I know I love my Fairlane. There's a sense that we've been through a lot together even though I've only put 24,000 miles on it so far. But I think part of it is that I needed it for the learning experience and for something to grow with; I bought the car 4-1/2 years ago at the age of 16 and more or less cut my teeth on it. My family is about the only physical thing I consider more important. Friends come and go, people promise things, but my car is something that's there for me, that is truly mine. But it needs me too, and I think maybe that's part of it. Without me, it might have been stripped for parts, sent to the crusher, who knows. But with me, it can become something greater than the humble sedan that rolled off a Kansas City assembly line back in '64. With me, it will survive and thrive, and I maintain that I will keep it forever. Yeah, it's let me down a couple times, but that's been over two years ago; I was just re-braking it in. It's something I can grow with, and if you could marry a car, well...
But I do get attached to other cars. Probably my first love was my Dad's 300D, which is why I'm looking into fixing it up, even though I would probably be better off finding one in better condition. Then there's the F100, which will probably come down to me, that was my great-Grandfather's last farm truck (he bought it used in '68). Even the van I hope we hold onto. So many people are too willing to lock themselves into the trade-in cycle, which takes a regular stream of money and results in the vehicle being treated as an appliance. Worse than that, perhaps, are the people who buy sports cars and flog them to death, wreck them, or just unload them when they get bored with them. You could say they use the car in about the same way as a person might use cocaine.
I say if you can love how a car looks, and if it satisfies your needs without being too demanding, then why would you even think of selling it? People sometimes say they "needed sometime different" when they get rid of a perfectly good car for a new one. I think sometimes I need sometime the same, there's already enough that's going to change whether I like it or not.
I really believe that people like us are a different class of owners, and if our cars could talk, they would be thanking us. Just think about it, we understand them, we know how to fix their problems, and for the most part they give us just what we need without complaint. Somehow though, I don't think "honey, I wish you were more like my Mercedes" would fly though, and "you're just like my Mercedes" probably wouldn't be taken as a compliment. Oh, and "you're just like my Fairlane," well... I'll stay away from that one at least until I've got it looking good. Women, if you've got one that understands, you're lucky, if you've got one who tolerates, you're probably ok; otherwise, keep looking.