Here’s a story you have probably heard before…
“You should never meet your heroes. Paul Newman… I was so excited about meeting him, but he turned up in shell suit bottoms, slippers, and a jumper. He was just so worn out and old, he wanted to go home.” – Allan Carr.
There’s a high percentage chance, somewhere down the line someone has at least told you that meeting your childhood hero, may not be the best idea. That couldn’t be truer in today’s day and age; Right, Tiger Woods’ fans? The good news is, if you’re reading this, you didn’t just have Michael Jordan’s Space Jam poster on your bedroom wall. My guess is, you had an entire section of your room, dedicated to your favorite cars, and boxes full of Hot Wheels toy cars. I’m even going to bet you remember the first time you laid eyes on a few of those cars.
Replace “I wanna be like Mike” with “I wanna drive a Lamborghini” & things start to make a whole-lot-a-sense.
Ok, so let’s get something out of the way; When I say “meeting” someone, I don’t mean snapping a selfie with your favorite athlete or musician, as you walk by them at a restaurant… merely catching a glimpse of them doesn’t exactly count. Although, I will admit that crossing paths with supermodel/actress, Rebecca Romijn, was a day I won’t soon forget. So, how does that factor into the world of gas-guzzling, oil-pumping, tire-shredding machines? That’s when we begin to gauge our affinity of cars. So, I ask you…
What makes a car great? What makes a car, your dream car? There’s a reason why it deserves a place on your wall, or better yet, in your garage. Until it makes it all the way home, or even on to the list of ‘cars to own someday,’ you have to kick a few tires. You have to ‘meet’ your piles of perfectly shaped metal.
5 reasons why you have to meet your automotive heroes:
- Your favorite cars will never remain on that all-important list unless you finally get a chance to see it up close and get a bit personal with it. What other reason is there to walk the aisles of a car show? Surely, that desktop wallpaper folder isn’t going to create itself!
- No car makes it to the front of a car enthusiast magazine because it sucked to drive. Let’s be honest, until you get to experience it in person, stats don’t mean a thing – neither does your childhood photo collage.
- Shopping for your dream garage somehow begins, yet never really ends. You know every option and color combination you will have, but only the perfect one will do. Better start meeting a few of those bad boys.
- Unlike your human heroes, there isn’t a season or time of year that is just right to appreciate them. However, if it was up to you, there’s a car you’d choose for every day of the week.
- Last but not least, there’s no better way to serve up a shot of adrenaline like the climb from zero to 100 mph. Unless your so-called “hero” is Sebastian Vettel, and you happen to be sitting in the right seat of a Ferrari like this, you’re not even close.
So, where does that leave us? We may not all have a dream garage to wake up to every morning – yet. Heck, you may still be looking for your ‘Elenor.’ In fact, it took me ~10 years to finally score mine. I scoured forums and online car dealers for at least a year until finally pulling the trigger on an Alpine White with black interior, ZCP, E46 M3. Don’t worry, it was only two thousand miles away. (Is there a better reason for a road trip?)
I’ll leave you with this: get out and drive every car on that wall of automotive heroes, tell everyone who owns your dream car, how bad you want one someday… they’ll gladly tell you about the day they brought their home. It’s your responsibility as a car enthusiast, and it’s what keeps the stories of our heroes alive!
Have you met your automotive heroes before? Make sure you share your LEGENDARY stories in the comments below.
