by Wallace Wyss –
OK I’ll admit it. I like people to look at my car. Not just look at it but ogle it, lust after it; feast their eyes. Not the Plain Jane Nissan I drive everyday, but when I have a special car. And I’ve owned a few–a Ferrari 365GTC/4, two Mercedes Gullwings, a Porsche 356 Cabriolet, etc.
But now if I drive a car that ogleable (made up that word…) it’s a test car. And recently while I had a Lexus LC500 coupe, five people in 3 days time gave me the high sign or shouted “What is it?” even though this model has been out on the road for a year at least.
I’ve only seen three on the road in a year’s time, even rarer is the convertible version. Now my radio show co-host Clark Pryce was driving it and told me he was annoyed when some guy at a shopping center fell in love with it and couldn’t stop asking questions. I would be pleased for such attention.
I think my colleague has forgotten one of the appealing features of a rare high performance/luxury car. Now why would I want a car that’s a conversation starter? Here’s some rationales”:
– By way of intro. It shows I am a connoisseur or driving enthusiast or both–I might be attending a classy affair, such as the private car show I go to at the beach where a $17,000 Japanese car would be looked at askance.
– I have something to sell, what better way to introduce the product to a fellow enthusiast/future client and show I am one of the cognoscenti?
It is not, I might add, necessary for the admirer to have knowledge of what it is in order to fall in love with it. I remember borrowing an Iso Grifo from a friend and driving it to an impromptu rally in Malibu and a beautiful woman came up and said “I don’t know what it is, but I love it.”
“Ars longa, vita brevis” means “art is long, life is short”. Having had car fan friends my own age die lately I realize more and more that some of them owned collector cars but others spent a lifetime putting off owning a car that was a rolling tribute to their favorite designers. Owning a treasured car is a way to show fanship, if there is such a word. And so it is. I think life’s too short to live anonymously, toodling around in a drab car, one should have a separate car for recreation that’s more in line with your car interests. Driving that new $100,000 Lexus, with all its myriad of electronic gizmos, showed me the advantage of new-new-new vs. old-old-old with its attendant baggage of where-do-I-find-the-parts?
It would be tough for me to decide between an older ’60s classic vs. 2021 state-of-the-art. I hate to admit each time I drive a modern car, I’m getting hooked on features like the simulated overhead camera view from the dash TV when parking, the lane warning indicator, the tire pressure indicator, and on some premium models that give you the ability to electronically tune your suspension.
I may reach a point when there’s too many modern car features I can no longer live without. Fortunately, that point hasn’t come yet…
Let us know what you think in the Comments.
THE AUTHOR: Wallace Wyss is the co-host of Autotalk, presented weekly on KUCR FM radio, Riverside, California.
Adding Bluetooth streaming to my, otherwise perfect, 280Z was the modern convenience that matters. No lost “feel” of a great car but lots less road noise and hands left over for shifting and driving.
Very nice, I would Ogle that one.
Espada!
Epitomal design……………..