I have a co-worker that can be characterized as a true car nut. He has owned several very valuable classic cars, and currently owns a actual Super Bird (I think it is a 71) with the areo nose and large wing. In fact he has it for sale. I doubt he has driven it for more than 15 minutes in the 5 years that he has owned it! It is now for sale at $180,000.

The sad part is, this car will live out its life in climate controlled show rooms and storage facilities until the day you can no longer buy gasoline at any price.

I think cars should be driven, used, and enjoyed. After all, a car is nothing but a machine, and machines go bad when they are not used.

So, where do you draw the line?

For me, there is nothing better than making the rubber hit the road. When I was in highschool my dad had a 1954 Corvette (I graduated in 1988). He let me take that out on a regular basis to take my girlfriend on dates! I guess I have just grown up around using them, and driving them like you stole them.

Your thoughts?

I agree!!!!! What is the sense of having something that you never use??????????

I bought my Vette to DRIVE!!!! and that is exactly what I do!!!! As much as possible!!!!

Both the C3 and the C4 are High Milers...the C4 is really close to 200ks and the C3 is at 198Ks.

Maybe the reason I don't have a ''collector'' is that I DO like to drive!! but I think even if I did I would probably drive the wheels off it!!!

|UPDATED|1/17/2003 4:34:28 AM|/UPDATED|

I have to agree that old cars should, no - NEED, to be seen AND heard! One of my bride's uncles has a 1928 Model A Tudor that is 99.9% original. It hasn't seen the light of day for over 20 years (and I bug him about that almost every time I see him to no avail!). He's nearly 80 now and I fear for what will happen to the car when he passes away. (At the opposite end of the spectrum is an older gent who lives just down the road from me. He has several old Model Ts and As and almost everytime I drive past his place during the warm weather months he is out tinkering on or polishing or prepping one his treasures for an antique car rally or gathering of some sort. I've stopped and talked with him on many occasions and he is just an absolute joy to converse with. When he passes on there will be a great void in the knowledge base of these machines from the early years of motoring history.)

My bride's oldest brother has a '70 AMX that also hasn't seen the light of day in over 15 years. I thought my getting "The Toy" would get his juices going again and nudge him to put some time and energy into getting it back on the road again. But he says it would cost too much (if he's going to do it he's going to do it right!) and he says he just doesn't have the desire to do that any more (but he won't sell it either - I've asked!). It is probably the most potent car I've driven to date (over 500 HP out of the 390 ci) and with 27 coats of candy apple red it hurts the eyeballs to look at it in direct sunlight!

It's a shame that both of those cars (and unfortunately many more like them) aren't out and about on a regular basis. Thankfully there are lots of folks who are just the opposite. Every Thursday night during the warm weather months there is an informal gathering of "motorized toys" at one of the few "true" drive-ins left around the Twin Cities metro area. It is only 10 minutes away from my house and I try to get there as often as possible 'cause you never know who's going to show up with what. From motorcycles to exotics, and everything in between, it's amazing to see the vehicles that show up there over the course of a summer. Everyone has a special love for their wheels and it is just a fun way to spend an evening. I'm sure there are gatherings like that in many places across the country, and around the globe for that matter. I'm just glad that I'm so close to this one.

Drive it. if you don't then it's just a piece of furniture that seats 2. might as well sell your C3 and buy an old couch and keep it in the garage. I drive mine just about every day. Just went to the beach for lunch today top down wind in my hair and a big smile on my face. (got a bunch of "nice vette"'s too) I'm lucky to live in a place that i can enjoy my C3 more than most owners and i take advantage of it. i always say when your old and gray you will wish you would have driven it and enjoyed it more.

My first vette was a 74 roadster loaded with every option but the big block. It was, to me, a treasure that I rarely drove for fear of devaluing it. I was so paranoid that when I did take it out I had to keep it in view at all times. NO ONE was aloud to drive it but me. Then I resurrected a basket case and I loosened up a bit with it. After a venture into street rods, I found out about the pure pleasure of your imagination. Now, if I know your name and you appear relatively normal (for a car nut) all you need is a desire to drive it and you will find my keys in your hand. I have let near strangers autocross my 93. And I tell my wife to race the 73 and try to break it. (She has gotten a first in class every time she has raced.)

Soooo... After all that, my point is, drive them. Life is too short to be worried about the small stuff. Nothing brings a smile faster than enjoying the fruits of your labors with others.

Alex

My brother owns a white '75 that has moved from one garage to the next over the last 15-20 years, and not under its own power! He got broadsided while it was parked outside his trailer and he had it into the bodyshop, getting the body redone, the interior replaced, etc. Then when the guy doing the work took too long he brought the car home and it has sat ever since. Hell, I drove that car to my Junior Prom! Did I have a grin that wouldn't stop that night?!

I too had hoped that by buying a Vette I could get him motivated to get in there and get her back on the street, teach me a few things under the hood, go to all the shows together, but to no avail. He too thinks it would be too costly to bring her back up to running condition, but I'm going to keep plugging away at him. Maybe someday we can be cruisin side by side, smiling all the way!


|UPDATED|1/17/2003 8:16:08 AM|/UPDATED|

Hi All!

I got my Baby to enjoy, & not keep her hidden from the elements! Either lousy weather or nice, I find any excuse to run: A trip to the store, going to work, just going around the block for the hack of it - I'm enjoying! When I'm at work, just look in the parking lot. You'll know I'm working tonight! A few guys I work with seem to get excited at how I can take her out in bad weather. That I should keep her in the garage. If I was worried about that, I would not have gotten her, but got a picture to hang in the garage, & that way, I would have a vette in the garage. My Vette's purpose in life is to run, & far be it from me to stop that! Anyway, I've rambled enough. My two cents is: It's your Baby, you are the one who paid your money for her, & if you wish to store or drive her, that is your freedom to choose!
Laters!

The man who lives behind me has a 69 427 vert that has no top, no wheels, no motor on the car. All the original pieces are in his garage, but the cockpit is filled with leaves and rubbish. I do not lie about any of this. I am 19, and that car was put on blocks 7 years prior to my birth. He is about 62 years old and hooked on opiates, but still claims that he will rebuild it one day. Can someone please help me steal this car, i doubt he would notice.

Like most of the respondents to this question, I too believe that cars of any kind are meant to be driven, enjoyed, and when possible, shared with others. I have four Vetts, 1970 Convertible, 72 coupe, 1990 ZR-1 (96,000 miles) and a 2000 convertible. The 70 is a Bloomington Gold quality car that gets driven to every show, rain or shine. My wife drives the 72 big block to the grocery store. During the summer months, the ZR-1 is my daily driver and the 2000, well, it's driven when all the others are being fixed.

I understand the need for some people to restore and trailer, and I guess someone needs to do that in order to preserve benchmark cars. However, I don't understand why people stash driver quality cars in their garages and let them sit and deteriorate for years. There are few activities I enjoy more than driving a high performance car. If and when the time comes that i don't drive a car any more, loose interest in it, or have no time for it, it is time to pass it on to someone who car enjoy it. I've sold several nice cars over the years that I primarily had no time for but was happy to see them go to owners who lavished the time, money and care on them that they deserved.

So, drive or sell 'em i say.

i have a friend that has a 57 chevy in his garage and has vowed to someday restore it and drive it. well its been in that garage 30 years and now he's 62 years old and is starting to realize he has wasted the better of his days with his dream ride stuffed in the garage instead of driving and enjoying it. he has begun to make it driveable now but he now regrets not doing it sooner.