Cars have been a joyful love for as long as I can remember. Well, pretty close. When I was in grad school there was a Fiat dealer on the other side of town, I passed by it every time I walked to the college hangout, The Triangle. The Fiat 124 was newly out and oh, how can I say it? It was love at first sight.

I could not afford one then, but I could when I retired. At first, I was tempted by a Ferrari Mondial Cabriolet, Ferrari Red with saddle colored leather interior. The Mondial was never a popular model despite being a pedigreed Ferrari, so the model never appreciated in value like most Ferraris do. The one I was tempted by was pre-owned, near mint, Ferrari Certified with all the documentation, service records, and custom luggage. The price was right, $32,000 USD but once I considered insurance, maintenance and other associated expenses, I decided to take a pass.

At about the same time, a friend of mine told me about an Open House at an exotic car shop on the northwest side of Chicago. A shrug of the shoulders and we tootled off to the Open House. While the shop is certified for all kinds of exotics, the current feature was Fiat collectibles. The owner had one he thought I might like. And he was right! While it needed a restoration paint job since the enamel paint had cracked in the Florida sun, it was otherwise like new, with less than 16,000 verified, original miles. I snapped it up.

In April, I sold it after 8 years of top down fun and great memories. Yes, it was repainted to restoration standards, verified rust free and it was gorgeous. The accompanying photos confirm the fact of that. This Edition of Car Smitten is dedicated to my Fiat and its model, the 2000 Spiders (identical to the 124 models save that the 2000s were fuel injected). It was a sweet, fun sports car and I hope the new owner enjoys it as much as I did.

Future Editions of Car Smitten will feature different cars of interest; tentatively, I have so far lined up an Audi TT, a Mercedes SLK 280 and a Porsche 911. Another person will be sending information on a 60’s muscle car he is currently restoring that will be featured at a later date. Readers who have cars they would like considered are welcome to contact me with descriptions of their cars that hold a special place in their hearts and memories.

Currently, I am anticipating doing a new Edition of Car Smitten 3-4 times a year. Feel free to let me know your thoughts on Car Smitten. If you have constructive suggestions, those will be welcome, too.

Enjoy!

Let me introduce myself…

My name is Ned and I am a car enthusiast, have been ever since I went to the Chicago Auto Show with my parents in 1953 (Yup, I’m an old dude). I saw the first production Chevy Corvette at that show. The next year, I saw the first Ford Thunderbird. In short, I am a “regular Joe” who goes to Drive-In car shows and cherishes the old, the new and the forthcoming four-wheel wonders. Pleasurable TV is “Jay Leno’s Garage” and the televised car auctions. Of course, I also best like re-run comedies like “Seinfeld,” “Friends,” “3rd Rock from the Sun” and “Wings.” I like to laugh. And yes, especially now, just enough news to keep abreast but not so much that I could have a stroke driven by worry. And yup, I read too, TV news is sometimes too narrowly focused to my mind, I want greater depth and range. So, what can I say… “Welcome!”