Young Imperial Owners

["Just beyond the reach of Satan's Grasp" <rrudd28@xxxxxxxxx>]

> I'm curious what draws a younger person to an older car, and in
> particular to an Imperial?

Cars today might have better brakes, better suspension, and electrics
compared to older cars, but they don't have something the old cars have:
personality.

Have you taken a look at the cars being made today?  They all look alike!
I think that's why people are moving towards cars like the PT Cruiser the
New Beetle, and the Mini.  There's no way anyone could mistake any of those
cars for a Honda/Toyota/Taurus.  The problem is, everyone has them now.
Furthermore, cars are exactly like people, as it takes time to develop a
personality.  Since most new cars aren't built to last more than 5 years
before they're traded in, it's a lot harder now for a car to develop a
personality.   Furthermore, when you drive an Imperial (or Plymouth, or
Packard, or anything made before 1974) down the road EVERYONE knows it's an
Imperial, and will never confuse it with a Toyota.  And I won't even go into
how expensive an alternator for a 98 Accord is compared to a 69 Fury.

All the little things, the little squeaks and rattles the car makes when you
hit a bump just right, how sometimes the cigarette lighter pops out of the
ashtray when it's heated, and things that were meant to be there like left
hand lugnuts, hubcaps about impossible to put back on, and gear reduction
starters all let you know that your relationship with your car isn't a
master/slave one, it's more cohabitation.  And I guarantee when you start
getting a swelled head, the car lets you know that even though you decide
where it goes and what it drinks, it's still in charge.  When that happens,
you usually wind up changing the ballast resistor.  Drive a Honda (and I did
once) and it's like owning a robot that bends and conforms to your will.  In
otherwords, a BROWN NOSER.  And one of the things I hate most is a brown
noser.

The main reason I drive 30 year old cars: Camraderie.  Everyone who drives
anything old knows what I speak of.  People comment on how nice your car is,
or how much they like it, or how cool old cars are.  Sometimes older guys
will talk about how they had a car like ours, or knew someone with one, or
even how they lost their virginity in one.  I still marvel at what people
will volunteer when an old car is the catalyst.   I've found that even
though we make fun of Ford guys and Chevy guys, we're still car guys and put
aside our differences on the streets and we'll give the thumbs up to each
other.

I like old cars.  I like the sense of accomplishment you get when you take
something that's crap and make it look nice. I like looking at all the other
cars people buy and flaunt and then look at my old car and thinking "Anyone
can buy a car, I BUILT mine!"   I like coming home after the complexities of
work and jump in my 4 wheel time machine for a brief trip back to when
things were just a little bit simpler.

Mainly, I'm 6'4 and I like the extra room!

Ray Funke
69 Fury 3 ragtop