During my long commute to The ClassicCars.com Journal office, I often fantasize about the vehicles I’d have in my money-is-no-object collection. Recently, the first car I daydreamed about having when I was a teenager flashed across my mind, then I began to wonder: does anyone still want his or her first dream car?
When I was a little kid, the Lamborghini Countach was still in production. I remember wanting the white Hot Wheels version of it that my older brother received for his birthday. I also enjoyed the red Mazda MX-5 Miata toy car my mom gave me. And I loved staring at the 1:18-scale Maisto Ferrari 550 Maranello model I received as a gift from my dad. But I never envisioned owning the 1:1 version of any of those cars. That changed when I found a purple Hot Wheels approximation of a “New Edge” Ford Mustang sometime in the late 1990s or early 2000s. Perhaps it was because I was old enough to drive that I imagined possessing and enjoying the real thing. Whichever the case, the fantasy didn’t last long. These days, a “Terminator” Cobra or an ’04 Mach 1 would be cool, but neither one is a dream car to me.
There are several factors that can knock your first-ever dream car off its pedestal. One of them is actually buying it. When we’re young, most of us don’t have the funds to go out and pay for a new Corvette or Ferrari, but that can change. After reaching a certain level of success with your business or career, you might have bought the car you always wanted ever since you were a kid. The 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt wasn’t my first dream car, but I had wanted one for a while and finally turned it into my real car in 2022 (and learned a lot from doing that). Or maybe you took your dream car for a test drive and realized it wasn’t as wonderful as you thought it would be. “Never meet your heroes” applies to cars, too.
Then there’s the fact that the older we get, the more vehicles we see and experience. Before I joined the Collector Car Network, I had a limited knowledge—and a resulting lack of appreciation—of older vehicles. Now my ideal garage includes a 1971 Mercedes-Benz 280SE 3.5 Cabriolet, 1972 Chevrolet C10 Stepside, 1949 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon, and supercharged 1937 Cord 812.
Another thing I recently learned is that there’s a difference between what’s attractive and what’s me. There are several cars out there with head-turning designs, but I know they don’t fit my style or personality the way an SJ Jeep Grand Wagoneer does. That chrome-wrapped McLaren you lusted after in college may still look cool to you, but there’s a good chance you’re not a flashy-exotic-car kind of person these days.
So, do you still want your original dream car? If so, I hope you buy it one day. If you already own it, I congratulate you. If your dream car is now something completely different, tell me in the Comments section below.
