I parked out side of Noodles and Company the other day and one of the cooks came running when he saw my car. He was so excited, he couldn't stop circling the car with his hand covering his mouth saying, "This thing is so sick! I want one so bad!" So I started talking to him, and he pointed to his car and said he wanted to sell it and get an ae86. He was driving a Subaru STI. It's funny that a driver of one of the most technologically advanced driving machines on the roads today, would rather drive a ratty old ae86. So I jokingly asked if he wanted to trade. He replied, "I'm so sick of that thing I actually would." My heart stopped for a second, not because of how ridiculously good that trade would be for me financially, but because he was putting me in a hard place. How could I even consider trading my baby that i have been building for over six years? But it was so tempting because I know I could afford two nicer ae86's than my own for the worth of that STI.
There is something to be said for driving a car that you have built yourself. When you have a bond with a car like I do with mine, you start to get to know the soul of the car, mainly because you built the soul yourself. This is precisely why I could hardly stomach the idea of trading it off. I will take this encounter as a sign that my car has come a long way, finally receiving the appreciation it deserves. It's funny that cars are judged by how they look on the outside just like people. I respect a person for who they are on the inside, just like a car should be respected on how it is built from the inside out.
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