To all you dads out there, Happy Father’s Day. At the beginning of this year, I joined your special club. It’s too early to tell if my little guy will be into cars, but what I do know is that I am because of my dad. I thought I would write something for him that tells him how much he’s influenced and helped me, and share it with you.
You Did This
Dad, maybe it was because you were into cars or perhaps you just knew that little kids like toys, but you (and Mom) gave Anthony and me a nice assortment of Hot Wheels, Matchbox, and Majorette cars. Trust me, we got your money’s worth out of them. You know that carpet in the room Anthony and I shared, the one with the dot pattern that formed a frame around the middle of it? Anthony and I used that as the racetrack for a dice-based board game we invented. For some reason, the black Lexus SC always did well. As a lifelong believer in Toyotas, maybe you get a little satisfaction from learning that. I don’t think you or I knew it at that point, but cars were quickly turning into more than just a passing fascination to me.
Even if I wasn’t into cars, I really couldn’t get away from them because you took me with you on your hunts for vintage American wheels. I recall being with you the evening you bought either your 1964½ Ford Mustang convertible or your 1965 Mustang 289 drop-top. Then there was the Sterling (an 827, I think), vintage Volkswagen Beetle, late-1960s Pontiac LeMans (or was it a GTO?) convertible, postwar GM trucks and, of course, the ever-changing fleet of Toyota Cressidas and 4Runners I remember in our driveway (too bad you didn’t hang onto the XJ Jeep Cherokee that long).
A random walk by a garage sale in the late 1990s only intensified my interest. It was the first time I recall seeing a 1:18 scale model up close—and it just so happened to be a red Lamborghini Diablo. What great timing! The price was even better: $1. You paid for it, which was money well spent, if you ask me.
After that, you kept my collection growing with several models every Christmas and birthday. Of course, I went after the exotics I knew about, but coming across cars I had never seen before broadened my horizons—and, eventually, my array of models.
Now that I can take a step back from it all as a father myself, I think you were trying to nurture a love of automobiles in me because you were a car guy yourself. I totally get it. Who wouldn’t want to have something so major and enjoyable in common with his son? I hope I can pass that passion on to Hayden.
I’m Sorry
I know there was at least one point where you must have thought you had created a monster—a nerdy, overly talkative one that would randomly point out minute, who-cares details about bland, effectively invisible vehicles (the Ford Five Hundred, for instance). Time and age has taught me that sometimes I need to pull back and not constantly bombard people (no matter how into cars they may be) with facts and stats that only I care about. When someone does that to me regarding a different subject, I know I get irritated.
Thank You
I would not be the person I am today without you. Cars are not my entire identity, but they are a big part of me. They’ve always excited and interested me, and they continue to do that, even when I think they can’t anymore. I am more of my true self when I’m around them (usually spouting off facts and trivia) and they’re part of a language I speak with you and many of my friends.
Years ago, when I was a freelancer, I would always try to think of ways to use the review vehicles I received for the things they were built to do, especially the big trucks. You knew I wanted to truly test out the 2019 Ford F-250 King Ranch, so you took time out of your day to go with me to the local quarry to pick up over 3,000 pounds of road base. You even helped me shovel it out at your house in the summer heat. And thanks to your thinking, I had heavy stuff to haul away in the bed of the 2020 Ford F-450 I reviewed. My write-ups were better—and more fun—due to your help. The love of cars I gleaned from you led me to where I am today: writing for a well-known automotive website with a large audience. What I do here teaches me more about my favorite subject and enables me to provide for my family.
I Hope You Had Fun
I’ve been fortunate to drive many press vehicles over the past decade. I’m glad I was able to share some of them with you. You and I never went wheeling in your first-gen 4Runner, but going to an OHV park with you and Sylvia in a Range Rover was a nice consolation prize. I hope you saw the effect you’ve had on me; I definitely saw the effect our adventure had on you. We hit a substantial roll angle in one section of the trail we were on, which gave you a horrifying view of the rocky terrain right outside your window. That was the first time I’d ever seen you scared in a vehicle. We reached the top of that trail without a scratch and went on to explore more of the terrain, so I’d like to think you (and Sylvia) enjoyed the experience overall. I know I did! It was a dream come true to be able to share that kind of adventure with you.
I’ll always remember my week in the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. Yeah, it was curvy and dramatic and fast and loud, but it also brought out a part of your inner car guy that I don’t think I had ever seen before. You didn’t bemoan the price or lack of practicality—you simply wanted to go for a ride in a Vette for the pure fun of it. I was happy to oblige (and test out the C8’s acceleration at the same time).
I can’t believe it took 41 years, but you and I finally went to a car museum together for the first time. We should have done it much sooner. It was nice to get your perspective on different eras of the automobile and learn which ones you liked the most. I had no idea you’d be so drawn to a Holden, especially one from the 1930s, but I have the picture to prove it. Even better, I have our photo together in front of a 1930 Duesenberg Model J.
Perhaps you see a little of your own father or even yourself in these stories. Feel free to share your car-related memories with your dad or children in the comments below. Happy Father’s Day to my dad and all of you other dads out there. Here’s to all of us making more memories in cars we love with the people we love the most.
