Car lovers

This is just a little piece that I wrote out of the blue, expressing my love for cars in general, as an auto technician, and my own... hopefully you car lovers out there will like it.

When I was 6 years old, my uncle needed to pick me up from school one day because my parents could not for some reason. He was summoned to do so and picked me up in a 67' Chevelle that he had put alot of work in to for drag racing. I don't have many memories of being 6 years old, as I'm 23 now, but I do remember him strapping a racing harness on me in the back seat and being scared out of my mind. Especially when the engine started. It was loud, deep, it shook the whole car, and sounded absolutely mean. But my uncle claims that when he looked back at me, I was smiling... I do remember him hitting the gas at one point. It went from the deep growling to roaring and it was that second that I fell in love with cars. It seemed more alive than any human being I've ever met. I had more respect for that car than I did for my parents. I have a clear memory of my legs, which barely hung over the edge of the back seat getting pulled upward and toward me by the force of that beast of a car pulling so hard, and I was giggling.

All I knew back then was that it was cool, it was a mystery, a curiosity, and a fascination. I didn't know how it was possible to make that much power. Now that I understand every working part of most automobiles, it's a connection. And it's a deep one. When I get in my car and drive it, I see, hear, smell, and feel what it's doing as much as I can. I like the humming of the transmission spinning at high speeds, and combining that with the engine purring sounds like a human heartbeat to me. The tires rolling are like it's feet walking or running. Downshifting and punching the gas is part of the voice. It's like a warrior cry. A roar that says "I will fucking destroy this road". Idling at a red light is my car nuzzling up to me. Especially when it's cold and it's keeping me warm, safe. Cars are very much like human beings to me. The emotions and feelings from the car are not so noticeable as humans, but if they had chemically working brains and nerve endings, the world would treat them better. They appreciate their oil changes and other maintenance's, it's like doctor's visits to them. Sometimes they need their little computers fucked with, and that's like a psychologist visit.

My daily driver a 93' Acura Legend Type II coupe with a 6 speed. As far as I know it's the only forced-induction Legend in my state on record and it's pushing 550k miles. I'm exactly one year older than it but it's been in my life since 1994. It's had one paint job, it's had the engine bottom end gone through once, 2 sets of head gaskets and it had an o-ring issue at one point. It was well over $40,000 brand new, and I paid my mother $2000 for it 7 years ago. The leather seats are getting a bit cracked, but I slow it down as much as I can with leather conditioner. I've modified the engine to produce 360 HP on the dyno, and I had the transmission gone through by someone that knew more to be able to handle that much power.

It's like my domain. I've cared for it, maintained it, loved it, and built alot of it. I've taken it apart to see the deepest parts, and have spend more hours with it than I have with any girlfriend. Right after high school, I actually had a girlfriend that didn't like that I was spending about 2 hours a day with it in my driveway and told me that it was either me or her. I chose my car. That ended a wonderful 10 month relationship. That girl was beautiful too. Her name is Shelby and I had dreams of one day obtaining a Shelby Cobra with her.
But no, my car is quite literally the most important thing in my life, other than a very small number of people (mother, a couple friends, etc.), and staying alive. I would choose my car over my job because I know that it'll be there, ready to take me to find a new one. It's like my little bubble.

....
My own small, personal space where I have my music playing, I'm going where I want to, comfortable as fuck, relaxed. It never back talks unless it wants gasoline or the exhaust gets too hot from an occasional race. And it's almost like it thinks. The sunroof tends to open itself on the warmer days. That's always nice. And then there's the alarm issue. No car is perfect. It goes off on its own when it rains and the door locks repetitively lock and unlock themselves . Funny thing is, if I put the car tarp over it, it doesn't. It hates being left out in the rain, like a broken-hearted dog. Every car is full of life as we know it, but you don't notice it until you fall in love with yours. In every season change, I get nostalgia when I drive up through the mountains and get the smells of seasons wafting through the interior and mix with the leather and carpet. I've smelled these scents since I was 2 years old. I remember riding in the back seat smelling them on vacations with my parents and I remember my mom grinning ear to ear when she occasionally floored it on interstate entrance ramps, my dad gripping things and holding on for dear life. That was before I got my hands under the hood...
She's now named Ms. Swan, after the Mad TV character, and because she's Japanese. She's sweet, quiet, peaceful, and beautiful (though the MadTV character is ugly) when just cruising around. And then when you hit the gas, she roars, gets absolutely violent, and goes nuts.
She gets weekly baths at a trusted car wash and I tip one guy there $10 every visit because I know that he does a good job and doesn't hurt anything. According to most financial advisers, it's cheaper than car bathing at home. Here and there I experiment with new parts, looking to squeeze out some cleaner HP or different exhaust note, sometimes I don't like the gases coming out and I spend some hours tinkering with her setup and that's quality time together. She recently started pissing oil so I thoroughly cleaned her engine down to find the leak, and found that it was just the oil pan...It did take some hours thanks to my particular setup, but it was like caring for a sick best friend. It really makes you feel good to make it feel better. It's like she was crying on my shoulder the whole way home that day, just like I cry on her shoulder from my life's shit and I was able to give back.
I'm quite certain that me and Ms. Swan will be partners in crime for life. If she gets hurt bad enough one day that we have to say good bye, it will be like losing a life-long partner. No matter who I marry, where my career takes me, my car will always be my #1 friend and yes,

I am absolutely batshit fucking crazy, but... Even if you don't love your car like I love mine, you should, and I hope you do still treat it as your friend because that's how it thinks of you. I promise.

 

I'm afraid I no longer post any pictures of anything in my life for the same reasons why I removed all of my facial pictures from that thread on here. There are just some privacy sensitive things in my life. But if you would like to see exactly what it looks like, you could just google Acura Legend Coupe because I haven't done any exterior mods out of respect for the heritage.

 

Oh the CL Those were cool. Your generation was one of the last Acura's that had genuine spirit. I think that 3.2 is the same engine used in my car, except that mine isn't VTEC equipped. The Type S was definitely a beast for a family car. I actually raced one last year and it put up a pretty damn good fight until my boost kicked in.
I'm glad you got to experience such a good car. That generation of CL and TL were notorious for transmission failures but atleast you got to enjoy it for a while.

That's good that you got another Honda. I don't often think of Acura's as Honda's but Honda does take the credit for building such good cars. I don't work in a dealership so I don't get hands on with very many brand new cars, but I do know a bit about older Hondas. My ex brought me her 2006 Accord one day for an oil change. She said "I know it's 5,000 overdue, but the oil is just now dirty". Thing is, clean oil is not always good oil. Oil loses its slipperiness before it even starts to get dirty in newer cars, especially with synthetic, and that's worse than running dirt through your engine. I also recommend using the same oil. Never, ever switch it unless you're switching permanently. Check your rubber hoses often. Sometimes they don't make that great of a seal from the factory. I've seen a just-barely-out-of-warranty vehicle burn up it's transmission thanks to a trans cooler hose popping off of the radiator. It's scary. Other than that, I just recommend to follow the maintenance schedule religiously. Honestly, that's all my 550,000 mile Legend has ever had and it's on the original motor and trans with over 150,000 of 12 psi turbo abuse. It's really, really hard to hurt a Honda as long as you give it what it wants.