I remember seeing this poster a lot when I was a child. As far back as elementary school, I found myself wondering what kind of cars I would put in my own dream garage. My tastes in cars have changed since elementary school, and I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what I would put in my dream garage if I were to win the lottery today. Here’s what I have come up with:
Pretty much everyone I can find talking about these cars online says that they are ugly and slow.
Today there is no shortage of automotive accessories that allow each owner to truly personalize their vehicle. Lets face it, if we plunk down any given amount for a vehicle, no matter how much or how little, and you have to drive it on a daily basis, why wouldn’t you want to gussie it up a bit. I have driven by my fair share of people whose rear deck is exploding with hello kitty dolls, or other various stuffed animals.
While I may not personally partake in parading stuffed animals throughout my vehicle, or decide that I need 5 “speed holes” per fender with a completely non-functional hood scoop, if someone so chooses that direction so be it. Thankfully when we come across the latter it generally makes you smile, or perhaps be the talking point on your next road trip as you place “spot the import with the most useless add-on.”
Ok I made that game up, but it doesn’t mean it couldn’t be something fun for people to do on their way to a car show, right? Now, with all of the accessories known to man, there is one that just makes me cringe. It is an accessory that to this day I don’t even understand what type of “aesthetics” it adds to a vehicle. That’s right, I am referring to truck nuts.
It basically goes something like this. I was born in the mid 1980’s. My family hauled my brother and I around in the back seat of a 1979 Ford Thunderbird until the mid to late 1990’s. Continue reading
I wasn’t born a car nut.
I didn’t grow up watching my dad, grandpa, or uncle work on cars. My parents never had any cool cars when I was a kid. I never raced go-karts or flipped through mail-order catalogs building dream engines in my head.
In Arizona you can get your learner’s permit at age 15 and 7 months. I never got around to it until I was 17. I’ve only ever owned one car: a crappy 90s GM front-wheel drive econobox. At the risk of losing my last shred of credibility with my readers, I never learned to properly drive a stick shift.
So, what got me into cars?
This picture could really say it all for me. It’s Easter, 1994. My brother and I have just gotten a brand-new Sega Genesis Model 2 to replace our Nintendo Entertainment System that was destroyed by the family dog. Before we left to buy our first cartridge for it, we took this photo out in front of our home. This is in Maryvale, a suburb of Phoenix, and a rough one at that.
We were the family with the giant four-wheel-drive pick up in the front yard.
