One of the fun things about writing a novel set in present day is that you get to have your main characters drive the kind of cars that you may love, but can’t afford. For me, that would be Porsche’s. Ever since I was a teenager I’ve loved the lines of the Porsche 911. It wasn’t until writing Null Pointer, that I came to realize exactly why I had a thing for rear engine, air cooled, sports cars with round head lights.
When I was growing up my dad owned and drove a little white French sports car called a Renault Floride. In case you have never heard of such a car – and if you have, your are truly a sport car enthusiast, here is a picture of one.
I can vividly recall helping him fix it when it broke and do minor maintenance. I particularly recall the head lamp assembly and the smell of the backseat carpet and the leather of the retractable roof. He also had a hard top for it. I loved that car and I was very angry when he finally had to sell it for a parts car. I was not yet old enough to drive and so would never get to drive it. The truth was, it was a rust bucket and it had been totalled in two major accidents. Sigh.
The other family car we owned was a VW Bus circa 1968. My father drove that one into the rust pile too, only after I learned to drive stick on it. The sound of that VW 1600cc engine revving makes my heart flutter even to this day. So, I guess you can see where my car lust comes from.
All the cars that I have owned thus far in my life have not been air cooled or sporty. I’ve owned two Ford Fiesta’s, mainly because after wrecking the first one, I knew enough about how to maintain it, to seek out another so that I could continue to fix it and save money. The third car I purchased from AFES through the Air Force and actually had custom made to my specs. It was a little two door 1996 Plymouth Neon. I drove the heck out of that car and eventually traded it to buy a new Subaru wagon as our primary family car. Now I drive my wife’s car, a 1991 white Honda Accord. It’s as fun to drive as my Neon and has more trim. But oh, how I long for a little sports car. Perhaps when the kids are older and my income has increased to where I can afford a fun car, I will be in the market for a Porsche 912 that runs good and loves to be pampered with TLC.