My response...
11-26-2011, 03:36 AM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
My response...
Somebody recently posted a question, in so many words, what was the big deal with our cars? Why are we so obsessed and dream about them...stuff like that. He was very respectful, not hateful, I'll give him that. Here was my response:
I’ve had mine for three years and just a few weeks ago at around midnight I went to the garage in the dark, got in, lit up the instrument panel without fully turning on the lights so that the nice glow would permeate the garage. I put my hands on the cold steering wheel, I smell the leather and the feeling of the first night I had it in my garage has never gone away. A feeling of accomplishment takes over me, from the fabulous drives I've taken, the ones I look forward to, to all the labor of love I've put into it, all the sweet upgrades and how I have tailored it to exactly the way I want it.
I have a 95, and I was a junior in high school when my car came out of Stuttgart. It was the hottest car in the world, it was THE car to have, and now I have it. Whenever I park at a restaurant I like to sit where I can have direct eye-line to my car, not just to guard it, but to admire it...its curves, its freshly washed body and how it looks different from every angle. I like to look at the faces of people when they walk by and stare at it, you know...the kind of people that are "too cool to stare" and if they knew I was watching them look at my car they would totally keep a straight face and look away. But I see them! And its fun! But the best is when a little boy gives you props. Its amazing what’s in the male DNA when a 3 year boy, not a girl they could care less, a BOY with his tiny, underdeveloped finger they point at the car and look, they don't know what they are looking at, all they know its cool to look at and voila! Just like that.... a car lover is born! That’s the best feeling.
The camaraderie, the pals, all the fellas at rennlist, the brotherhood, the free sharing of information and the passion for these cars. Tending to them with care and nurture. They say that you can tell a lot about a man's character by the way he treats his car.
And lastly, going fast! Throwing the tail or your rear-engine car at will, steering the car with the throttle! There is nothing like it! It is a special feeling of being powerful yet at the same time basking in the innocence that reminds of you playing with cars when you where a kid. It is imagination that fuels our passion, and yes it is a passion that cannot be taught or bought, it simply flourishes inside us. Some people collect stamps, other's lift weights. Us? We pilot our 993s and develop a stewardship with our machines like the blue creatures in the movie Avatar develop a stewardship with their flying banshees.
If by now you don't feel anything, don't worry; it’s not really a big deal. If you could look into the future, most of us will still have our 993s decades from today, we will be stubborn old men like the ones you still see today at PCA events who have had their 901s and their 356s and their 912s since forever, and with every new wrinkle in our leather and every mile in our engine we grow more and more into our cars, giving them character and respecting their history and contribution to the long line of automotive racing that came before them. For those who believe in this lifestyle no explanation is necessary, and for those who don't, no explanation is possible.
I’ve had mine for three years and just a few weeks ago at around midnight I went to the garage in the dark, got in, lit up the instrument panel without fully turning on the lights so that the nice glow would permeate the garage. I put my hands on the cold steering wheel, I smell the leather and the feeling of the first night I had it in my garage has never gone away. A feeling of accomplishment takes over me, from the fabulous drives I've taken, the ones I look forward to, to all the labor of love I've put into it, all the sweet upgrades and how I have tailored it to exactly the way I want it.
I have a 95, and I was a junior in high school when my car came out of Stuttgart. It was the hottest car in the world, it was THE car to have, and now I have it. Whenever I park at a restaurant I like to sit where I can have direct eye-line to my car, not just to guard it, but to admire it...its curves, its freshly washed body and how it looks different from every angle. I like to look at the faces of people when they walk by and stare at it, you know...the kind of people that are "too cool to stare" and if they knew I was watching them look at my car they would totally keep a straight face and look away. But I see them! And its fun! But the best is when a little boy gives you props. Its amazing what’s in the male DNA when a 3 year boy, not a girl they could care less, a BOY with his tiny, underdeveloped finger they point at the car and look, they don't know what they are looking at, all they know its cool to look at and voila! Just like that.... a car lover is born! That’s the best feeling.
The camaraderie, the pals, all the fellas at rennlist, the brotherhood, the free sharing of information and the passion for these cars. Tending to them with care and nurture. They say that you can tell a lot about a man's character by the way he treats his car.
And lastly, going fast! Throwing the tail or your rear-engine car at will, steering the car with the throttle! There is nothing like it! It is a special feeling of being powerful yet at the same time basking in the innocence that reminds of you playing with cars when you where a kid. It is imagination that fuels our passion, and yes it is a passion that cannot be taught or bought, it simply flourishes inside us. Some people collect stamps, other's lift weights. Us? We pilot our 993s and develop a stewardship with our machines like the blue creatures in the movie Avatar develop a stewardship with their flying banshees.
If by now you don't feel anything, don't worry; it’s not really a big deal. If you could look into the future, most of us will still have our 993s decades from today, we will be stubborn old men like the ones you still see today at PCA events who have had their 901s and their 356s and their 912s since forever, and with every new wrinkle in our leather and every mile in our engine we grow more and more into our cars, giving them character and respecting their history and contribution to the long line of automotive racing that came before them. For those who believe in this lifestyle no explanation is necessary, and for those who don't, no explanation is possible.
11-26-2011, 04:11 AM
#2
Nordschleife Master
Leon, well done.
For me ... this image captures that special quality
For me ... this image captures that special quality
11-26-2011, 10:53 AM
#6
Race Director
Leon, interesting that you left this part out of your response in this thread:
Also, I think the way a man treats his car says nothing about his character. I think the way a man treats other people is the best way to tell his character.
And then of course there's the chicks at a stop light, especially the gold-diggin cougars, who ironically, admire the character of a well aged machine. Getting out of the car at a coffee shop and literally feeling the eyes of women on you, seeing the wheels turning in their heads about your availability and what it would feel like to have you remove their panties in the passenger seat of your 993...whether this is true or not, at least thats what I think.
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11-26-2011, 11:38 AM
#8
Rennlist Member
11-26-2011, 03:29 PM
#9
Racer
Thread Starter
I do believe the way a man treats his car says a lot about his character. It may not mean you are Jesus, but I think there is validity in this statement. A car in many ways, is like a relationship, if you treat it good, it will treat you good.
11-26-2011, 08:08 PM
#15
Rennlist Member
Leon,
I didn't even I realize I had some of those feelings until you wrote them today. Now I remember various instances over the years of ownership and the memories are rushing back thanks to your brilliant post. I hope I'm one of those crusty old ba*tards who still has their 993 many years from now.
And if I don't, it'll be ok. But just barely...
I didn't even I realize I had some of those feelings until you wrote them today. Now I remember various instances over the years of ownership and the memories are rushing back thanks to your brilliant post. I hope I'm one of those crusty old ba*tards who still has their 993 many years from now.
And if I don't, it'll be ok. But just barely...