It’s a curse, really, it is. I love all things auto. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, modifications, the whole lot! I am one of those guys who can’t stand a plain old vanilla, stock car. I just can’t even. I also believe any car, ANY car, can be modified and made into a work of art. So why would you drive a blank canvas and fade into the crowd?
It took me a long time to realize that the majority of people just don’t care. A car is a way to get from point A to point B, and as long as it does it well, it’s fine. For most, a car is not a reflection of themselves; it’s got doors, tires, something under the hood you call an engine, and if it breaks, you take it to people who perform magic for a lot of money and make it work again.
Honestly, I wish I were not in love with cars. I wish it did not matter. Like, I couldn’t care less about the house I live in; I just want it in a nice location. I’ll live in a cabin as long as it’s in the woods away from the sounds of the city. That’s me, very happy. Of course, I would love a Barndaminium, but if it came down to affording a car or a Barndaminium, I would choose the car, or cars, every time. My wife is the opposite; she has a very practical Hybrid that meets all her needs, is great on gas, it’s a Toyota, so it’s reliable, it’s a subtle white color, and it suits her needs. I really wish that were the case with me as well. And I have tried over the years to force myself there, but it just won’t work.
I wish this because cars are expensive, they are a horrible investment, they depreciate, the market is insane, and modification cost a ton and add very little value. The whole thing makes no sense at all. It’s a practice in insanity for sure.
But I do love cars. I’ve owned, modified, and raced motorcycles. I’ve built fast cars and raced them, but always on a tight budget. What I drive now took a lot of planning, but it’s a solid reflection of my design, taste, and desire. I get compliments on it all the time, but I don’t like the way it drives. It’s lifted, it’s rough, and while it eats the trail for lunch, as a daily driver, it sucks. I would like to have it as a weekend vehicle, and daily drive an X5M, a CT5-V Blackwing, BMW M5 Touring or a BMW M3. The preference is the manual blackwing. Thought if I really wanted to break the bank, I would go for the Escalade H1000 or Velociraptor R1000. Nowhere in that list is a cheap car. I do like all cars. For fun, I go through car manufacturers’ sites and configure cars for hours. I know which models and options are available for most cars on the road and can recognize them all.
I’ve essentially been raising kids for almost 25 years now. I started having kids at age 23. I’ve never had the ability to spend money on cars like I want to. Maybe that’s a good thing. Especially with 9 kids, college, medical bills, and bailing them out of rough situations in this crazy economy and job uncertainty. I don’t see my passion being fulfilled any time soon, but that does not stop me from daydreaming. I watch about a dozen different channels on YouTube weekly – these shows review cars, modify them, and squeeze 900HP from 600 on an M4. It’s so much fun. If I had endless capital, I might open my own shop. I am rather impressed with my own design style, and I think I could build stuff people would buy. I’ll include a photo of my truck, because I think I did it well. The guy who did the lift told me that my choice of wheels was off- it was going to look bad. I told him to trust me. In the end, he said I made the right call, and he showed it to two clients who want to mimic what I did, down to the red upper control arms.
It’s got a very nice sound system, great exhaust, a few tuning mods to squeeze out higher horsepower, and a bunch of other tasteful mods.
Are you affected by the car curse? Reach out, I would love to chat.
