Emotional Attachments to Vehicles

USMCram

So recently, I traded in my 370Z for a new vehicle. I had/have a very strong emotional attachment to that vehicle. I bought it when I just returned from my last deployment to the 'stan, sort of as a, "I made it home alive!" gift to myself.
I had it since then. I was very attached to it, but without realizing it, so was my wife.

She actually teared up a bit when we traded it in. I asked her later why she was crying and she made some really good points that I had never considered.

That car has seen the entirety of my relationship with her from beginning to now. Every major life decision we've made, and some of the most endearing memories we have, have been when we were driving around in that car.

I never though, as much as my wife is not a car person, that she would have grown a similar attachment to it, when she can't even drive it!

I wanted to relate this story to you, but also see if my wife and I are just crazy, or if you all have seen or experienced something similar to this.

I just find it crazy that it's possible to get attached to something inanimate.

JARblue

Not crazy at all. Lovely story. Thanks for sharing

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Hotrodz

I agree with JAR! My car has been dead for the last year and I am waiting for my turn in the shop for an engine rebuild. My wife just this past weekend ask me if I missed my car. I said yes and as she has said on several occasions over the last year. I am going to call Sebastian and give him a piece of my mind. She gets all tuned up!

The Z was also a present to me! I had just retired and survived more than 20 years in law enforcement and I bought it on my 52nd birthday. My wife took the first test drive in my Z when I bought it and when she got out of the car she had the biggest grin on her face so it was game over even before I took it for a spin. Before, I replaced the driver's seat with a racing seat she would drive it when I was out of town from time to time. She loved it especially after I boosted it and would tell me stories of about all the Corvettes, Porsches and other cars that she would put in her rear view mirror. Anyway we too are connected to a peice of metal with wheels. It is unlikely to leave my possession!

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Zezus

This is the whole reason there is still a civic in my garage..
ive had it for the past 10 years. it went to college with me. it was the first car i modified, the first car i swapped, the first car i built and could be proud of. That and she still gets down and would honestly give my z a run for its money.

I just cant bring myself to part it out or to sell it.

cv129

My wife isn't a car person either, except for the very few cars she feels strongly about (GT4, GT3, GT2, Z, R8). Wife has always loved curvy cars with big butts and strong shoulders, and has always loved the Z. The first time she came face to face with a Nismo 370z in the showroom was a look I'll never forget....it was like she saw Brad Pitt....eyes fixated, not blinking, mouth a little open, a slight smile, half day dreaming look, just missing the drooling.

In 2015, after our first born, I actually had a moment of weakness saying "maybe we should trade the Z for an SUV or minivan"....my wife just flat said "no" and ended that thought.

Recently, she finally got her own, 2016 7AT Nismo.

So, either you two aren't crazy at all.... or y'all aren't alone in being crazy.

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USMCram

Didn't have a kid, but when we bought our house, I told her maybe it'd be good to trade it for a truck, but she told me no as well. She actually gave up her bimmer instead so I could keep the Z. lol

dave11

My first Z actually saved my wife's life.
We'll keep this one until we can't get in or out of it.

Fuzzzy

I would love to hear the details of this one.

dave11

My then fiancee's car's engine had seen better days. This was one week before we were married. I didn't want her stranded if it broke down, so I told her to take the Z, and I would drive her car. She said "What if I have an accident?" I told her it was insured. Sure enough - she did have an accident. She ran over an open manhole cover, the car was spun to the left, and she was center punched on the right side. The car then spun around again and over a curb and into a building. The doctor asked her what kind of car she was driving. When she told him, he said it saved her life because the lower center of gravity kept the car from flipping but instead it spun.

That is why I said my first Z gave it's life for my wife's. This happened over three decades ago. This is why we have a fond spot in our hearts for Zs. This is why even though we are retired and well into our 70s we bought a new Z.

Fuzzzy

Lucky indeed! Thanks for sharing.

A young woman hit an open manhole near here a few years ago and was killed. I don't recall the exact car she was driving, but I remember thinking at the time that it was a very common and vanilla automobile. The saddest part about her death was that a couple of motorists had called to report the cover was off; one had his call passed around by several departments in what looked like an effort to avoid work and responsibility. Lawsuits are still in progress.

dave11

Before we were married, her car had seen better days, so I told her she should drive the Z since her cars engine was getting ready to blow. She drove over an open manhole that was unmarked. It spun the car to the left and she was center punched in the right side. She was spun clockwise over a curb into a building.

She was lucky she had a mild concussion, broken ribs, and some other injuries. At he hospital a jerk of a cop asked if she had been wearing her seatbelt. The doctor confirmed that she had because of her left breast was black from bruising. The cops said that if she had been in her car, it would have flipped instead of spun and her injuries would have been much worse or fatal.

That was the end of my 280ZXT. I still have the girl!

Fuzzzy

Wow! Just saw this response, so I apologize for the delay. Thanks for the f/u.

Lucky indeed. Several years ago a woman in this area hit an open manhole that someone had neglected to replace the cover when they were through working. I don't recall all the detail, but it was a city street and she was indeed killed. She was from a very prominent family, so the story stayed in the news for an extended period of time. Sad and completely unnecessary.

vq37818

Love these stories. This is what the car community, specifically the Z community, should be characterized by...not donuts at sideshows, flame map at car meets, or beefing with other Z owners about whose bolt on tune from X’s shop or Y’s shop is better.

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danegrey

all of these stories are so neat many a car that I have had I look back and say why my 83 GTI / 71 240z, and more... but no way is the z going away like a lot of you my GF likes to ride in it.

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FL 4Motion

That’s the true mark of a real car person, gear head, petrol head etc. it’s the emotional/spiritual almost sometimes, connection that almost no other mechanical object brings out in us.

Iirc, the Japanese Shinto religion believes all things, even inanimate objects have a spirit or soul, if that’s true, the automobile is the best candidate for supporting that belief imo.