What Car Left The Greatest Impact On You Emotionally?

Car enthusiasts are emotional creatures. Sure, we love to talk spec sheets non-stop, but at the end of the day, we still buy cars largely based on emotion. I am one of the worst at this. I have something like 23 vehicles in total, and let’s be honest here, I don’t even need 22 of them. I could get by with a single Smart as my only transportation, just as I did only 9 years ago. All of the extras are owned purely because of how they make me feel. So, cars can have a lot of emotional power. Which car left the greatest impact on you emotionally?

Now, I could take the easy way out here and start talking about my fleet of six Smart Fortwos. The Fortwo was my teenage dream car, alongside the Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI, first-generation Audi TT, and first-generation Audi R8 V10. Sure, my first Smart was only $16,200, but that was a huge deal for me. I was a “glass half-empty” type who couldn’t even see a year into the future. That car was proof that I can make dreams come true.

But I’ve now told that Smart story maybe a dozen times. This time, I want to talk about a car that hit me particularly hard recently. That car was the Lotus Emira.

Yes, I know, being in love with a high-dollar sports car isn’t particularly original. But for me, it’s different than that. If you’re a longtime reader, you know I am a champion of tiny cars, big cars, weird cars, old cars, pickup trucks, commercial vehicles, and basically any vehicle with an engine that’s not necessarily a car. Sports cars and supercars are typically far outside of my purview.

Then, last October, Matt Hardigree tossed me the key to a Lotus Emira while I was in Los Angeles for the wicked Galpin car show. I wasn’t even supposed to drive this car, as it was a loaner originally destined for Thomas, but he was sick and wasn’t present. My ride was the company’s self-accelerating Pontiac Aztek. I think I had the Emira for barely over 24 hours, and it was the ride of a lifetime.

This car was an emotional rush. Here I was, the big truck, tiny car, and train chick commanding a car with greater handling prowess than anything I had ever driven before. There are journalists out there who do drive McLarens, Lamborghinis, and Aston Martins with surprising regularity. I’m not that person, and I’m not sure I’d even want to be. But this Emira was a taste of that dream I had when my biggest goal in life was just getting a driver’s license.

That Emira wasn’t just a brilliant driving machine, but it was a mood booster and one of the high points of my life as an enthusiast thus far. I felt like a million bucks and I further understood why some guys will buy a new Chevrolet Corvette or Porsche 911 and treat it as gently as they would a newborn. This wasn’t so much showing off for other people, but like when you play a classic video game at home and hit a new “personal best” score. So, yeah, if I ever run into $100,000 of free money, I’d probably head to my Lotus dealership.

How about you? What car hit you the hardest emotionally?

Top graphic image: Mercedes Streeter