It wasn’t my intent to create a Boomer web site. It’s the opposite of that. Anyone old enough to drive or who has a driver’s license will have car stories. Having a passion for cars crosses all ages, political beliefs, genders, ethnic backgrounds, and geographic locations.
Young people are just as interested in my 1968 Datsun 2000 as they are in my 2003 Honda S2000, although my money says they would prefer the newer Honda. My hope is that DigMyCar.com will drive more interest in preserving cars and therefore continue to generate many more fascinating stories. Someday electric cars will be classics, too.
I’ve been to plenty of car shows, classic car sales, and museums. The people I’ve met want to talk about their own car, what’s special about it, and why it means so much to them. No one starts a conversation about their work, church, club, or favorite vacation unless it involves their car.
You might wonder how did I get to this point of wanting to start the DigMyCar.com website? Over the last four years I searched and bought four cars, one each from the South, East Coast, West Coast, and Mid-West. My goal is probably like many others, to find that beautiful classic car that no one else has discovered. The odds are better than Farrah Faucett calling me 50 years ago but it isn’t easy. I learned a lot in the process.
So, earlier this year, I thought “maybe I could share information about the whole search, inspection, purchase, transport, repair, refurbish, insure, and store of older used cars.” How great would it be to post a list of all the car clubs and car shows that are going on? Specialty shops for hard-to-find tools and parts? And, to have interviews with big time collectors and restoration experts? Maybe Jay Leno will call and ask to put one of his cars on my site!
Soon after, I began researching how to set up a web site while I looked for someone to help me get it going. The more I talked to people with cars about the site, it became clear that I needed to focus more on the personal story aspect than the technical side, or resources and car clubs. Forums and websites already exist for that.
Sure, you can read a feature article about a classic car owner and how they restored their car in Hot Rod magazine or other similar media. There are lots of YouTube videos with people showing their projects, too. But where are the stories from all of the rest of us? Are we not worthy? The answer my friend, isn’t blowing in the wind. It’s “YES”.
To be sure I wasn’t just drinking too much of my own Kool-Aid, I interviewed over 30 people at three different car shows this summer. Every single person had at least one story and some had many. When asked if they would like to put their car photo and story online, they all said they wanted to participate and volunteered their email addresses.
You may think you’ve heard it all, but you’ll be surprised at what people have to say. For example, I was at a car show near Lansing, MI in June. I spoke to Becky about her 1977 Trans Am. “What’s the story?”, I asked. She said the car’s name was Bandit and she ordered it new in 1977 in “murder black with no bird on the hood.”
Bandit was no trailer queen. It looked like the car version of the Velveteen Rabbit, a little bit rough but well loved. Becky went on to say how much Bandit meant to her. She said that after she died, she planned to have her body cremated, then have the dust from her ashes mixed into Clear Coat. Her two sons were under orders to have Bandit repainted in the original murder black and clear coated with her ashes. The car had always been a part of her life and “now I’m gonna be a part of the car!”
Well, at first, I didn’t know how to respond. I hadn’t been caught in that type of conversation stopper since the time my co-worker from Alabama announced he invented a new dessert called “Gritsicles”. What? “Gritsicles are frozen grits on a stick.” Gritsicles haven’t made it to market, but you have to admit the concept might be a hit on the Shark Tank show.
Back to Becky and the Bandit story… I must have looked like a deer in the headlights for a moment but eventually I was able to respond. “Wow, I’ve never heard of that before. Did you think about just being buried in the car?” Yes, she had considered it, but the clear coat cremation plan was the best choice.
She was right. Brilliant. It all came clear to me: My Mother the Car! Now her sons and grandchildren could never sell Bandit. It would be like selling their own mother! It will survive for generations. Thanks to Becky for sharing her story…
I seem to always be looking for car storage and now need at least four slots during the winter. My cars aren’t show room quality so I’m not going to spend a fortune on storage. The storage subject is worthy of a separate blog or two on its own.
Anyhow, I was able to reserve two more spots at a storage site for next winter. Problem temporarily resolved. While the owner was giving me a tour of the facility, an early 1960s Pontiac was driven into a parking spot. He told me the original owner’s daughter had the engine repaired recently and it was a nice driver car. There was a hole located in the lower panel of the back door. “Oh that, her father accidently shot the car one time, and she doesn’t want to have it fixed.”
I said to him, “I understand. It has meaning.”
He replied, without knowing I was working on this web site at the time, “People don’t just buy a car. They buy the story about the car.” I couldn’t agree more…r