My earliest memories of starting to become a car enthusiast were from a very young age, where I remember having a purple velvet “Crown Royale” bag where I used to keep all of my dinkies (that’s what I used to call them), which I guess would now be referred to as Hot Wheels. I had those orange plastic tracks to put together. These little toy cars were always with me.

I started reading car magazines in my teen years. I would read Car and Driver, Motor Trend, and Road & Track each and every month. I would read about the cars that interested me, which were not only limited to exotics. I could also appreciate cars that excelled in particular areas, like fuel economy, as an example. My favorite part of any story was the data sheet, which would have all of a car’s specifications, as well as the times achieved in the testing procedures. All of that information would just stay with me – I wish my memory now was half as good as it was! I would start to get antsy when the new issues were supposed to hit news stands. Why I didn’t subscribe back then escapes me. I kept every issue I ever bought. I still read these 3 magazines now.

I would also go to the auto show every year, often going on a weekday when the doors first opened, so I would be able to take pictures without too many people around the cars. These were the days before memory cards and electronic cameras, when cameras had actual film in them! Of course, you couldn’t just view a picture on the spot, and delete it if you didn’t like it. You had to actually bring the rolls of film in to get developed, and just hope that most of them turned out. I am pretty sure I still have all or most of the pictures I have taken over the years.

I could not wait to reach legal driving age (16 where I grew up). My plan was to get my license the instant I became of age, which is exactly what I did. The year was 1983. The first car I had access to driving was my mother’s 1976 Pontiac Acadian (same as a Chevy Chevette). What a piece of crap it was, but at least I had something to drive. My first car was a 1981 Camaro Z-28, in light blue, with a 4-speed manual transmission, which I got in 1985, when I was 18. Horsepower was rated at something like 190bhp. Amazing how many economy cars today surpass that number with 4-cylinder motors 1/3rd the size! Nevertheless, it was a very cool car to have, especially at that age. I would store it in my parents’ garage in the winter. For the nasty weather, I had a winter beater. When I say winter beater, I really mean it. I went through so many $500 cars that I would drive until they died. They were disposable. I didn’t care, as long as I have my cool sports car for the summer.

I had a buddy in high school, who had an older brother that was a Corvette freak. His particular year of choice was 1980, and he was on a country-wide search to find one in immaculate condition, with a manual transmission. He ended up finding a car on the other side of the country, in a beautiful red. Once I saw it, I fell in love with that body style. It had a low front end that looked like it was sniffing the ground – pretty aggressive looking. He told me of a ’80 that was local, with exceptionally low mileage, with the optional L-82 motor in it. He told me that it was unusual in that it was black with a blue interior. It had an automatic transmission. One day, I was looking through the classified ads, and came across a listing that matched the ‘Vette that he had told me about. I went to see it, and low and behold, it was that car! I was in love! And in black, it looked like the Batmobile. I had to find a way to get it. At this point, I had owned the Z-28 for 3 years. I put it up for sale, and ended up getting almost as much as I had originally paid for it. I then borrowed money from my parents to buy that ’80 Vette. It was such a cool car to have. I kept it for 10 years before I decided I had to sell it. It was all so that I could pick up and move to another city to look for a “real” job. With that car as well, I ended up getting most of my money back.

In those days, according to the car magazines, the hot cars of the day were the Ferrari 308/328, Testarossa, Lamborghini Countach, and the Porshe 911 Turbo. For whatever reason, the Porsche appealed to me the most. I really liked it’s aggressive stance, with the ultra-wide rear fenders and the infamous whale tail. I would go crazy any time I ever just saw one parked or driving down the street. In that era, Porsche had released pictures of the 959 (which was initially called the “Gruppe B”). That car really blew me away! I also loved the 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO, and then the F40 (2 cars I got to drive later on in life).

I remember the “Choices” posters, where you had a silhouette of a car, and then the silhouette of a wine bottle, and I believe a musical instrument. Also had the Alpine stereo poster that featured the Lamborghini Countach – easily the wildest looking car of its time. I had it right next to my Heather Locklear poster! You remember the one, where she was wearing a pink bikini? I remember going to a local exotic car dealer, where they had a Countach parked in the showroom. I went to see it with a girl I knew from high school. Of course, I had my camera with me. I started taking some pictures, when the salesman came out and said “Wait a minute….” thinking the next words out his mouth would be “you can’t be in here”, or “you can’t be taking pictures of that!” Instead, he went on to say, “let me get the key so you can take pictures from inside of it.” I couldn’t freaking believe it! I got to sit inside of a Countach, and my friend took a picture of me in it for proof. I was on cloud 9…..

If you were to see my high school graduating year book, almost all of the entries written by my friends referred to Porsches in some way. It’s funny how I look back on that, and realize the path that I ended up on in relation to cars…..