Cars not from my past because I was too young/stupid/broke to buy them
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Introduction
I think if I had had the money and wisdom to actually get some of these when they were made available to me, I would have a pretty sweet garage today. It would still be a one-car garage, since I would've blown any and all cash on these rather than, say, upgrade my house, but whatever.
A 1987 Lamborghini Countach
No joke, although I was 8 (the car was a year old), so yeah, I guess it kinda was. It was on the Corporate Coachworks lot in Springfield when I was a kid, shiny and white and as sexy as a piece of metal can be to an 8-year-old. When the dealer came out and asked if we were interested and my mom said "Ask the kid," I almost died. I mean, first of all, I LOVED these cars. They looked like chisels with wheels and went like the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars. Then there was the sound... oh, God. The dealer started the engine and it shook me.
The reason I didn't buy it: I was 8. My allowance came up short. And not by a little.
The reason I didn't buy it: I was 8. My allowance came up short. And not by a little.
A 1994 Jaguar XJ-12 Coupe
Dark red with a tan interior. I had always wanted one with the V-12, too, so when I stumbled across this four years ago in the Brown Derby Wine Center parking lot (spot-on placement, by the way), I was hooked. It was absolutely spotless, too.
The reason I didn't buy it: I looked up the reliability of Jaguar V-12s. I think the second part of that joke goes "...then I've got a nice plot of land you might be interested in."
The reason I didn't buy it: I looked up the reliability of Jaguar V-12s. I think the second part of that joke goes "...then I've got a nice plot of land you might be interested in."
A 1962 Ford Thunderbird Coupe
This one still haunts me in my sleep... okay, not literally, but close. I stumbled across it in a junk-car lot in Northview. (Population: seven cows, three chickens, one slightly creepy junk-car lot owner. I'm kidding about all but the last part.) The guy wanted $2,000 for it with an engine or $1,200 for it without the engine, which didn't run anyway. I was 19 and had $1,400 to my name. I called my buddy, Damian, in Kansas City to help talk me out of buying it. The first words out of his mouth: "S***, buy it." Thanks, big guy.
The reason I didn't buy it: I didn't know what it would cost to get the engine running, or to get a running engine to put in it. At most I would've had $200 to work with, which wouldn't be enough, and nothing to sell for cash at the time but the clothes on my back. Talk about a bad time to be a T-shirt-and-jeans kind of guy!
The reason I didn't buy it: I didn't know what it would cost to get the engine running, or to get a running engine to put in it. At most I would've had $200 to work with, which wouldn't be enough, and nothing to sell for cash at the time but the clothes on my back. Talk about a bad time to be a T-shirt-and-jeans kind of guy!
A 1978 Mercedes SL Convertible
It was at a classic car auction more than 10 years ago, bone white and looking like it had just rolled off the set of Dynasty or something. I was shopping for a first car at the time. Did I really, really want it? No. Was it better than the 1984 Jeep Cherokee I ended up inheriting? Yes. Plus I could've been rollin' in a Benz!
The reason I didn't buy it: At 15, it was my parents' money I was buying the car with, so I had little to no say in the matter. They didn't want me in a rear-wheel-drive car, so they gave me the 4-wheel-drive Jeep, which I proceeded to put in 4-wheel drive maybe twice ever.
The reason I didn't buy it: At 15, it was my parents' money I was buying the car with, so I had little to no say in the matter. They didn't want me in a rear-wheel-drive car, so they gave me the 4-wheel-drive Jeep, which I proceeded to put in 4-wheel drive maybe twice ever.
A Hooptie
I've seriously walked away from about half a dozen of these over the years. I can't promise I'll continue to do that.
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