drove the 200 miles from Pittsburgh to see this show.  I’m not the kind of car guy who loves to get his hands dirty rebuilding carburetors.  I love old cars because of the way they look.  I came to see the cars!

While there were a few cars parked in the vendor stalls, most were in the “car corral.”  We strolled around the corral admiring hundreds of old cars.  Many of those I could walk right past.  Then I’d catch a glimpse of a really neat old car a couple of rows over, and I would make a beeline for that vehicle.  I had fun trying to see how close I could come to guessing its model year.  Nearly all of the cars were for sale, and I was curious to see the asking price.  I was surprised at the number of cars that were being offered at what I considered to be reasonable prices.  Why, I kept asking myself, would anyone spend $10,000 for a 2006 Toyota with 90,000 miles on the odometer when they could get a terrific looking 1963 Mercury Comet driven for only 69,000 miles for less than half that price? 

My favorite at the show

But I think passion for old cars is a guy thing.  Most of the people meandering through the car corral were men.  The women who were there seemed to be tagging along with a husband or boyfriend. I took a picture of my personal favorite.  When I got back home and showed it to my wife, she said, “That’s just like the toy car I bought you, isn’t it?” 

“Uh, they’re both powder blue with a white roof, but you bought me a toy 1957 Ford Thunderbird, not a 1953 Plymouth Savoy,” I replied.  She didn’t care.

Recently, I have had dreams of old cars.  In some, I own several old cars, in others I’m trying to buy one and in still others, I’m looking for someone to help me restore one.  I actually own a 1950 DeSoto, but that’s a whole ‘nother story.  

My normal ride is a 2005 minivan.  Yeah, that’s pretty cruel for

My DeSoto

a guy that loves cars.  I was thinking about trading it in for a new Chevy Volt – now that’s environmentally sensitive, right?  But my wife pointed out how darned practical that minivan was when we had to haul one son’s stuff to new apartment and our other son’s stuff home so he could downsize his storage unit. Environmental protection is a great goal, but practicality is a hard argument to win.  So the Volt will have to wait.  Then again, I saw a pretty awesome looking Volkswagen Microbus in the car corral – very practical and also pretty nice gas mileage. 

“Dream on!” she said.  “Dream on!”