Cars X Girl

You see, if I wait long enough I undoubtedly come across some grand source of inspiration. That inspiration is coming from Speedhunters, a blog that I kinda sorta follow… I’ll follow them for a while, then I’ll pause. Same thing with Jalopnik. I think it’s just too much information for me to keep up with. (Ridiculous, I know, but I can get overwhelmed easy sometimes.)

Words to Live By

The words came at the end of a great feature on one amazing car. The 240Z has taken the internet by storm, and it’s not hard to see why, honestly. The car is insanely charismatic… It just draws you in. You just have to like it, period. (Well, if that’s what you’re into anyhow. I am definitely into Japanese cars.) It just oozes personality, and I love cars that do that. My own 240SX has quite the personality herself! Maybe not quite as much, though.

Linhbergh Nguyen did an absolutely wonderful job on the write-up. And then, at the end, he said something that just struck me… An absolute truth that’s shared by anyone who’s truly passionate about cars, no matter your style:

Having cars for the sake of pleasure is a very irrational train of thought. There’s absolutely no reason that we should need to own a 500 horse-power, mid-engine, red italian super car. But for some reason, just like how men feel about attractive women, we instinctively feel that we need it and crave it. Sports cars should never be something you buy and own with your brain. They should be something you buy and own with your heart–all of it.

Universal Truth of Enthusiasts

I think that any enthusiast could agree that it’s 100% the truth. We don’t go and buy cars for the sake of impressing others. We may spend huge amounts of money to build one that we adore, and many people will think we’re absolutely crazy to do so. There will be countless others who try to bring you down, because that’s what some jerks in the world will do when they find someone who’s truly happy with something.

No matter what anyone else may say or think, there is this one, unchanging truth. It’s the reason why you can go to a car meet and just connect with everyone instantly, whether you were complete strangers before or mere acquaintances. It’s an understanding shared by anyone who’s passionate about cars, building them, racing them, showing them, just about anything to do with them.

We aren’t chasing an image. We’re enjoying a feeling. There is nothing in this world that feels the same as bonding with a car. It’s the reason why I tend to get overly-emotional about my girls, they’re my girls. They’re my best friends. They’re always there when I need them. They always listen to me. They give me grief, yes, but they give me more happiness than I could have ever imagined they would. And they are always on my side, no matter what, and they’re mine and nobody can take them away from me.

Maybe you’ve never heard it put that way before, but that’s how it is. Or at least how it is for me. I know guys have an easier time of turning off the emotional connection, like how my husband was ready to accept the death of our S2000 and move on, and how I just couldn’t accept the possibility of her going away so soon. In fact, with our move, we’re contemplating searching for an Evo III or V, and while I like the thought, I also know in the back of my mind that it means having to say goodbye to our S2000. I don’t really know how to sort it all out, because it’s painful to think about.

Unless you love your cars, you’d never be able to understand. For all the unemotional guys out there, I know even you can relate, whether you’re ready to admit it or not. (Go on, I promise I won’t tell. Girls find it cute anyways, I promise.)

Impractical Only in the Practical Sense

Having a car that’s so low is definitely impractical… But only when we’re talking about the usual sort of practicality.

People tell my husband and I all the time that we’re impractical, especially pre-240SX. All we had was his S2000 and my Miata, two two-seater convertible sports cars. I think people were shocked to find out that we got along quite well in our life with just these two. Even the 240SX, with her enormous hatch space and rear seat, remains quite impractical with her unforgiving track coil overs and low ride height.

Yes, life must have been horrible… Not. First off, we managed just well. Our furniture was delivered for us, and our 120 gallon fish tank was bought when my Mom and brother were down visiting. (With their durango, but the fish tank was all we bought when they were around.) When we do laundry, our basket fits perfectly in the trunk of the S2000. I mean, I fit comfortably in the trunk of our S2000…. We did it to show that yeah, the trunk isn’t as small as you’d like to think. (I’m not huge by any means, but still.) The Miata is usually the car that goes grocery shopping with me as well. Sometimes it’s like playing a live version of tetris, but I’ve never failed to make it work yet.

Because I’m crazy about my cars, I choose to adapt my life around them. They hardly exist to serve me, though they do so amazingly well. Instead, I’m here for them. I go to school so I can get a better job to support them better. I work right now so that I can support them now. We go and have fun racing, and we both get a kick out of it. But they’re family to me, not just another appliance.

*Cough*Hyundais&Kias*Cough*

Excuse me there! Bad cough for a minute… I don’t like talking about stoves and refrigerators I guess.

Makes About as Much Sense as…

Love.

Nobody argues with love when it comes to people. Nobody should question the love some of us have for our cars. Indeed, some days I swear I love my cars more than my husband…. But there are always days when I love him more than them. (Usually, when either one makes me mad, I favor the other more.)

Love doesn’t mean it’s all a bunch of roses and happiness. It still takes work, hard work, work not everyone is willing to do. But that’s where the joy comes in… Enjoying our passion. Losing ourselves all day in the garage turning wrenches. Chasing the thrills found on the road courses of the world. Setting up at a show, worried about how it’ll go, and having people compliment your work.

Pictures are Worth 1,000 Words

I couldn’t end this whole thing without a single picture of the car that just sums up so well what cars are to some of us… Via MotorMavens, who did a feature on this beautiful girl first. (Including words by her owner himself, Yuta Akaishi.)

If you can't understand the impact of this 240Z, then you don't understand the passion behind her or car builds like her. She's inspiration to many.

Meg

In 2007, Meg began learning about cars. Two years later, she had a very modified '97 Miata and a '90 240SX project car, as well as the Rookie of the Year autocross title. Life now completely revolves around cars and she wouldn't have it any other way. CarsxGirl is her way to encourage others to get into racing (it's not horribly expensive!), to document & share her car builds, an outlet to share & improve her automotive photography skills and to show that real car girls do exist!

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