Opinion: The Unexpected Dream Cars
Is it wrong NOT to lust after a Ferrari California and instead desire a 1987 Toyota Cressida wagon?
By Imthishan Giado
Eleven million dollars. That’s what two very wealthy individuals paid a few months ago for two very different cars. Both were movie stars, of a fashion; one was a 1960 Ferrari California LWB Spider (an exact match for the car that gets driven off a cliff in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) and the other was Steve McQueen’s own 1968 Ford GT40, as seen in the racing epic Le Mans.
Both are hugely significant and rare cars. I don’t have to explain why any McQueen car is valuable and in the case of the Ferrari, only eight others exist, all of vie for record sale prices whenever they come up for auction. Again, hugely important cars and worthy of preservation.
But do I want either one? Would I stick posters on my wall and save for a lifetime just so I could one day park them in my garage? Not a chance. If I ever came across them at a museum or a Concours event, I might take a moment to snap a really nice picture, but that is about all the attention I could spare.
Problem is, neither the Ferrari nor the Ford has a connection to my soul – and I think a lot of people feel the same way. For me, cars are about more than just superlatives or statistics. They need to either stir my soul with their driving sensations, or be deeply intertwined with some memory from my past.
It’s the same reason that the almighty Bugatti leaves me cold because it is a purely technical exercise bereft of beauty or most importantly, a soul. Even if by some miracle I won the lottery some day, a Veyron would never make the cut.
So what would make the cut, you ask? Prepare to be extremely surprised. Once I came into possession of all the walking money in the world, I’d track down the last remaining mint 1987 Toyota Cressida station wagon in the world, in base XL four-cylinder specification.
Some of you may be scratching your foreheads but others will be nodding theirs in agreement. For anyone who grew up in the UAE in the ‘80s, a white Cressida wagon was the default choice for any family, and mine had a succession of them throughout the decade, so nostalgia demands that one make its way into my fantasy garage.
And besides when is the last time you saw a Cressida? On the other hand, Ferraris are a little too common for their own good.
Same story with my next pick – a ’93 Honda Civic saloon, although it’s more than just nostalgia with this one. In a time when Corollas and Sunnys were boxy little buzzboxes, this gorgeous Pininfarina-penned Civic stood out like a young Kate Moss.
With its lean lithe aero-influenced body, superbly spacious cabin and trick VTEC engines, the EG Civic was a glimpse into our bright shiny future in the year 2000. It’s also a reminder of Honda’s proud engineering heritage, when the company aimed for the stars with products that led their class, rather scraping through with mediocrity, as is the case with today’s Civic.
OK, OK – I will concede that my fantasy garage would also have to have at least one Ferrari in it. Nothing so flashy as a California though; the only Fezza to steal my heart is of course, the immortal 1980 308GTB made famous by Thomas Magnun, PI. A real car for real playboys, to gaze at the 308 is to immediately be transported to beachside mansions and afternoons by the surf in a loud Hawaiian shirt.
By modern standards, a 308 would probably be out-handled and almost certainly outrun by a Camry but who cares? To drive a 308 is to become a moustachioed private detective with a shady past and no responsibilities; a new 458, lovely as it is to drive stands for nothing by comparison except to advertise to the world that you have just come into rather a lot of money.
Don’t agree with any of my choices? That’s perfectly fine; in fact it’s the beauty of the whole concept. You might want a Back to the Future DeLorean. Someone else will want Eleanor from Gone in 60 Seconds. Every choice is valid so long as it comes from a genuine place inside your heart – and not because Steve McQueen owned it.
