(Advance apologies if this thread has gone far beyond where I've read...)
I've given the question Scott posed considerable thought over the last few
years. Perhaps my musings might be amusing to some.
It's probably not possible to fall in love with a car after you're 20 or
so. People have a formative period corresponding roughly to adolescence
during which we are very impressionable. Adults filter input much more
strongly, in fact, that may be one of the definitions of "adult". For
more discussion of this, see the book *Generations* by William Strauss
and Neil Howe, which I highly recommend to anyone who is interested in the
sociology of our time. Since most of us are past that formative stage,
despite what those near to us might think, we're just not capable of forming
the kind of attachments to modern cars that we did to LBCs years ago. I
suspect that kids today still fall in love with today's cars.
Exclusivity is also a major motivation for many SOLs. I think I would have
been less attracted to, say, an MGB when it was new and anyone could have
one. To me, that's the major problem with Miatas - there are just so many
of them around. But if I bought one today and kept it for 20 years, it
might be a lot more interesting. Obviously, the odd Cobra and the like
are exceptions - they were exclusive when new. Perhaps the closest analog
there is the NSX, or the recent Elan. They're certainly exclusive, and very
impressive, but I'm just not in love with them - which brings us back to my
first point.
So have I made any progress in my thinking? Well, I like my '85 Prelude
a lot, but I don't love it, and it seems to be getting more common with
age rather than less. I cordially dislike my rather useful pickup. And
I'm trying to sell my Datsun roadster, mostly because it's not what I
*really wanted*, which was an E-type, or an Alfa Giulia, or a TR-3....
By the way, I have to inform you that you have it wrong. Pixy dust doesn't
cause global warming, it causes ozone depletion. More surfaces for that
heterogeneous chemistry to work on, you know.
Wayne "still lurking, after all these years" Angevine
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