Last month was an important anniversary for me. May 13, 2023 was the 1 year anniversary of buying my dream car. My unicorn. My Skyline. I had saved and pissed away money for one for such a long time that I felt like it would never happen. I’m not sure if it was being sick of it never happening, or the market taking off and wanting to get one before they would be out of reach, or just sheer determination, but I made it happen, and it’s been a more fun year because of it.
I’ve always been enthralled with the thrill of the chase. I get all tingly at the thought of tracking down another neat car, even when I help others instead of it being for myself. Chasing a Skyline, however, was a rollercoaster of emotions. Knowing that I needed X for a nice GTR a few years ago, to prices doubling, to bidding on rotten junk in an effort to settle for a project, to having people out-offer me on private sales. In the end, I got the right car for me, and it’s been a delight getting to drive it, meet new people, and have fun with cars again.
This past year, knowing that I don’t have to actually build the car before being able to drive it was huge. Being able to go out to the garage and turn a key and go, after years of being the person who builds cars constantly, was enlightening. “Built not bought” and stuff. I’m now firmly in the “fuck that, drive something cool” camp. Did I build it from scratch? Nope. Does that take away from the driving experience? Not in the least. I’ve spent the last 12 months tweaking here and there, doing some upgrades, maintenance, touch-ups, cleanup, and I have enjoyed every second of it. I’ve taken it to Cars and Coffee type things(not my favorite). I’ve done some cruise nights and parked among the sea of American cars only to have everyone gravitate toward it either because IYKYK or because they don’t know and are curious. I’ve autocrossed it and had a blast even if it isn’t as fast or brutal as my previous CP mustang. And during the nice weather months it’s my primary driver. You can fit a lot of groceries in the trunk!
The attention is fun – to a point. Being able to go somewhere and have people wave and smile is cool. Having people take video of me pumping gas is a little weird. Making new friends though? That’s where it’s at. 2 weeks into ownership, we took it to a big car meet just to park among the cars and go do some shopping, and when we came out there was a young dude waiting for me. By the time we left, we had exchanged numbers, and have become good friends over the past year. I love that about cars. It doesn’t matter that we’re 18 years apart in age, come from different sides of Cleveland, or that he likes Mustangs. None of that matters when you get a good friend, and I wouldn’t have that friendship without this car.
So, build it, buy it, play with it, I don’t care. Just get out there and drive it and do cool things with it and see where you end up. Maybe there’s a new friendship around the corner, a new opportunity waiting for you to just be there at the right time, or maybe the universe will reward you for driving something rad in a sea of trucks and crossovers. Whatever way it goes, don’t forget to have fun with it, whatever it may be for you.
-Patrick
