In my last full blog, I explored whether I was an author or a writer.
The answer was yes.
Tonight, I ask myself –
Am I a sports car guy or a classic car guy?
First, you should know I am a car guy. From the Matchbox, Hot Wheels, and slot cars of my childhood to watching tons of You-Tube videos about cars nowadays, I’ve always been into cars.
My dad set the example. He did most of his own work on the old VW bus of my childhood. I helped, uh, watched. Then his midlife crisis hit in the form of a brand new 1975 Datsun 280Z. I loved that car. To my fledgling driving skills, it was like driving a rocket ship!
I’ve made it past midlife without a crisis car (unless I live to be more than 116!).
I have plans to get a project car when I retire, but what kind to get?
I go to car shows and feel that twinge of desire for much of what I see there. But I want a car I can drive whenever I want without worrying about it.
The ’65 VW bus of my childhood has gotten too expensive to drive without being nervous about scratching it. Most 280Zs have turned into a pile of rust. Same for the ’68 Plymouth wagon and ’73 Opel 1900 that were my first and second cars.
Somehow, I have gotten my eyes glued to a certain classic car model. It was popular enough for many preserved examples to be available. It’s unpopular enough for it not to be terribly expensive. Parts are readily available and it’s easy to work on.
And it has a role in the Wil Clarey series.
In the first rough draft of Wil Clarey: Impossible Summer, Wil encountered a Nash Metropolitan. I eventually decided (spoiler alert) that he would try to fix it up. Parts for the tiny British made American car are quite difficult to find and expensive. I had to find different car.
The car needed to be within Wil’s means to get on the road again. It had to be a hardtop that could survive a few years exposed to the elements. I also wanted it to be a little quirky and unique like Wil, (and me).
The car he found – the car I want to occupy some of my attention after retirement from my day job – is a VW Squareback. Look it up. It’s like a classic Beetle with a wagon body.
So, if you ask me – sports car or classic car?
As the pile of Classic Car Magazines next to me testifies, I’ll take classic over sporty any day! Sure, I might squeeze a few more horsepower out of that air-cooled flat four, but it will be a practical classic car to match my classic but practical personality.
What about you? Classic or sports car? Or both? What’s your dream car?
Solano Writing 