 04/18: I can't help but realize that it's been just over a year since several events took place that changed my life for better or for worse. Early last April Tiffany and I set foot for the first time in what would eventually be our new home. Having spent months navigating an exceptionally limited housing market and gone through one rejected offer after another, our expectations were very low and we simply continued searching for more suitable houses to see each weekend. And at the time I approached the house from a rather critical perspective and didn't recognize much of its beauty. But looking back now, I still can't believe we've made it this far and am truly thankful for the place that we now call home.  04/08: It's crazy how much has happened over the past month and a half. I officially became a Corvette owner and the car has gone from being in need of major mechanical work from years of sitting idle to now being polished for its first Cars & Coffee appearance which will hopefully take place this month. Tiffany began looking further into fulfilling her long-time desire to get a master's degree and was able to go from merely inquiring about details to now actually being enrolled in the first course of her online program. We are also now part of a church community very close to home and look forward to finding more ways to be actively involved. Also, Tiffany and I finally got to enjoy a super belated Valentine's Day dinner a few weeks ago. There was simply way too much going on in February and early March for us to arrange a night out by ourselves, but at least the delay meant we got to enjoy taking the 'Vette out together! 03/23: While shopping for a house last year, Tiffany and I established several criteria based on the present and future needs of our family that were attainable within our budget. For me, one of the key items was to have either a three-car garage or a two-car garage with a safe space to park a third car. That's technically more of a luxury than a necessity given there are only two of us that can actually drive. But there was a very specific reason behind that desire, one that has now finally become reality.   I'm very humbled and honored to introduce Targa Rossa, a 1994 Chevrolet Corvette C4 (LT1) with only around 28,000 miles. Finished in classic Torch Red, it's equipped with almost all the factory options including sport seats, a clear targa top, and adaptive ride control. Unfortunately one thing it doesn't have is a manual transmission. But maybe that's God's way of keeping me alive and keeping my ego in check. After all, a bright red sports car isn't exactly something that's easy to hide from the spotlight. Yes, I know, this is a stupid time to get an extra car given we're already taking drastic measures to reduce expenses to account for high house payments. But thanks to over a decade of making and posting car videos on YouTube, expenses related to the car are essentially covered for the foreseeable future and can even be a tax deduction. Besides, plans for me to acquire this car had actually been in the works for several years already. Let's begin with the Corvette's story. It has been in Tiffany's family since it left the dealer lot over three decades ago. It was originally owned by Auntie Annabell and Uncle Ernie, and after Auntie Annabell's passing, Uncle Ernie enjoyed it for a few more years before deciding to pass it on to the next generation. At that time, Tiffany and I were newly married and living in an apartment learning the basics of how to make ends meet and save up money to eventually buy our own home. Knowing that her car at the time was very old and would need to be replaced soon, Uncle Ernie decided to give her money to buy a new car and at the same time give the Corvette to Angela. I remember seeing the Corvette for the first time after it became Angela's. That was back in 2018 when we were all at their parents' house for a barbecue. As someone who has always loved cars but grew up in an environment where cars were merely objects of practicality, I couldn't help but take a picture of it so I could brag to my car-loving buddies that this was my sister-in-law's ride. With a lifestyle involving living/working in busy urban areas and frequent traveling, Angela enjoyed driving the car only briefly before putting it under a cover and leaving it on her parents' driveway. That's where it sat untouched for years until just recently. Now let's move on to my side of the story. People say I've liked cars since I was born. As a child with limited interests, almost everything I did to entertain myself revolved around cars - playing with Hot Wheels, collecting scale models, drawing pictures, reading books and magazines... you name it. It was an exciting hobby, but also a lonely one. My family has always bought cars solely for practical purposes, and most of my friends weren't particularly into cars either. By the time I finished college and began regularly attending car meets, I was fully aware of the reality that, for the most part, cars are not a particularly good financial investment. So despite being a hardcore enthusiast, it never crossed my mind that I would ever actually want to go out of my way to own an enthusiast car. After all, I knew that somewhere down the road I would want to get married, have kids, and buy a house, and those were all far more important priorities. And that was all before Tiffany and I even met. I'll never forget the moment when I sat in a rental car outside my office after totaling my well-optioned Accord V6 coupe (which was bought new by a cousin who sold it to me for an extremely low price when he upgraded to a Bimmer) and pondering what car to replace it with. Tiffany and I were already engaged at the time and getting ready to figure out how to live and survive without our parents constantly by our side. I realized that if I didn't opt for a fun or cool car now, I may never get another chance once the burdens of life really weigh down on us. But I held on firmly to my financial realities, and when a church friend who worked for Hyundai offered me an unbeatable deal on a new Sonata, I gladly accepted it. Honestly, I don't regret that decision one bit. In fact, when it comes to practical day-to-day driving, I'd much rather remain under the radar than attract unnecessary attention. Plus, the years Tiffany and I spent at our apartment witnessing all kinds of crazy things happen in the parking lot left me with no doubt that it makes no sense to get an enthusiast car without first having a suitable place to park and care for it. I continued regularly attending car events as a spectator, appreciating the thousands of cool cars I crossed paths with as fine works of art and engineering while never feeling the need to actually own one. Then it happened - the unexpected collision of two paths, the initial spark that illuminated a future I never thought would be possible and had never even bothered to consider. During another barbecue with Tiffany's family, we chatted about my obsession with cars and Angela casually mentioned selling the Corvette to me since she had no use for it. Aside from its ownership history and my previous brief look at it, I knew only that it had an automatic transmission and low (around 30,000) mileage and that C4 Corvettes were fun and reliable cars that could be had for very little money. That was when I realized, for the first time in my life, that perhaps owning a weekend car wasn't a dream I should continue shielding myself from. Tiffany and I had already bought a condo by that time, but with both of our garage spaces already occupied and numerous instances of theft and vandalism involving cars parked on surrounding streets, I knew it was not the right time to introduce a shiny red sports car to the neighborhood. I really wanted the car, but I also knew that I wouldn't take any action to acquire it until after first buying a house and adequately meeting the increasing needs of my growing family. The Corvette had already been sitting covered on the driveway all this time, and Angela was in no rush to get rid of it, so despite me clearly expressing my interest, we agreed to simply hold off on finalizing a deal. Fast forward to about a year ago. Angela told me she planned to part with the car by the end of summer and wanted to first see if I was still interested. Tiffany and I were already actively shopping for a house at the time, so I gave her a definite yes. For several years I had already been telling friends in the car community that I was planning to acquire a C4, and so much time had passed that they probably all began doubting my honesty. Now, it was finally time to put some substance behind my words. In June, my family moved into our new house in a city where, coincidentally, the car scene was dominated by American classics and muscle cars. I knew without doubt the Corvette would feel right at home. As the months passed, Angela was busy with other commitments while I was busy fixing and cleaning things around the house and navigating through all the changes my family was going through. I was technically in no rush to get the car, but each time I chatted with my car buddies or attended an event, it got me more excited. Shortly after the devastating Eaton Fire in January, Tiffany went to check on her parents' house (since they had been away traveling) and told me the Corvette was no longer covered. I went out there the next day to find that the cover had been blown off during the windstorm but was thankfully caught in a nearby rosebush. That was also my first time actually seeing the car in all its uncovered glory after all those years of thinking and talking about it. I took a good look at it before untangling the cover from the bush and putting it back on. I realized at that moment that I was caring for it as if it were already mine, and that the longer I let it sit out there, the more damage may occur. So last month, shortly before another planned family barbecue, I reached out to Angela and we agreed to finalize a deal then. Sure enough, I returned home that night with the keys. The process of getting the car registered, transported, and brought back to life is a story on its own, and I won't get into all the details now. But this past Monday, I went to the shop to pick it up and drove it home for the first time - an experience I'll never forget. There were just a few hurdles left to overcome (smog test, final registration, and new tires), and as of yesterday, the car is officially in good, safe, and legal driving condition, and I got to enjoy my first proper drive in a car that, to me, is the fulfillment of a dream many years in the making. Over the years I'd been asked countless times what my dream car was, and I always struggled to come up with a clear answer since my appreciation for cars spans such a wide spectrum of genres. I still appreciate and embrace that diversity (as clearly see through my YouTube videos), but as I grew older, it became more and more clear that the cars closest to my heart are not those that are newest, flashiest, or most prestigious, but rather those that have successfully stood the test of time. At the same time, despite my fascination with cars worth many times more than my house, my practical nature prompts me to have a personal appreciation for cars that are fun without costing too much time or money. And that's exactly why, the more I thought about it, the more I realized the C4 would be a perfect fit for me. Besides, 1994 happens to be among the more desireable years for the C4. It's both beautiful and powerful, and for an old sports car it's also unusually reliable if well cared for. Plus, it's right at the age where it's a little too new to be seen as a classic but also too old to be seen as modern. That's why it's worth so little money nowadays. But for an owner, those conditions present a perfect opportunity to help bring awareness to an underappreciated car while knowing that it's sure to increase in value over time. The Corvette has always been "America's Sports Car", the automotive embodiment of the American Dream. Regardless of whether or not you're particularly into American cars, if you're a car enthusiast then chances are you grew up with at least one poster, toy, or scale model of a Corvette. The C4 was the Corvette of my childhood. In fact, I actually have an old 1:18 scale model of one that's shockingly similar to the actual car. Who would have guessed that an old toy car from childhood would one day sit next to a life-size counterpart? Other than admiring all the cool cars, one of my favorite things to do at car shows is chat with owners and learn the stories behind their cars. I've heard all kinds of crazy stories from celebrity ownership and film appearances to wild criminal schemes. But to me, the most meaningful stories have always been those in which a car has remained in the same family, passed down from one generation to another, carrying memories that all the money in the world can't measure up to. This Corvette was built the same year my father died when I was a boy. He wasn't particularly into cars, but I couldn't help but often dream of being able to grow up as a son with a father to enjoy driving and fixing up a car together with. That dream may never be fulfilled, but this Corvette was the one and only opportunity I'll ever have to tell the story of a car that has been in the family since new and enjoy it alongside my own children as they grow up. And that's something that makes every penny put into it worthwhile. Tiffany and I have always compared Auntie Annabell's impact on her life to my dad's impact on mine. In fact, for those who didn't know, Amias' middle name is David (my dad's name) and Alisha's middle name is Annabell. So in a way, being able to keep this car in the family and bring it back to life is honoring the legacy of both sides of the family. Unlike many car enthusiasts I see at events, I never cared to own a car for the purpose of attracting attention or to compare myself with others. I've attended car meets as a spectator since college and I have no problem continuing to do so for the rest of my life. And I met, dated, and married Tiffany with no idea that there was a cool car in her family that would eventually be in need of a new home. But by God's grace this car is now able to not only remain in the family, but also fulfill the deep desires of a car enthusiast who would otherwise not have gone out of his way to acquire a fun car. After so many years of talking, daydreaming, and planning, I can't believe this Corvette is finally here in my garage. And I look forward to bringing it out regularly to events and sharing its story with others. |