Dad was a practical car nut. But then, he came from a time in which you built and maintained your own comforts. Need an air conditioner? You built one from a commercial Kelvinator compressor and a home-made cooling tower condenser. House too small? You whip out the drawing board, design a huge addition, then pick up a hammer and build it.

The family car was no challenge either. Engine needed overhaul, rear end rebuilt? . . . a quick project of a couple weeknights or a weekend. Paint looking a little dull - a quick surface prep and respray was a matter of a few evenings work. Grey was the color of choice . . . didn't show the dirt from the shell road we lived on. Intensely practical.

He came from an era in which people serviced their own possessions. Things were a little simpler, no electronics, no computers - just a coil ignition and a carburetor. While in college with his younger brother he bought a new 1927 Chevy "chassis" (no body, only hood, firewall and front seat), and built his own pickup truck that "the boys" drove from western Kansas to San Francisco and back - with no roadside accommodations, limited fuel availability, and few hard-surfaced roads.

That freshman summer my Dad and Uncle shared the adventure of a lifetime, once pitching their tent late one night about 100 yards over a hill from an Indian hunting party - as they found the next morning. Thankfully, all was peaceful, and after loading up and pushing their vehicle over the rise, they jumped aboard, and slipped the clutch to start the engine as they rolled down the other side long before sunrise.

I spent a lot of years trying to learn to be a generalist like my Dad, but I was doomed from the beginning. This was a man who designed machine tools for a living, but designed aircraft, furniture, even my first go-kart, from scratch. His philosophy was if you wanted it, you built it yourself. Then he built them. I never possessed his knowledge or mechanical skills - but I had a small excuse - technology was advancing so rapidly, it quickly outpaced my ability to learn it.

He taught me a love of all things mechanical - and more. From an early age, he taught me curiosity, and I've never lost that!

 

As the only boy in a family of 4 girls and a first generation asian family, i had to find something to occupy myself so that led to watching the F1 races on tv, which then led to reading . . .

. . . actually, i don't know why i'm such a huge car nut. My dad despised the fact that i spend so much money on automotive magazines, racing games, and time remembering all of the press information about all the new cars. He'd rather have me in my room studying for things that i've yet even heard of or wouldn't use until i'm at least later in life starting my career. He would also hide his anger whenever i would mod the cars i drove, which would then lead me to buying the more discrete mods.

All i know is that, Mario Kart, Transformers, Car and Driver television, and Gran Turismo had to do something with me being such a car nut. Hopefully i've have a son who can share i can share my passion with.

 

I guess it started with my Grandfather, but that was a different time. My memories of him are not of a fanatical automobile fan. He was simply "An Oldsmobile Man." I recall stories from him and his early Hudsons. But once he started making real money (roughly $75 a week), he could move on up so to speak. Time for an Oldsmobile. And that never changed. He was an aircraft mechanic in WWII and then a mechanical engineer/machinist after the war. He owned 3 Oldsmobiles during my tenure with him.

Now, my Dad, he's a car nut! I never saw his first car, a 1962 MGA, but I faintly recall car # 3, a 1966 VW Karmin-Ghia, and I have VERY fond memories of car # 4, a 1971 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS in DEEP black cherry paint. Remarriage, a new family, and 3 brain surgeries put a big damper on his automotive life. He still loves automobiles, albeit he has a much greater appreciation for early British sports cars than I do. Not a visit goes by where we don't spend at least 15 minutes talking about some new car or some classic we happened to see cruising down the road.

 

My father was an anti-car nut, a very frugal, old world blue-collar worker. He bought the cheapest, plain Chevrolets with no clock, no radio, and manual transmission. He even bought one without a heater once, but my mother made him add later as it got cold in those Philadelphia winters. As a boy I once asked him why our car had those blank panels where the radio and clock should go. He answered that we didn’t need such frills.

I hated that, and I guess that’s why I became a super car nut, wanting every bell and whistle that was offered when I got my first car in 1957. My father died before he ever saw our 2006 Lexus, but I would have loved to see the expression on his face as I pointed out all its features: “Look Dad, this map screen shows our position within a few feet from satellites orbiting the earth; and after I press this button say ‘I’m hungry’ and watch what happens……………………..”

 

My dad was a car nut. I can remember as far back as 1977 when my dad drove behind a black Porshe 911 on the old elevated Westside Highway in Manhattan and told me and my brother "Thats a Porshe 911 with the "whale tail". He said at the time that he wants one of those. Never got one though as he was more into Cadillacs. From the 72 Eldorado, to the 82 Coupe Deville, he was all about Cadillacs, and would talk me to death about the options in those cars. That is how I became a car enthusiast

 

Heh, I hear you. I'm going to expand the German car love in my family from MB only to BMW and Porkchops, too, though.

 

My grandfather was "into" cars, but from more of a practical sense; he enjoyed working on them and trying to get the best possible economy out of them- he had Diesel Rabbits and a Diesel Passat and could coast like nobody's business. He was a thrifty Yankee...

My Dad to some extent is similar. He had a '63 Poniac with the 389 4-barrel carb he purchased new straight out of college. His first car was a '37 Ford with a Flathead V8 that he had tricked-out... he used it to smoke Corvettes back in the late 50s!

When I was born my parents mostly switched to practical cars- in the 70s they had Fiats (as an Engineer, Dad loved the twin cam Fiat engines with aluminum heads- WAY ahead of their time) and in the 80s switched to Toyotas with an '84 Toyota Van Wagon LE and an '85 MR2 (Dad's toy... now belongs to me). Dad taught me how to wrench on the cars and pretty much do anything to them (I was always mechanically "gifted"), which was necessary since my first car ended-up being his old 1978 Fiat Super Brava (I loved that car - a blast to drive).

Mostly, I was lucky to have an uncle (Uncle Vic... actually a really close family friend, but we called him Uncle Vic) who was nutty about cars. When I was young he had:
Shelby Cobras (including a '63 289 we stored for him for two years and a '65 427 S/C which I have photos of my Dad driving)
Chevelles, Corvettes (including a '63 Split-Window)
'72 Pantera, a '76 Porsche 911,
'76 Ferrari 308 Fiberglass (one of 100 brought to the USA before the car was finalized in steel), a Sunbeam Tiger, a Formula A race car, motorcycles, a 45' sailboat, a Cessna taildragger (and later a 182 with retractable gear) and a Great Lakes bi-plane.

I have very fond memories of all these toys... they have served as a motivator to keep pushing my career forward so I can afford more toys.

Recently, my brother and I put together an NSX for Mom & Dad, which they rave about every time we speak with them on the phone. Dad is almost 67 now... I am tickled to think about him & Mom getting out of the NSX (with suspension and 5Zigen wheels) at the local In-N-Out burger - it must raise a few eyebrows. Even Mom loves driving the NSX (5-speed), which was a surprise to me because she typically doesn't like cars that sit low to the ground. They are like celebrities in their neighborhood, and I can tell my dad absolutely LOVES having a toy... I can "hear" his smile over the phone!

I sometimes wonder what I'd be 'into' if I had been born a century earlier... no cars... that would have sucked!

 

MOM and DAD met...
DAD works at Toyota F1 (accounting) - he likes RWD, no choice but Toyota
MOM works at Toyota Heavy Machines (accounting) - she likes WHITE cars, no choice but Toyota ...bcoz of my Dad!
ME - my mom was about to deliver me, our ambulance to the hospital literally is a 1973 Toyota Celica (RHD) of course WHITE color ...born 1977.

 

neither one of the rents know anything about cars. when i went from a 350Z to a g35c to a 911 they thought it was the same car cuz they were all similar in color. even after riding in them.

 

First generation "Car nut" in my family. I think it goes back to all the Hot Wheels and Die Cast car models I had when I was a kid. I always had more than enough of them laying around in the house. They were literally in every room. Matter of fact, I still have die cast cars sitting on top of my entire dresser back at home.

My Dad wasnt a car nut, but he greatly enjoyed going to car shows and etc. His job helps set up the NY Auto Show every year, so atleast going to that is enough for him. Back in the 80's he used to work on the cars himself. But here is the difference, he didnt enjoy working on the cars. He did it because he didnt want to go to the dealership and pay an arm and a leg to fix something he could probably do on his own. And he did just that. Then our first Camry was bought in the late 80's I guess ( I was only about 5 or so). Ever since the first one, we never had a problem with cars. So now he didnt even have to work on them except for putting gas in it, change oil and brakes. In all honesty we easily had over 12 Camry's. And yes he still buys them. He got an 07 a few months ago, and will more than likely get another one in a couple of months.

My mom is far from a car nut. She doesnt care what she drives, as long as it gets from point A to point B. She didnt grow up with a car in the family and born and raised in St. Thomas, you really didnt want one either. The entire island is one big mountain. Everywhere they went they walked, or hopped into the back of a neighbors pick up truck.

And for what its worth, my brother doesnt give a damn about cars either.

 

My grandpa was a bigger car nut.
I guess it skipped a generation.

 

daddy got me into it. as a little girl, i spent my weekends at the track with my dad and as i got older, i started becoming obsessed. after my dad sold his race car, i think he lost interest, so when i mention stuff id like to do to my car, he doesnt really take much interest. im not sure if its because im a girl, or because he gets upset because he sold his car. im pretty sure my grandfather was into it also but i dont really know because i never met him.

 

A girl into modding cars, thats what I am talking about!!!!

 

I'm the only one. Even when I was five I could identify cars, no bull! I remember a 2nd grade journal entry that my mom always embarresses me with, I was talking about how i wanted a gold es300. Then after a while during grades 3-7 i stopped caring, but in grade 8 my mom needed help finding a car and the flame was rekindled. Seriously I'm a freak. I can tell you hp ratings of almost any mainstream car. I can identify almost any car by just a headlight or wheel design, or tail light. I wish my friends were enthusiasts, I even invited some people to go to the Taste of Lexus with me, they all declined.

 

lol