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You are not likely
to have forgotten the sight of the first car that stirred
your blood. As it drove past you may not have known
what it was, but you wanted to find out. When you did,
you wanted to learn more about the car of your dreams.
A car "nut" is born!
We recently took a trip from Houston to Corpus Christi,
Texas, and, as always, go out of our way to travel on
the back roads. Not only is it more scenic and less
patrolled by police cars, there is less traffic along
the winding and hilly roads. As we drove our Porsche
past a farmhouse there was a young boy and his dog near
the side of the road. The exhaust noise must have tipped
him off that something different was coming because
we caught his attention as I downshifted for a corner.
With the top down, we waved as he gingerly acknowledged
our presence. He had his eyes glued on us until we were
out of sight. I remember being him.
A 10-year-old boy
in search of a brochure does not have much of a chance
of getting a dealer's brochure. Even an adult walking
into the showroom now, or decades ago, had no guarantee
that he could walk out with a nice catalog. The appearance
of a potential buyer is sized up by the salesman. What
did he drive to the dealership? How is he dressed? Wear
a Rolex — they will spot it and show you more than
average interest. The prestige catalogs are not passed
out without a careful evaluation of the client. If you
pass muster you are rewarded with a deluxe catalog that,
undoubtedly, will increase in value with time and can
actually be sold new, sometimes for quite a bit.
If you cannot go back
in time to pick up a 20 or 30 year old brochure of your
favorite exotic car, or driving the family minivan to
a dealership for a new one didn't work out, try McLellan's
Automotive History for a wide selection of your favorite
and probably some you have forgotten, or never even
heard of.
Another approach to
obtaining information on these high performance machines
is out-of-print books. Whether you want to concentrate
on one particular make, or wish to compare the virtues,
history and performance of a selection of makes, there
are many to choose from. When it is cold outside a good
car book in a comfortable chair is hard to beat.
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