My former SCCA ITB car, a 1972 Ford Pinto. Photos by author.
As pastimes go, it would be difficult to find one with as much diversity as the collector car hobby. Excuse the cliché, but when it comes to cars, one man’s junk really is another man’s treasure; as evidence, consider the rise in popularity (and price) of cars from the 1980s, along with the Volkswagen Type 2 Transporter, generally known here as the Microbus.
Every car is developed through a similar process that involves designers, engineers, line workers, test drivers and an army of others looking to produce the best product possible for the price point. From the lowest-priced Tata Nano to the most expensive and hand-crafted Pagani, it’s impossible to design and build a car without a certain element of passion and pride.
Take the Ford Pinto, for example. Most would see it as a relic of the “malaise era,” an econobox with an undeserved reputation for danger (especially when compared to the other compact cars of the era), but having road-raced one, I see it a bit differently. The Pinto has personality, and as Sam Jackson’s character in Pulp Fiction explains, “personality goes a long way.” I wouldn’t want one as a daily driver, since that’s not how the car was relevant to me; on the other hand, give me one as a stripped-down race car, with a cage, racing seat, gutted interior and reworked suspension, and I’d gladly run it in vintage races and autocross competition.
Perhaps relevance is what makes a car collectible then. Seeing a fake wood panel Chrysler K-Car convertible does nothing for me, since my family didn’t drive one. On the other hand, a 1969 Mach 1 Mustang, like the car my cousin owned in his formative years, makes my heart skip a beat. Sadly, with muscle car prices rising, the chance of my ever owning a similar example lies directly between “slim” and “none,” unless I happen to pick the correct Powerball numbers.
So what is it that makes a car collectible? It isn’t just the brand, since those in the hobby have a passion for everything from American Underslung to Zimmer. It’s not the style, either, since some prefer the cushy ride of an American sedan, while others prefer the crisp handling of a European sports car or the sensibility of a Japanese compact. Is past experience, a mental snapshot taken at a particular moment in time, what makes a car relevant and, hence collectible? What’s your improbable collector car?
More gadget review in www.mamaktalk.com
