Don’t just stare at it, DRIVE it!

One of the reasons I tend to buy and sell cars so often is that I go through this seemingly never ending cycle:
1 – Find a really great car
2 – Vacillate for a week or so about whether to buy it
3 – Buy it
4 – Drive it for about five days straight
5 – Park it in the garage
6 – Drive it once or twice a weekend for about three months
7 – Decide to sell it because I’m just not using it
8 – List it for sale on eBay or Craigslist
9 – Take it out for a really good drive
10 – Remove the listing
11 – Drive it once or twice a weekend for another month
12 – List it for sale again
13 – Sell it
14 – Start the whole process again

The fact of the matter is: I don’t drive my old stupid classic cars nearly enough, so I invariably lose interest and move along to the next one. A fact which came to mind as I passed through the garage this morning on the way to get into my Honda Commuting Appliance to go to work. So moved was I by the clean little sportscar sitting there in the garage begging for love, that I went back in the house, grabbed the keys, and hit the road in style!

Truth be told, despite taking me 20 minutes longer than my usual commute, it was a fantastic drive. Fridays are generally lighter than other commuting days in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. already, so today made sense form a practical standpoint to forego my free pass to the carpool lanes (read: my Accord Hybrid) in favor of a proper old-fashioned convertible. OK, so it was cold this morning and I left the top up – shoot me. The trip home was a brisk but refreshing topless thrill ride!!

It was also a reminder to me that these cars – our babies – are meant to be driven. Sure, from time to time your car may suffer hot flashes in stop and go traffic or lose its cookies at the most inopportune time, but that’s all part of the fun. Besides, of you’re going to commit to driving your car with any sort of regularity, you should also commit to getting it roadworthy enough so it doesn’t frighten you to so much as contemplate the possibility.

As for me, I’m going to try and make this a regular thing – once a week, maybe! That is, so long as the weather cooperates. After all, I’ve bought these cars because I love driving them. I’m not going to let a little traffic and some other cars ruin my fun. How about you??

~Reed