Fast Cars

In a way, nothing could be more American than auto racing, or more democratic.  I mean, who doesn’t race at one time or another?  So, rather than say I’m not a fan of the sport, I prefer to think of myself as a driver in good standing, and have been since July of 1970.  Trust me,   there’ve been a lot of races.

The one I’ll mention here occurred two months after I got my license that July (and how tricky my instructor was trying to get me to run a stop sign on the course).  As I recall, it was a Friday night in early September, and I was on my way in the family Ford Galaxie to visit my girlfriend, who went to school in the faraway North Shore.  My, how I zoomed down the express lanes of the Kennedy Expressway.  Let’s just say I was in the ballpark of the speeds Chuck Berry mentioned in the lyrics to “Maybelline.” 

I couldn’t get over how fast I was going; things looked cool in a blur.  Then, just like that, I throttled back, my need for speed entirely satisfied.  In all the time since, I’ve been more interested in getting to places on time (as opposed to late or early, both of which I hate).  But I still want a car that can go zero-to-sixty in a few seconds flat.

I like dependability and style along with performance.  Of all the cars I’ve had, the PT Cruiser was my favorite.  Talk about style; it looked like a ’40s’ panel truck.  At stoplights, people were always asking me about it.  There was also the time someone I knew, a true “gearhead,” said, “You know, a hemi would look just perfect in that.”  Yes, put a V-8 in my baby.

The PT took us to all of Clare’s area travel tournaments and twice to nationals in Kansas City.  After nine years, we switched to a Ford hybrid and gave the PT to Clare, who drove it another three years.  Even now, four years after its passing, we share tales of driving the PT.  You really don’t need Indianapolis or Dattona for that.

But a hemi would be nice.