What is happening to my car taste?

What is happening to me as an automotive enthusiast? I've done a long run of little sports cars: Porsches, ///Ms, other Euros and American sports cars. Right now I'm still in love with my '05 GTO. My favorite of all of my Porsches was my 5 speed 928S4. I preferred the E46 M3 to the E30 M3.

Now I have an Alfa Romeo GTV6 that I will be trading for a turbo Volvo 745 with a manual trans in a couple weeks, and I'm happy about it! The other project/toy cars I have are an '01 P71 and a '93 Roadmaster Estate Wagon with faux wood trim. Aside from the Alfa that is leaving the fleet soon, I really don't have any "sports" cars. The Miatas, X1/9s, MR2s, Porsches, they're all gone. And I really don't miss most of them (well, again, I really miss that 928) at all.

Today, I saw an '85-ish Cadillac Seville with the slanted short trunk in that very 80s GM slightly metallic gray, and I thought it was awesome! There's a house on my way home that has a '93-ish Roadmaster sedan in a beautiful shade of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter yellow and I slow down to look at it every day! A few houses before that is a metallic avocado Dodge Aspen woodie wagon and I think that is wicked, too.

What has happened to me?

Clarkson is widely quoted as saying that you can't be a true gearhead until you've owned an Alfa, but I am swapping my Alfa for a Volvo! A boring turbo brick! And I like driving my big ol' wagon more than my little Italian GT car.

None of my friends really know what to make of my cars anymore. I think when it was little sports cars, at least they understood what I was doing. Bring home a turbo 300ZX in need of some love and bodywork and nobody really questions you, but bring home an ex-cop car with crappy paint and people start whispering, "White trash!" amongst each other when I don't come to their barbecues.

I've even been thinking about instead of camming, wheeling, and manual-transmissioning my P71, maybe I should pick up a 2001-ish Town Car and doing the stuff to that instead because really, nobody will see that coming. I keep searching for one of those turbo Fifth Avenues or New Yorkers or whichever one they had. I contemplate and scheme when I see a rwd Fleetwood for sale.

But when I see cheap Miatas, more cheap Alfas, and other little sporty cars, I skip them. Now that GM Employee pricing includes the C6, I went and drove one and I prefer my GTO to the Corvette!

Seriously, is something wrong with me? Am I maturing down a dark path in cardom that dare not speak its name? Maybe I am, but at least now I can travel there comfortably with a few friends.

It could just be that you're getting old.

Now, tell me about that Alfa.

I would like to think everyone, no matter what their hobby, goes through periods of re-assessment/re-alignment. In my mid 20s I had a few small, British roadsters while in my early 30s I drifted into air-cooled German machinery (a HEAVILY modded Beetle, and a 914). "Woven" in among these cars were a few domestic branded appliances and now I'm in a period of Japanese sedans....that I am bored by, but drive for their reliability.

I live in Memphis and we have a lot of older cars with minimal rust and I'm always looking at them. I've got my feelers out now for an early '80s Crown Vic "coupe" that a lady has said she might sell for $800. I'm facinated by this large 2 door with it's vinyl covered roof, turbine wheels, and the optional front vent windows that used to be standard on every car. Downside? It's brown on brown on brown....sigh.

I too went through this change. In my early and mid-twenties I wouldn't look twice at anything less than the exotic cars vipers, nsx, ZR-1s, GT2/3 etc. I even owned a couple of these cars. That all seems like a distant memory now as of my late twenties (I'm 32 now) as I'm much more happier driving the $2k-$3k buckets than back then. For me part of it is the fact that I don't have a large investment in something that depreciates constantly but I really enjoy working on cars and I appreciate every car for what it is. I now look at the beaters driving down the street and picture myself having one. My fav car sites are now:

http://www.carlustblog.com/hafner.html

and

beaterreview.com

I scour the net for car restoration blogs, it's fun to see people actually working on cars as opposed to doing donuts and burning up the clutches.

Wow, thanks for that Hafner link! I hadn't seen that one. And there is a Fuego on the front page! Wicked.

Yeah, see, a brown on brown Crown Vic coupe with a vinyl top. That gets me all excited! Heck, just follow GRM's or MM&FF's 302 budget recipes and stick a T5 in there, that's a fun fun car!

So, the Alfa. I picked up a non-runner '85 GTV6, nursed it back to fiery (as in passionate and full of fury, not actual flames) Italian health. I've been driving it but it just doesn't push my buttons. A dude on the AlfaBB is the original owner of a 4spd+od 740 turbo wagon and we're meeting up in Kentucky in the next couple weeks to make the swap.

Yeah, that's right, I said it. A 5.7L Buick Roadmaster wagon that got hit by a garbage truck makes me happier than an Alfa Romeo sport coupe.

I knew people here would understand. Group hug!

You're getting old. It happens to all of us, myself included.:)

Its funny... I grew up on '60s and '70s heavy metal muscle cars... my Dad had a '62 Impala and a 70 Chevelle... I went thru Monte Carlos and Camaros, Olds Cutlasses... then bikes. In my late 20s discovered road racing and bikes but didn't have the stones to race one. Then the cars got smaller... then lighter... then german... then air cooled.... then cobbled together BMWs as purpose built racecars... and now I stare longingly at tiny open cars, vintage racers and Locosts.

Its all good... just don't go trashin' up my neighborhood with those old cop cars :)

James May agrees with us

Lugnut: Seriously, is something wrong with me? Am I maturing down a dark path in cardom that dare not speak its name? Maybe I am, but at least now I can travel there comfortably with a few friends.

Lugnut, I think we may have been separated at birth. The answer to your question is yes - you're maturing down a dark path. Embrace it! I have, and I've never been happier.

Porsche 928? Ex-cop-cars? Horrific big American cars? We are completely on the same wavelength. To me, the important thing is cars have to be interesting. An Opel Manta in my book, is much more interesting than the 11,467th tricked out Miata you'll encounter. It will be slower and less competent in every way, but it will be interesting.

My only caveat is that Alfa GTV-6s are completely gorgeous, quite possibly my second-favorite car in the world. It gets my interesting tag as well.

By the way, James May agrees with us.

By the way, thanks RusselH for the reference. I've never read beaterreview.com - sounds like a good site. Oh, and if GRM's David Wallens is reading this, I hope he's doing well.

chris_hafner wrote: Oh, and if GRM's David Wallens is reading this, I hope he's doing well.

He is. I think.

I love May's columns in Top Gear Magazine. I'd like to think I represent all three of our favorite presenters in different ways, but if only James liked to go fast... :)

And don't get me wrong on the Alfa. It is gorgeous. Mine is (now) shiney black and Italian and beautiful. See, it's the opposite of my GTO.

Every so often I get to thinking about selling my GTO and getting something else, but when I take it for a drive, even a rubbish commute drive, I realize that is a stupid idea and I know I want to keep it.

I never think about selling the Alfa until I'm behind the wheel. Driving that car makes me realize there are better ways to be driving. But looking at that car in the garage does make me happy.

Anyway, Chris -- you have a new subscriber!

I have been gone for a while, What happened to David?

I agree by the way, I love all cars for just what they are, I find myself lusting after the "unwanteds" (mustang II, Volvos, Porsche 914-4, 912, 924, among many others)

maroon92 wrote: I have been gone for a while, What happened to David?

Sorry - didn't mean to imply that David was recovering from a near-fatal disease or anything. In a former life, in a previous job, I used to bump into David pretty regularly at the race track. It felt rude to post here without at least saying hi, so that was my clumsy way of saying hello, hope things are good in a way that made no sense in the flow of the conversation.

Chris, you're welcome, glad to see you here! I guess you keep a close eye on your site access logs :) GR members are like minded fun bunch so I hope you stick around.

Ever since I found your blog I'm trying to sneak a read here and there at work :)

Lugnut I'm right there man, always have been I guess, while all the other kids in highschool were trying to get cooler/faster more tricked out rides, I was enjoying driving my wood panel 83' Pontiac Pariesenne station wagon (which 2 teens could easily lay out in the back of :) ). But when I got hit (the S-10 that hit me was literally bent around the wagon) I got into a brand of car not known for it's youth, Cadillacs, and I still own 2 of them today. When I ran into engine problems on my last one (turned out to not be as catastrophic as I or my mechaic believed) instead of getting a BMW, or a 350Z or whatever other rubbish everyone my age drives around in, I bought a Ford Ranger with a stick (I've never had a manual in my life). Why would I take this seemingly haphazard path at only 26? Because I like my vehicles to 'interest' me. Granted the Ranger is fairly common but for me coming from Cadillacs it was an odd choice, or so my friends and wife tell me, they all expected some sort of sports car. I love it. And to add a little more salt, instead of trying to build our $2006 challenge car (we never got to the event) out of say a mustang, civic, rx-7, or other common vehicle, we went with an XR4Ti, mostly because it's got the qualities we wanted, and it's unique, I mean we hated how the car looks when we got it, and I can honestly tell you I LOVE looking at it now, my Caddys will never forgive me.

I'm the guy at the car show that finds that weird 80s mercedes with an LS1 dropped in and talks to the owner for an hour, because the Miatas, Corvettes, Porches, Ferraris, Lambos, etc are nice, but I like different flavors I've never tasted. I find that I buy cars I keep because I really want them or they have some endering quality. I still want a GTO btw...

I know what you mean.

Lateley I have been tempted by a Lincoln Mark VIII. There are actually a lot of aftermarket for them. Who knew?

5speed swap is too complecateed, but there is a shift kit for the 4 speed automatic that allows you to select gears and then stay in them no matter the engine RPM.

I may just do that..... Off to craigslist to find a lincoln!

I knew a fella in gradschool that had a 6-speed converted MKVIII, i love those cars, I almost bought one over the last Caddy, probably should have given the degree of difficulty working on a FWD 90° V8 :)

Raze wrote: I'm the guy at the car show that finds that weird 80s mercedes with an LS1 dropped in and talks to the owner for an hour, because the Miatas, Corvettes, Porches, Ferraris, Lambos, etc are nice, but I like different flavors I've never tasted.

That's exactly it. It has to be interesting. I'm the guy at the car show who gets weary of looking at 250 identical pristine shiny numbers-matching Chevelle SS454s and instead spends time oohing and aahing over an obviously lived-in Ford Maverick Grabber or Renault Alliance.

Not that I don't like the Corvettes and Porsches - I do - but even a cheap beater can be interesting. I had a '73 Valiant that gave me all the "interesting" I could handle.

RussellH wrote: Chris, you're welcome, glad to see you here! I guess you keep a close eye on your site access logs :) GR members are like minded fun bunch so I hope you stick around. Ever since I found your blog I'm trying to sneak a read here and there at work :)

Thanks! Yeah, GRM is a great magazine - I guess I didn't realize there was a strong message board community here too. I'll have to keep stopping by.

I was once told by a man from India ( I work with a lot of people form India in IT) that when you wished for someting all you needed to do was trust Providence, that is Nature will come to your aid and all action needed to facilitate your wish will line up.

I did a simple search on my local craigslist for "Lincoln" and found this: http://chambana.craigslist.org/cto/808076587.html I already have exchanged email with the owner and I now have his phone number.

Weird how things work out. Wierd? or is is Providence?

OK, I have actually been in contact with the owner since Friday. but I like my providence story better...

That Lincoln is cool. I like those facelift MkVIIIs. That hugeo taillight is wicked cool.

There was a cheap MkVIII on the Columbus craigslist yesterday.

I gotta admit, I love the beaters.

The Mark LSC's can definitely be a blast! Add some coil-overs and sway bars the size of your arm and they can turn too!

your tastes are alot like mine i think.

plus big cars that are decently quick and can outhandle lots of smaller stuff through the curves are way more fun. v8 torque is also fun.

send me a PM if you need cheap stuff for the roadmonster, i'm parting my 91 caprice wagon.

Clarkson is widely quoted as saying that you can't be a true gearhead until you've owned an Alfa, but I am swapping my Alfa for a Volvo!

Clarkson said you can't be a true gearhead until you've "owned" an Alfa. He said nothing about how long you owned it or what you went to after you owned it.

EricM wrote: I was once told by a man from India ( I work with a lot of people form India in IT) that when you wished for someting all you needed to do was trust Providence, that is Nature will come to your aid and all action needed to facilitate your wish will line up. I did a simple search on my local craigslist for "Lincoln" and found this: http://chambana.craigslist.org/cto/808076587.html I already have exchanged email with the owner and I now have his phone number. Weird how things work out. Wierd? or is is Providence? OK, I have actually been in contact with the owner since Friday. but I like my providence story better...

You gotta be kidding me. I e-mailed that guy last night (I'm in Blormal at ISU, and for the first time in 3 years I don't have a car and its killing me)