Car(d) Enthusiast

Twenty years ago, I purchased this Acura TL:

I fell in love with this model after taking a road trip to Vegas in my friend's car a year earlier.  It had been super reliable the first nineteen years, but last April I started having some major electrical issues that led me down a very expensive path.  First I replaced the battery... then she needed a new alternator.  That solved the issue for eight months, but in December I started having issues with my battery AGAIN.

I knew it involved a parasitic drain, but couldn't figure out what was drawing power when it wasn't in use.  So last week, I took it to a mechanic who specializes in electrical issues.  He identified the problem and fixed it... but holy smokes.  Car maintenance can be crazy expensive.

I'm now left with some decisions.  The first one is whether or not I'm planning on keeping this car.  She's no longer my daily driver and I definitely don't need three cars.  But she's literally one of my dream cars and I've babied her the past twenty years.  She was garaged for sixteen years and is in amazing condition.

Decisions, decisions.  If I decide to keep her, I have about ten thousand more miles before needing to change the timing belt... which is going to cost a pretty penny.  I'll probably just list it on Craigslist, test out the market, and see if I receive any reasonable offers.

Well that recaps what's going on with me on the automotive front.  In regards to the hobby, I received a few care packages this week.  One involves a really cool addition to my Japanese athlete PC, which I'll show off in a future post.  Another was a box of stuff from John over at Johnny's Trading Spot.

I also received two PWEs with some 2025 Topps Holiday for my set build.  These nine were from Elliptical Man over at The View from the Third Floor:

And these five were from John:

Thank you Brendan and John for helping me out.  Here's where I'm currently at with this set build:

Chris... if you're reading this... five of the cards in EM's PWE were ones you had set aside for me.  I no longer need these: 37, 72, 105, 111, and 153.

I want to wrap up this post with this lenticular Johnny Ray:

1983 Kellogg's #24

Today is his birthday... along with my mom's.  Happy birthday Mr. Ray!  And happy heavenly birthday Mom!  Miss and love you so much.

Everyone else... here is today's question of the day:

What's your view on cars?

Are they just a means of transportation?  Are you a car enthusiast who appreciates them for more?  Maybe somewhere in the middle?

Although I'm not one of those guys who works and tinkers on them, I'm grateful to own two of my dream cars.

I look forward to reading your comments and seeing if any other card collectors are car enthusiasts too.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!