Most of my friends are into cars in one way or another. One of them is an automotive designer. Another has a small fleet of vehicles and works in the insurance industry. A third is the sales director for an auction house.
Then there’s my pal Dan Wolff, who’s not a car guy at all. As a talented comic artist, he’d rather stay up all night drawing his latest character instead of lusting over cars on the Internet or chatting stats. How were we roommates for several years without boring each other to death? How have we been great friends for more than a decade?
The simplest, most fundamental answer is that we have other interests in common. We met when we were cast in a community theater play. Right off the bat, it was clear we were both interested in the arts. The more I talked with him, the more I realized we had similar personalities. Like me, Dan is a sensitive guy with a silly side (which often leads to doing terrible Andrew Dice Clay impressions). We can talk and laugh for hours without even a mention of cars—hypothetically, of course. I always bring up cars at some point.
Just being a good human has helped too. A lot of people say it’s a bad idea to be roommates with friends, but I had no reservations about us moving into a bachelor pad in Austin back in 2014. It was great. We both always paid our rent on time, minded each other’s space, and kept the place in order (at least to the standards of two single guys in their late 20s/early 30s).
Our time in that apartment taught me even more about the importance of common interests. I learned how to discuss cars with Dan in his language. One week, I had a Toyota Prius to review. Although Dan didn’t care about the car itself, given his love of the environment, I knew he would appreciate the Prius’ fuel economy. Dan creates characters and entire worlds with the stroke of his pen, so I asked him what he thought of the hybrid’s lines and use of colors, which he was more than willing to discuss. Ultimately, despite the big difference between us, Dan and I were still able to relate to each other (but I will never be able to agree with him that Cincinnati chili is delicious).
I know it sounds strange, but sandwiches have also played a role in my friendship with Dan, giving us a reason to combine the things we enjoy. Dan was born and raised in Cincinnati, so he’s a big fan of Penn Station East Coast Subs and Graeter’s ice cream. When we were roommates, he didn’t have many chances to go back to the Midwest and get a taste of home. A quick search revealed there were three Penn Station locations in Texas, all of which were more than three hours away in the Dallas area.
Right around the time Dan made that discovery, I had the keys to a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara press loaner without a mileage limit. Not only did the seven-hour round trip teach me about the JK’s road manners and fuel economy, but it also made for a great day with one of my buddies, who finally got his fill of the food he loved when he was growing up. Dan and I made a few more treks to Penn Station, each time in a different vehicle: the Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring, Ford F-150 Limited, and Alfa Romeo 4C Spider.
As much as I love cars and talking about them, the truth is that they’re not an all-powerful unifying force. I’ve known gearheads that I had no chemistry with because we had wildly different personalities and cars were the only thing we had in common. But if you make the right friends, you can have a great time with them doing something completely unrelated to automobiles, yet still share your passion for cars with them in a way that both of you understand and enjoy.
