Our QOTDs tend to be about us and our cars. But what about the other person in your life (assuming there is one)? Do they share your enthusiasm for stopping the car to shoot your latest CC find or your interminable restoration project that’s kept the garage off limits for decades? Or do their reactions mirror that of the unfortunate passenger in this photo?
As CCers, we have a leg up on other auto enthusiasts in our tendency and obligation to tie historical and cultural context into our pieces. Cars are more than just engineering, they engage the senses and reflect the popular aspirations of their era. Those qualities are accessible to most, and even my non-carloving peers enjoy catching up on the website from time to time.
On the other hand, the auto bug hit most of us early, and if many of us can remember when, we can’t remember exactly why it happened. Our obsession with cars has long meant something entirely different to those in our lives who don’t share our hobby and gearheads have long used the internet as a refuge in which they could share their passion with like-minded individuals. But even within the enthusiast community at large, our unique love of obscure models is sometimes lost on others.
So in your personal life, where does your significant other stand; do they participate in your love of often-unglamorous models? Would they prefer your focus be directed toward universally accepted classics? Are they ambivalent? Do they hate cars? Or do you honestly need to take a step back from the garage and/or computer and indulge them with participation in their own interests?
She was just a tolerant bystander… Until she got to drive the car on the set of the movie “American Hustle,” and Christian Bale gave her (or the car… or something else entirely) an admiring glance.
Where was this? Filming for some city street scenes in “American Hustle” was done in downtown Worcester, MA, right outside of the building where my wife works (insert joke here about how downtown Worcester still looks like something out of the ’70s, making it a suitable backdrop for filming a movie set in a northeastern city in that period). She was able to go down to the lobby of her building to watch a bit of the proceedings, and even take a few pictures. In addition to the actors, she made note of some of the ’60s & ’70s cars they were using, and took one picture featuring an A-body collonnade Buick sedan, a Corvette, and a Checker.
My wife went to the set in Woburn, while I got to bring the car to the sets in Lynn and Medford. I don’t recall seeing colonnade Buick or Checker, but I did chat with one of the Corvette owners. Cool guy, and the car is his pride and joy as you’d expect (“I made it better than new”!).
I saw on the news that another gangster movie is being filmed in Boston (Whitey Bulger, I think), and I recognized some of those cars from the American Hustle set: a lovely green ’68 Newport Coupe (but I’m prejudiced–our car is a ’67 Monaco hard top sedan), and also a LeSabre coupe (’69, I think). There’s a company around here that seems to supply cars for a lot of movies, so you get a lot of “repeats.”
Just in case any CC’ers haven’t seen this site yet, I highly recommend http://www.imcdb.org, which is the internet movie CAR database. It’s crowd-sourced, so people provide screenshots from movies & TV shows, and identify the cars within. Like wikipedia, it’s not perfectly accurate or complete, but still surprisingly good.
The Worcester Telegram has a slideshow on its web site with photos of the scenes being filmed in Worcester. Two of the pictures (18 and 31) show several cars:
http://www.telegram.com/gallery/WT/20131219/NEWS/121909992/18
http://www.telegram.com/gallery/WT/20131219/NEWS/121909992/31
Several other pictures have a car or two:
http://www.telegram.com/gallery/WT/20131219/NEWS/121909992/5
http://www.telegram.com/gallery/WT/20131219/NEWS/121909992/12
http://www.telegram.com/gallery/WT/20131219/NEWS/121909992/15
http://www.telegram.com/gallery/WT/20131219/NEWS/121909992/16
http://www.telegram.com/gallery/WT/20131219/NEWS/121909992/30
The car in photo 12 is probably the same Buick my wife saw. Main Street is downtown; Millbury Street is in another area of the city where they also did some filming. The crew also filmed at the Worcester Art Museum, but there were no outside shots there that would have had cars in them.
No interest but tolerant sums it up.
She likes to go for a cruise from time to time, and then to the odd car show (but not for too long!) but that’s as far as it goes…
Im recently divorced. My ex claimed she hated my cars and that they were a factor in her leaving but the fact was that she was a cheating whore and nothing would have changed that.
My present girlfriend is very supportive of my car hobby and loves going out to car events with me, and either she will drive my ’78 Trans Am, which has power steering & brakes and is a little more lady-friendly than a monster motor musclecar with no power steering, or ride along with me in a car with a bench seat 🙂
The only thing my wife knows about cars is that when you turn the key they start, when you step on the one pedal they go, and when you step on the other one they stop. I’ve been working on it, and she’s been attentive, even picking up a number of things, but she’s definitely not a gearhead.
That said, she does admire classic cars for the works of art that they are, which is better than nothing. Here in Carlisle we have a ton of car shows we can go to, and she has a good time when she goes.
Lots of tolerance and the occasional mild interest.
She has become remarkable adept at identifying unusual cars, but has to be careful not to unleash a gale of interesting (to me) information and stories about it.
Some other interests we share. She has others that leave me no more than lukewarm. Compromise is the key and spending lots of time together on the things that we both love.
She had a 64 Mercury Marauder when I met her. She now tolerates my changing mind and that is not an easy thing (even for me). She’s a keeper.
I’m very lucky, because Stephanie has always been all about pursuing one’s interests, and being supportive. CC hunting fits in well with love for walking, and she will call me when she sees interesting cars. She’s not good at identifying them properly, which means sometimes I’ll drive to see what she’s found to see a car that I’ve already shot. But she’s found some real gems for me, including the ’65 Continental.
Really, it goes much further than that. She has talked me out of pulling the plug on CC a number of times, because I do get burned out from time to time, and I’m a bit moody and impulsive. CCing takes quite a lot of time, but we make sure we leave enough for each other.
I don’t think this would have worked in the earlier years of our relationship, what with kids and other demands. But after 37 years, we’ve figured out how to support each other and know how to balance our respective interests and needs.
My hobby has added a lot of color and new friends to our life, and she’s an active participant, if not so much on the actual pages of CC. I don’t think CC would exist without her active support.
My partner also encouraged me to get involved with CC. The result was the ’66 Newport post in November. I would’ve been too timid without his pushing me to get involved.
So does your partner share your passion? You didn’t answer your own question 🙂 (you might have mentioned it in a previous article).
Paul, if you decided to quit CC, would you let it live on and have the current hierarchy keep it running?
Let’s cross that bridge if we have to. Frankly, I’m over that phase, that was in the past. I’m committed.
“Frankly, I’m over that phase, that was in the past. I’m committed.”
Woohoo!
‘You ain’t goin’ nowhere.
Woo-ee, ride me high…’
Thank you Stephanie. And Perry.
+1
++2
Thank goodness!
She sounds like a great gal. You definitely are lucky! I don’t know how some women “do it all”. Seems like there are fewer of them these days, though! Real lucky :).
I’d say so. My GF once owned a Jensen-Healey along with her late first husband and in more recent years owned a Touring Package Miata (6-speed, of course).
If she were to win the lottery tomorrow her choices would be either a BRZ, another Miata or a restored Volvo P1800 (she was a huge fan of The Saint as a kid) for a “fun” car and a Forester XT (preferably a pre-2009 model with a 5-speed) for a DD.
BTW, my CC avatar is the sticker she has on the back window of her Forester….
I need one of these for my Corvair!
QOTD: Does Your Significant Other Share Your Automotive Passion?
Answer: No.
…i have never yet met a true petrol head that’s a female and i don’t think they exist
Drop down four replies. I’ve run into three (and that’s just the serious relationships). Obviously, I’ve collected the one meant for you somewhere along the way.
I knew one but she was a bit crazy in a bad way.
you know there was actually a true case in the late ’70’s of a prominent NZ Court of Appeal Judge’s eldest child and only daughter Mandy who ‘turned’ against the establishment and went flatting on her own at an early age where she promptly tore down her Morrie 1000’s long block on the kitchen table (and had the NZ Herald involved to photograph and publish her bizarre self expression .. i seem to recall her younger brother did something similar and became a midwife (some sibling confusion perhaps occurring here ..cylinders and pistons, or was it pistons and cylinders. . . .
Met one in Tasmania I restored a 59 Beetle for her she owned 4 Morris Minors 3 splitscreen Kombies a 72 2 ton Dodge flatbed hemi 245 motor, 2 beetles and a mint one owner 94k mile EK Holden wagon at once, a true car nutter.
…some lying chicks say on dating sites that they ‘like V8’s’ ..but when questioned they don’t even know the difference between a big block and a small block let alone a Mopar from a Henry and don’t know what ‘GM’ stands for…
Well, then…that’s the end of that date….good day to you madam!
…they think a ‘piston’ is something you wee into on a long trip
You did what in your cup?
I’m single these days. My last long term gf (ended late last year) was actually supportive. She knew that my taste in large, chromey Detroit iron was part of my personality. I think she had an appreciation for that as one of my quirks. She also drove the Buick herself hundreds of miles without me there and without any trepidation. Sounds like a keeper but unfortunately had other issues which ultimately scotched things.
My interest in land barges has never really encountered hostility from any woman I’ve dated casually or seriously, however. Because I am basically a preppy Manhattan/Connecticut lawyer, I think the fact that I don’t have a German car or old Volvo like everyone else in my demographic is actually considered either (a) interesting and quirky in a positive way or (b) harmless/cute. Most of them have enjoyed riding around in the cars as a unique experience, though only the one discussed above has ever driven, or wanted to drive, them more than very short distances. I’d add that being a car owner in a city where nobody owns a car, and having access to my parents’ town beach sort of renders the type of car irrelevant. If anything mine can fit more people and stuff so it’s a bonus.
I have many other hobbies and interests, so the big car fascination is just one aspect of my personality and is not all consuming.
I’ve been very lucky in this regard.
I learned to autocross due to this lovely young thing in Erie, PA driving a Fiat 124 Spyder. And, of the early days, she wasn’t the only one.
First wife (Sally) hated cars. Wasn’t happy with my motorcycle, either. Automatics only. We had other interests.
Interim girlfriend (Heather) had Coca-Cola tastes on a water pocketbook. Just the same, her father was a real gearhead, and she inherited it from him. Nothing special in cars, but she could really haul ass thru traffic in the Geo Metro I got her. Automatics not allowed in the driveway, except for pickup trucks – and manuals preferred there, too. Flew ladies colors in two M/C’s. That’s what killed the relationship in the long run, however.
Second wife (Patti) brought an E36 M3 into the marriage. Came from a motorcycle family, bought me a ’69 BSA A50R Royal Star as an engagement gift. Watched MotoGP, World Superbike, AMA Superbike with me on a weekly basis. Flew ladies colors in two M/C’s and did herself damned proud. My best memory of her will always be the last time she was on a motorcycle with me, before her health finally collapsed – doing a very illegal, high speed lap around the Indianapolis MotoGP course in 2009 – on my 1969 Triumph Bonneville cafe racer. Also brought me my 1930 Indian 101 Scout (it was her father’s).
Current fiancee (Maggie) – redneck country girl and motorhead. Follows NASCAR (she’s got me going), Formula 1, MotoGP with me. Looks damned good on the pillion of a motorcycle. Currently driving a mildly riced-out ’05 Kia Spectra SX with a decal on the back window that says “You’ve just been smoked by a girl”. Shows up with me at Innsbrook Cars and Coffee every other Saturday. Will agree to any car purchase that tickles my fancy. Really, really, really wants a T-top Camaro like the one she had and her ex-husband totaled.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, we’re due for tonight’s episode of “Wheeler Dealers”.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, we’re due for tonight’s episode of “Wheeler Dealers”.
The Porsche or the RX 7?
Syke: congratulations. And follow my advice: refuse to get old!
Some of us do things wrong. Some do it right. You have to do the things you love to do and if a woman comes along who has the same passions you win.
That 911 was a rough doggie.
There are probably bachelor’s apartments that were less ratty than that car. Jeez!
The RX-7, saw the Porsche last week. And we’re both eagerly awaiting next weeks’ 2CV. Yes, Maggie grew up in a world of Ford Explorers (what she was driving when we met) and jacked-up F-150’s . . . . . . . but she knows what a Citroen is.
I can’t get old. I never had kids.
That 2CV episode was great–Dad and I watched it a few weeks ago.
She tolerates my hobby. As she says, I could do much worse things with my time. 🙂 Besides, she understands this passion as her father is a big time pre-1940 car guy who owns a few models and also a 1960 MB 190SL. She got a bit fed up with old cars while growing up and won’t go to car shows anymore.
She appreciates 1930s American cars and ’60s Jaguars ans Benzes. While I appreciate just about any car over 25 years old, my own old cars are both Japanese (’84 Supra, ’81 Tercel). She finds them ugly, but knows This Sup is my favorite car from the ’80s, the one that always made my head turn when I saw one, which was rare. I would have had a poster on my wall if I could find one back then.
Oh and she won’t drive any of my cars since she refuses to drive manual. However, she may change her mind as she will inherit a 1932 Chrysler from her dad someday.
My wife is mildly interested. She enjoys going for Sunday drives and stopping for ice cream, and the attention the cars garner. She has no interest in working on them or attending dedicated car shows though.
Closest thing I have to a S.O. is my mother, who tolerates my hobby, but occasionally finds it a wee bit obsessive. On the plus side, she can tell the difference between a salt-of-the-earth G-body Regal and a Grand National.
At the age of 46, after a lifetime of hum drum vehicles my wife was tacitly agreeable to me buying a fun car. For a lot of reasons, mainly affordability, dependability and low cost of ownership I bought a 1999 Miata 10th Anniversary Edition, with just 44,000 miles on it. She likes to go for the occassional drive with me I suppose, but has no interest in learning to drive the car, which has a manual. On a recent drive with the Miata on a left turn I managed to do a 360 spin out on a main road, scaring the crap out of both of us. Luckily nobody was behind or in front of us, it could of been bad. I still am not sure how the spin out happened, as the Miata is very controllable and barely quick enough to get out of its own way. She has not been in it since.
Though she hasn’t necessarily shared my interest in the past my wife has always been supportive and has encouraged my son’s interest as well. There have been multiple times when I’ve been on the fence about buying a car and she has always pushed me towards buying it.
Recently I bought another CC, a 1990’s vintage Mercedes SL, that is the first convertible I’ve bought that she can drive because it is an automatic and she has been having a great time with it. She has also shown an amazing tolerance for the various unresolved issues and array of warning lights that seem to come with owing a 20 year old German car in the short time it has lived in our garage (if her minivan was even a fraction as difficult she would have thrown a fit) and has gotten to know several of the German car repair shops in the area. Even a trip to the mechanic is fun if you can do it with the top down. She was especially excited after it finally passed our state emissions test and could finally get a license plate and we could drive it legally (of course three days later the check engine light came back on).
As long as I figure out how to make the power top work before fall (and not too much else goes wrong) she may remain a convert.
Shares my interest.
Reference – all my articles about my 1967 Mustang. She even named the car – Sally. 😉
Now she wants her own muscle car. I’m trying to convince her that she should get a brand new Charger R/T. If you saw her drive (FAST) you’d want her to be surrounded by a ridiculous number of airbags and safety nannies too.
No. My husband has no interest or knowledge of cars other than to drive them. I’m the car crazy one 😉
SWMBO is *very* supportive , travels most anywhere in whatever old Klunker I’m driving that day (I don’t own any Moderns) , has gone camping in Death Valley in my ’49 Chevy Pickup a few times and drove to Canada and back in a clapped out Metropolitan Nash .
She once bought me 5 LT radial tires for my panel truck , pushed me to buy my current Metropolitan Nash FHC and even paid for part of it’s purchase .
I’m *extremely* lucky .
-Nate
My wife likes some cars and driving for fun, although she hates driving for errands, after-school activities and so on. ON the plus side she drive a stick and ride a motorcycle, although her primary wheeled obsession is bicycles.
She is also a bit eccentric since her automotive loves include both the Porsche 914 and the Mercedes Sprinter, along with original Minis and F150 crew cabs.
My wife isn’t into cars. Her daily driver is a manual though. She tolerates my obsession, and occasionally that wears thin too. She’s not a very good helper when I’m working on a vehicle either.
I had my first big old Chrysler for years before we met, and was already toying with the idea of buying another while we were dating, so she had an idea what she was in for. She’s been pretty reasonable about letting me take the kids in the Chryslers, though she doesn’t like me taking them in the convertible on the highway. She doesn’t think it’s as safe.
When I was shopping for a convertible, I said that I could get a nice 4-door hardtop for much less. She said, “Oh no, you’re buying a convertible.” Once a summer she’ll take the convertible, pick up a few of her friends, and go touring wine country for the day.
I manage to drag her out to the drag races once each summer and usually to one car show.
She doesn’t mind my interests and doesn’t show too much of an interest of her own but can definitely tell the difference between an older Caddy and an older Lincoln now.
She’s very supportive when It doesn’t start and I say, the pumps not running, lets find a piece of wire and hook it here, yep, now it runs, let’s go! Or, they want HOW MUCH to change this? And HOW MUCH for that part? BS, I’ll buy it from this place and pop it in this afternoon. So now let’s have a nice dinner and go to the beach with the money we saved. But when I see a cool old car and say, when’s the last time you saw one of those, I get a meh response. But then again, she doesn’t even remember the make of her last car, just that it was a pos. But she knows I love my car that I have had since 91, and is happy it always (eventually) gets us where we want to go. Another advantage, she’s blind so I don’t have to fix her car or have her complain about my driving!
My wife thinks we should take our daily drivers to a shop to get maintenance and repairs done. She’s finally coming around to the fact that it’s notgonnahappen. I’ve also learned that it helps to point out how much money we saved after I DIY something.
Mild interest & Anne tolorates my car hobby- in scale & Skylark forms.
It’s the payoff from me doing most routine maintaince on her car.
She’s getting better at spotting interesting cars too!
M. had a 1963 Ford Falcon as a DD before she got the Mk4 Golf. She loved old cars and really wanted a 65 Mustang. Great person.
A. – coincidently – also had a 63 Falcon which I believe is still her DD. Another great one.
L. – as it turns out – just used me for my 1971 Alfa 105 Coupe. Slattern.
A(2). Gorgeous, wealthy, vacuous. Our relationship lasted one date before she discovered my DD was a 76 Toyota Crown.
Apart from that, cars have had no bearing on my relationships (for want of a better word). It tends to limit the field somewhat. However, there is that woman I saw driving a black Fiat 130 Coupe a few years ago…
I don’t know about you guys, but the image of that female working on the (300 Ford?) inline 6 has the nascent makings makings of a country song. Calling Sammy Kershaw.
Darlin’ just seein’ you in that brassiere
Up to your armpits in that inline 6
Makes me realise I just doan caire
Bout your friends, all them other pricks.
They call him Don, because he’s Godfather of Lyrics.
So keep on wrenchin’ your way into my heart
The love we have will never part
Because you didn’t give me hell today
For wining that rusty Lark on eBay
..the ’60’s setting BBC series ‘Heartbeat’ featured a cute young hourglass blonde working in the village garage doing all the grease monkey work ..amazing piece of weirdness i have yet to see ..ever ..anywhere ..but pretty cool ..good story ..a piece of total fantasy mixed-in with down to earth petty crime stories
Great for car and bike spotting and some good 60s music.
.. yesss true indeed 🙂 ..did they wreaaally use Anglia’s as chase cars??? OMG (one of my old aunts had an early 105E ..i used to cycle over from St Johns to Epsom on my 3 speed Raleigh to wash and cut and polish it for her every month or so as a 13 yr old …when i finally got my licence a few days after the 15th birthday and could drive it at last ..i was gob smacked at the pick-up (or rather near complete absence of ..a bicycle could have easily outrun it from a standing start to 30mph it seemed to me ..honestly 🙂
When I was a kid in the 60s (Heartbeat period) the Ford Zodiac was used as a pursuit car.Anglias,Escorts and Morris Minors/1300s were used as patrol cars(later called Panda cars).Panda cars were a bluey grey green colour at each end with a white bit in the middle.
Panda cars were usually sent to bar brawls,burglaries etc were a pursuit was unlikely
🙂 ..as in ‘Z Cars’?? of course…. 🙂
when i think about it the Heartbeat series we are seeing right now on southern hemisphere ‘Sky’ shows the sergeant indeed driving around in a nice black Mark 3 and the plods driving the Anglias and the junior bobby still on a bicycle … it IS a GREAT series (i love the doctor .. she is sooooo charming ..actress named Sophie Ward)
Single for a long time.I helped out with boyfriends cars in the past,usually rubbing down odd coloured doors or panels to be painted.
I scared off a potential boyfriend in the early 80s he didn’t want a Javelin driving Amazon who went to metal concerts.
…Jowett Javelin ? ? cool machine 🙂
Methinks AMC. Warrant concert Gem?
Back then I was mainly a fan of Iron Maiden,Judas Priest,Motorhead,Saxon & Girlschool though I enjoyed seeing Blue Oyster Cult,Joan Jett and Hanoi Rocks (I had a crush on frontman Mike Monroe)
Warrant came a bit later (84- 85 ish?) I heard a few tracks but was never a fan.Jani Lane and many others copied Mike Monroe’s look heavily.
Gem, have you met Roger Carr? 😉 Maybe he’s married, but we should be able to play matchmaker for you and a UK CCer.
Er… that 4th photo is totally disgusting!
Wifey does share my interest in cars, but if we ever had a car that left her stranded more than once, she would refuse to drive it thereafter. I wouldn’t want her to, nor would I. Having said that, our 1992 LeBaron did leave me stranded a couple of times due to a failed fuel pump once, and low or no oil pressure a couple of times.
The LeBaron convertible was a beautiful car, but a problem child the 8½ years we owned it.
This article reminds me of a visit to the local pull-a-part a couple of years ago. Bright sunny warm day. There was a couple ahead of me, looking to be in their early 20s. The guy had a new clean white T shirt with the obligatory baggy jeans. He was strutting like he was the coolest guy on the planet. His girl friend, on the other hand, was along side him lugging his tool box with both of her hands. Talk about true love!
I returned home and told my wife that if she really loved me, she’d lug my toolbox through the junkyard. Her only response was to give me “the look.”
Ha. This reminds me of a Bob Newhart story about how his wife got mad at him for not taking out the trash.
Bob: You know honey, I bet Joanne Woodward never yells at Paul Newman for forgetting to take out the trash.
Mrs. Bob: If you were Paul Newman, I wouldn’t yell at you either.
I guess I’m pretty fortunate- he likes Miatas and Muscle cars (huh?) and I’m into SAAB and other funky european cars.
Currently the stable consists of:
My daily, a 2008 Toyota Yaris, a “nice-day-daily” 1997 SAAB 9000CSE and my “only for perfect weekends” 1988 900 Airflow Turbo.
He has is daily, 2008 Miata, a 1991 Miata that we turbocharged, and a 1990 Mercedes 560SEC
My wife is tolerant of my love for cars. She’s ok with me getting a classic car to tinker with once I find “the one”. She’s actually suggesting we build a garage to make it easier for me to work on one.
Otherwise, she pretty much falls asleep at the mention of cars.
However, last night she helped me change the oil on my Arctic Cat side by side. Well, she did it because I sliced my hand open while putting the oil filter back on and the bleeding made it difficult to pour the new oil in. But still…
My wife knows more than she used to, but I wouldn’t say she shares my passion. She certainly encourages me, will go to car shows, is tolerant of the magazines that pile up, and keeps telling me to buy myself that (older) 911 or classic Mercedes that I’ve always wanted. So that’s not bad.
My wife had a Nissan 300ZX when we met, and the Z car was a replacement for a Corvette. Shortly after our wedding we bought a Thunderbird Turbo Coupe to replace the Nissan. At that time I had a Mustang GT and she taught herself to drive a 5 speed by taking it out of the garage and driving around the block, getting used to clutching and shifting. Later she had a Celica (with a 5 speed) and a Mustang GT convertible as her daily drivers. She has moved on to driving SUV’s now (current driver is a Highlander) but I am trying to get her interested in buying some kind of 60’s convertible as a “play” car. Perhaps after I retire in a couple of years and won’t need a daily driver.
I married a mechanic’s daughter. Tolerance, occasional interest, occasional anger, likes the smell of lanolin hand cleaner.
This week she did say “I would really like to drive this thing this year” when I rolled out the VW project.
> This week she did say “I would really like to drive this thing this year” when I rolled out the VW project.
That sounds like permission to spend more time in the garage!
Mrs. Capn is supportive enough to let me have her garage space during the summer. The barge served as our wedding limo, but she’s only driven it once and she doesn’t like it on the highway…partly because the AC doesn’t work so the windows stay open.
She’d really, really like an Avanti, though a Golden Hawk would do.
I like the way Mrs. Capn thinks!
🙂 Well, we met in design school, she knows her Loewy. I doubt she’d enjoy driving them.
Politely tolerant, with the occasional attempt to show slightly elevated interest. But then (in addition to my long string of eclecticly-painted cars), she’s also had to put up with a 1/5th share in a Cessna 172 (she enjoyed going on 1-2hr flights, so that was a “win”), and me spending one night a week with the gang “whanging” on our replica Nieuport 11 projects (WWI fighters). Then we moved to the Middle West and flying was replaced with farming and two barnfuls worth of vintage tractors and implements. I’ve made sure she has something to drive that’s comfortable and roomy, so it seems to balance out okay.
I’m single myself, but a co-worker @ the library that I work at has a husband who owns a late 70s MGB & she likes to talk about it to me.
She’s tolerant, and understands the need for a hobby, as well as the need for some “down time” at car shows with my friends. I encourage her outside interests, too. It helps that I go to concerts, art shows, etc. that interest her. I do enjoy them, but they can also be a bargaining chip when there are two consecutive weekends of car shows – “I DID go to that harp concert, so….”
She’s not terribly interested in cars, but when her 1999 Chevrolet Cavalier died, I helped her pick out her current car, and steered her away from some bad choices (VW). This was right before we were married. Her 2005 Focus SE now has 178,000 miles on the odometer and is still going strong.
She at least understands the value of knowing about cars and how to take proper care of them. As she puts it, “This Focus is the first car that has lasted long after I finished paying for it, and the air conditioning still works, too.”
I’m trying to encourage the interest of my daughters – now 2 and 4 – in cars. My older daughter wants a purple Mini!
Mrs. JPC has been mildly supportive. When I have owned an old car (or 3), she has enjoyed going for rides together, although she started to freak out a bit in the Model A with its weak mechanical brakes when dealing with modern traffic.
Married for 24 years, so we have a pretty good idea of what the other is about, and the cars on their own aren’t really her thing. One of these times, time and finances may lead to another extra “toy” car, and she will be supportive. However, I have no desire to dive into a car hobby to the exclusion of doing other things together. Its all about balance.
My wife has some interest, but is by no means a gearhead. She is proud of being able tell the difference between a 65 and 66 Mustang, but then will get them confused with a 67-68, so go figure. She likes watching FastnLoud with me, but would rather watch Downton Abbey (not with me!). Overall, I can’t complain, she is generally tolerant.
My wife considers my love of cars a good thing, and I always point out interesting old cars and trucks I find on the web, or that I see and photograph when we’re out and about. As a trucker’s daughter she’s been around various vehicles all her life, so it’s a good fit.
No, is my answer. privately she will complain to me that I have eight cars and why don’t I sell some and will point out the Mustang or Cougar. One, the first I restored in 1984 and the second my first car. Needless to say most know the answer. Or, another argument, is when she manages to do something to her car which takes it down for a couple of weeks. She complains there is then no spare for her to drive and why can’t she use one. Does that mean I have an opening for a ninth car?
However, when we go to a couple of car shows with one of the cars then she will mention all my other cars when someone expresses interests in what I have. Well, Filipinas can be unpredictable even to themselves.
hey man..i already have ten ..not including trailers(3), caravan and motorbikes galore (kawasaki/suzuki 1/suzuki 2/norton/triumph) ..mine keeps singing the same tune ..’sell them .. sell them ..sell them’ ..only way to chill from this is to …get another one!!!!
mm
Like many of you, my wife does not pay much attention to the car thing. As long as it starts when she turns the key, the radio works, and the heat and A/C do their thing, and as long as it does not look beat and ragged, she is indifferent.
She does not drive a manual shift, and has no interest. But much to my delight when we were in the small child raising years she wanted nothing to do with either a minivan or an SUV. She loved her Taurus wagons.
As far as the car hobby goes, she has been fantastic. Sure she gets worn out at times, but on the other hand, when it came time to buy a camping trailer to take our three young daughters camping, in exchange for buying a new pop-up camper rather than a used pop-up, we spent very little money on a tow vehicle. In 2002 for what would have been a down payment on an SUV we picked up a showroom condition 1991 Mercury Colony Park with 61,000 miles. 4 trips from Minnesota to Florida, a participant in the Ford 100th anniversary celebration, and seeing two kids off to college (so far), it is now a family heirloom.
In the meantime I have also owned two different first generation RX-7’s. I am not sure how much more supportive a woman could be!!
I love di-noc wagons. Finding a woman who would love and appreciate one is truly an accomplishment. (Beautiful Colony Park, by the way).
The love of my life isn’t mechanically inclined, but she sure appreciates a car with character.
Right after I met her 20 years ago, she crashed her old Mercedes sedan and replaced it with an Alfa GTV6 Quadrifoglio. Now Lily’s driving her prize for publishing her first novel, a 2003 Mini Cooper S in red with all the trimmings, including the 6-speed. Manual transmission has been a lifelong requirement, “I like the control it gives me.” She just adores this car.
She encouraged me to get my ’93 Miata, and loves when we take it out together on dates.
I’m a very, very lucky man.
Mild interest, but nothing that compares to my somewhat ridiculous passion! I get nagged sometimes about the amount of money that’s going toward cars that could better be spent elsewhere, but on the other hand, at times he’s gotten just as nostalgic as I do about some of the cars I’ve dredged up (and bought). We are exactly the same age, so we remember and drove many of the same cars growing up. He also has been super helpful when I needed help installing something or the like, and that makes up for a lot of nagging. And honestly, I think he secretly likes the cars a little bit more than he’ll admit!
When it was my old 300D, nope…now that she’s bought herself a ’98 Z3, it’s our major shared hobby. Something to do with it being her idea, I think–that and the greater number of admiring glances one gets in a cute roadster vs. a beater W123 sedan. (“It’s an old German* car, it will have problems,” I did tell her. As long as she’s fully aware…)
*South Carolina-built, admittedly.
Not one bit. I am on my own. For him as long as his car is safe, dependable and comfortable it makes no difference the brand. He will occasionally drive a special interest car of mine without having any interest:)
Although I am not against the possibility of meeting a nice lady sometime, I am rather set in my ways, with a number of automobilia adorning the walls and shelves of my condo, and with boxes of old magazines and brochures in my garage and closets.
On the other hand, it made the purchase of my Lincoln so damn easy! I wanted the car and I bought it. Done deal. Finest kind, Cap! I likes my freedom…
She loves riding in our Cobra. But lately she has demanded (and got) to drive it. It was not suppose to work this way…..
See what I mean?
My main squeeze of past year-and-a-half is more than tolerant of my car interest. We have plenty of other problems, but cars aren’t one. But then, she’s a lady of a certain age who somehow ended up driving a riced-out red Acura Integra with a big airdam on the front and even even bigger wing on the back — a jerkwad boy-racer more suitable to a 20ish male with a lot of speeding convictions on his record. Not sure what compelled her to buy this particular modded Acura but it’s an unsuitable DD for her and gets her pulled over by the cops a lot even when she’s not breaking any laws. It’s not even particularly fast. Just a problem car for a problem girlfriend.
The good part about all this, however, is that it puts her in no position to complain about the time/money I spend on my Camaro (which fortunately she likes and approves of) and other auto-related recreational activities.
BTW, if anyone here really wants to find a gearhead girlfriend, move to LA. SoCal has more women into cars than there are New York MEN who are into cars. For best results, buy a ’50s hot rod, adopt a Rockabilly lifestyle, and go find yourself one of the many, many Bettie Page-type gals in that subculture. But be aware she might have a better car than you.
I wouldn’t say my fiance (soon to be wife in September) doesn’t have an interest in cars. She likes going to the Chicago Auto Show and what she terms “pretty” cars. She even likes old cars that are “pretty” (restored). She doesn’t like beat up old cars, junk yard crawling, or working on cars. She leaves that to me. Cruise nights/car shows are not her thing either. I guess she goes like cars enough though. She drives a grabber blue 2012 Mustang. It shares the garage with my Thunderbird. My dd Focus has to sit outside because the “pretty Mustang” has to sit inside. She even likes it enough to let it sit over the winter like my Thunderbird (keep it out of the salt).
I think the key is that you don’t have to have every interest in common, just some. For instance she likes knitting. I don’t. I like to old cars/trains/air planes. She usually doesn’t care unless it’s “pretty”. We both however love cooking, camping, and going to concerts. Those things end up taking most of our free time vs the hobbies we enjoy alone.
Not yet…
/optimism
My wife’s DD has a stick – and a turbo. And she really likes it. But she has no real interest in cars in any socio-techno-cultural way. But we bond in many other ways and have for a quarter-century now. We met when you could still buy a new Alfa Milano in the US. But she has no idea what an Alfa Milano is.
No. She has had no interest in cars at all, except as an appliance.
No interest whatsoever. She thinks old cars are ugly, doesn’t understand my fascination with obscure vehicles and big old american cars, and has no interest going to shows/cruises/etc. In fact, she thought my Marauder looked like a “grandpa car with rims”. She won’t drive or ride in the Crown Vic unless she absolutely has to because it “ages her 20 years”. She has no interest in learning to drive a manual. And she generally tunes out the moment I start talking about anything car-related.
On the plus side, she doesn’t mind if I go to events, just so long as I don’t drag her along. And she’s become remarkably tolerant of me stopping to photograph interesting cars when we go for walks. I’ve even gotten her on board with setting aside some finds to fix up my old Malibu, once I have the space to do so that is.
We’ve got other shared interests; cars simply aren’t one of them.