Alright, I'll take the bait on this one...
> How come, if a man gets "into" cars he needs another, then another and is
> > never satisfied until his yard looks like a specialized wrecking yard.
> > Then he starts thinking about moving to a place with a larger yard and
> > outbuildings to store more.
I won't let my husband turn the yard (or the house) into a wrecking yard,
just as he won't let me do the same. This is working out to my favor, since
we are looking for larger tracts of land (can't afford Huge tracts of
Land!), I can have the nice little house I've always wanted...
> 1) Analogize to the Seinfeld line about TV channel surfing: "A woman wants
> to know what's on TV . . . a man wants to know what ELSE is on TV."
Actually, Al only knows of a few channels. Speedvision is on a lot...
> 2) If you've been playing with cars long enough, you occasionally run
across
> an opportunity to buy a restorable vehicle at a "bargain" price - if you
had
> to, you might be able to sell it for more than you paid. In the male mind,
> the purchase of that extra car is then no longer an "expense", it's now
> become an "investment".
That's how we got the TR7...call it a learning experience! :)
> 3) If a man drags another car home with him from time to time, the other
> cars don't (usually) complain. If he drags another woman home with him,
all
> hell breaks loose. We'd like to do the latter, but it's just too much
> aggravation.
>
> > Most people I've seen with a yard full of cars have a few kinda running
> > and most deteriorating like they would be abandoned on a field.
>
> ACQUIRING a car is a productive act - you may eventually restore it, you
may
> be able to use some of its parts, you may be able to sell it for a profit.
> DISPOSING of a worthless hulk is a dead loss and a waste of time . . .
> besides, you just might be throwing away that unobtainable part you're
going
> to need 10 years from now.
True, he'd get into a lot of trouble if he brought another woman home. But
acquiring cars have actually brought us closer together. We cannot afford a
toy vehicle that does not need some work before it is roadworthy. Acquiring
and tinkering with cars has become the hobby that we participate in
together. Not many couples I know have can say they share a hobby like that
(which is a horrible shame to me).
I knew nothing about cars before I met Al. After a few years of passing him
tools, I decided I needed to get a little more dirt under my fingernails
(too much exhaust fumes?). I wanted one of those "cute, tiny little british
cars with no tops and those big round headlights" that I could turn into a
successful autocrosser with him acting as tech adviser/extra grunt. I
stress, MY idea, not his (as if he'd argue with me!) He told me I wanted a
TR6, and that's what we bought. This is the first LBC for either of us.
We still have his race car because I refuse to take away or let him abandon
a hobby he loves so much.
We kept his black Dodge Shelby Charger because I like it, it was his first
new car and heck, it might be worth something someday being a limited
production car with one owner and 45,000 miles. Hopefully our guess is
better with that than the '7!
We needed daily drivers so he has his truck (also the tow vehicle) and I
have my Jeep Cherokee, which we took off-roading on our last
anniversary --you won't do that in a TR!! Well, not intentionally anyway!
The 7 is the only one that won't start. It is in a garage, up on blocks and
undergoing some long-term tinkering. No longer are we talking of restoring
it and selling it for tons of money (!), but he wants to build it into a
"safer" (ie, closed roof) SCCA IT car for me to try racing with.
So not all of the cars in a man's fleet are there because of the man. He
might actually have a wife who has a little something to do with it :)
Wendy Hart
2 Triumphs, 4 Mopars, 1 Happy Husband and 7 pairs of shoes.
Does anyone else hear that song "Stand by Your Man"?
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