A 21st Century Dinosaur

This is Lucille. Ain't she gorgeous?

Lucille is a 1965 Ford Mustang. Like anyone her age, she is not as spry as she once was. And, she has a few bad habits. (Who doesn't?) She drinks too much and occasionally her 289 V8 omits some noxious odors and impolite sounds.

She is nothing like the Mercedes Benz that carries my candy ass to work every day. She is missing a few modern conveniences. She has no shoulder harnesses or air bags. No windshield washers, no right side rear view mirror. No air conditioning or satellite radio. No digital displays of outside temperature, average fuel economy or miles remaining till you run out of gas.

289 V8

When Lucille let's me peak under her hood (she's that kind of girl), I know how everything works. There are no computers to ensure I don't skid if I brake too hard, shift gears at the wrong time or wander outside my lane. There are no exhaust gas recirculators or pollution control valves. Indeed there is no pollution control of any kind. Lucille was manufactured before government regulators started sucking the soul out of the American automobile.

She is kind of like a Manwich or a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. You know it's not good for you but just can't resist.

2012 Ford Mustang

The truth is a new Mustang with a 6 cylinder engine would run circles around Lucille. It would take you from here to there faster, more comfortably and quieter. And, it would get double the gas mileage. But you don't connect with modern cars in the same way. That's why auto manufacturers today have platoons of engineers trying to capture the essence of the high performance car from days of yore. The new Lexus GS350 has a 6 cylinder engine and a resonator under the hood that makes it sound like a V8. Ya gotta be kiddin' me!

I am not alone. You don't have to watch the auctions on the Velocity channel or the Speed network to know how much old guys like me love old cars like Lucille. Just type 1965 Mustang into the search box on eBay and hundreds of them will come up.

But, I think there's more to it than that. People of all ages connect to the objects, communities and even ideas that they grew up with. Just listen to modern political speech. References to traditional values abound.

Gas is no longer 29.9 cents per gallon. Middle aged baby boomers buy cars for their safety and reliability. The environment is threatened by green house gases.

And, Lucille's days are numbered.

Sigh!