Paul - for what it's worth, the only advice I trust, aside from Tyson's, Jack's and a few others on this board, are the old guys who come nowhere near this board. Every Friday night in Burbank, at Bob's Big Boy, very old school hot rodders gather to show off their steeds - and the stuff is gorgeous compared to what's around now. I think it was BlueSkyJaunte who once had as his signature "All new cars look like electric razors." That could not be closer to the truth. New cars are boring. They do everything for you. They make unschooled souls Schumachers after a couple of track laps. The only good thing new cars have, in fact, are warranties.
The love of cars, I think, is like eye color - it's genetic. There's a deeper attraction to a rumbling V8 that has some guys turning in their shoes with delight, while others either ignore it or find the sound menacing. I've never understood those type of people; or people who think of cars as tools, which they are not. Each car has a personality, a style and purpose, even if some of those purposes are similar.
There's more to it than they carrying around our fat American asses from place to place. There's public transportation that can do that just as well.
As far as losing the joy - you'd be just as apt to change the color of your eyes.
