Hemmings - The Joy of Old Cars

Yesterday, as I walked up to one of my favorite brunch spots, I saw a 1966 Ford Mustang coupe parked right in front (see photo). It was in nice, running condition, with good metallic blue paint and original wheel covers. I smiled in recognition and appreciation.

As I left after a tasty Creole chicken omelette, I saw a clean, driveable c. 1961 Volvo P1800 drive up and park right behind the Mustang. Heaven.

I love old cars, even if they are not very environmentally friendly. Seeing them out on the road is great fun, and always has been. I also enjoy reading about them, and for that, there's Hemmings Classic Car for American models and Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car for imported cars.

Not only is it fun to look at the photos of the old cars, but you can read about the adventures of people who go beyond looking and take on the often arduous long term and expensive task of restoring these cars and preserving them for future generations. These highly obsessive folks are like the people in, say, a muscle-building magazine who are highly developed, or the tattoo folks with bodies covered with ink. They're the super achievers.

I especially enjoy the Driveable Dream sections in each publication. These stories are about old cars and their owners, but the cars are used by the people and are normally running, clean, but imperfect vehicles--like the ones I saw in front of my brunch spot. Sometimes, they are surprisingly old--like a 1938 Buick, for example, but still have original paint and interior fabric.

Meanwhile, I keep looking and reading, and, someday, I'll get my 1956 Nash Metropolitan back on the road and someone else will get to enjoy it when they see me drive by.