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Stage 1: Owner buys brand new (or used) car of his dreams. Joy, excitement, disbelief. Stage 2: Owner thinking, "This is a great car, but wouldn't it be better if..." Stage 3: Spending lots of time and money attempting to build the "ultimate (insert car name here)" Stage 4: Owner now has ultimate modified car of his dreams. Joy, excitement, disbelief. Stage 5: Reality check. Owner gradually realizes one or more of the following:
a) No matter how much money you put into it, it is still a 15 year old (or however old it is) car. Meanwhile, technology marches on, and car companies are continuing to bring out nicer cars.
b) Owner getting older, and the priorities in life changes. Realizes car is still just a car.
c) That car design, as in life, is all about compromises. That all the modifications have made the car faster and perform better, but at the expense of reliability, streetability, ride comfort, and just general feel. Realizes that the original car designers knew what they were doing and stock really was the best compromise for all the above.
d) Car is now no longer a collectible since it is so heavily modified. Stage 6: Crossroads. Owner must decide what to do. He can keep it, and enjoy a fast but still old car. But this usually means that he can't get a newer car (unless his name is Jay Leno and has the room and income to buy as many cars as he damn well pleases **jealous**). Or he can decide to sell it now and cut his losses. Then buy something nicer. So what stage are you at?
Charles
Carbon Black '95 TT
'02 Honda CR-V "Bustermobile"
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