It was a Glorious day in Northern California!
All the mud puddles are mostly dried up so it was safe to take Nix out for a run.

I deeply apologize for the lack of pictures of this occurrence but I simply got caught up in the moment. So I'll just stick a picture of Nix in here so I have at least one.


When we bought the Adequate Vehicle we were discussing cars each of us had owned and I mentioned my Classic Jaguar and the salesman lit up like a kid promised a new toy. He said he would sure like to see that car!

I promised we would take Nix to show him the first nice Saturday, because he for sure works that day.

Yesterday I began building this trip up to Nix so she would be on her best behavior, because she Loves to show off. (I can't imagine where she gets that!) After lunch I put on a white turtleneck, my purple camo jacket and new jeans, and the 3 of us too off for the first "show" of the season.

Imagine if you will, the dealership sits on the brow if a hill, on a curve in the main street, the hill maybe 30 feet above the street, on a signaled intersection.

At the top of this hill is the building itself, with sloped parking facing the sun to display the newest cars in stock. On a level area on the street side of the show room is a parking area for visitors and customers in Full View of the whole town!

That's where I parked Nix. Right out front like she owned the place!

One of the sales staff came out to greet us, his tongue hanging to his knees, positively Drooling over the car. He was only the first.

I asked, "Is 'Brian' here?"
"Yes he is. 'BRIAN!' SOMEONE TO SEE YOU."

"Brian" came out and expressed Great pleasure at seeing such a well kept car, and also Very pleased I had kept my word and brought her by.

That made 2 of the sales staff.

Pretty soon one of the other guys came out, and then the office staff were lining the windows inside the showroom! Customers began dropping by to listen in while I explained about the car and answered questions.

One of the guys asked to see the engine. "Certainly!" and I popped the hood. There was not a single peep of surprised to see a Chevy V8 sitting there, in fact they started chewing the fat about the engine, the ram's horn manifold, the cold air intake, what carb is it, boy that all looks neat and well laid out, etc.

"Do you show this car?"
"I have, she took Best Jaguar that time, this year I'm thinking of entering it into more."
"Well, I can see why it took Best!"
"Thank you."

They asked about the license place,
"Was that a Euro plate?"
"No, standard California,"
"But you folded it on the bottom,"
"Yes, for better cooling."
"If you folded the top too it would Really look Euro with that arrangement of letters and numbers."
"Yes, but the law requires the word 'California' show at the top."

One of the guys asked if he could sit in it. "Of Course!" I opened the door and he got into the front passenger seat, commented how Clean the leather is,
"Is it new?"
"No, it was all done 30 years ago and garaged most of the time until I got it in 2013, and it's still garaged unless I'm driving it. I just take care of it as it came to me."

One of the guys was gazing at the trunk so I opened it for him, he was delighted. (?) It's nothing special, just a carpeted trunk!

I opened all the doors, gave them a good look at everything.
They Loved the solid thud when he closed the door! "Not like this stuff we sell, that goes 'tink' when you close a door."

Then they got out their phones and took pictures! "It's so Black!" I should have taken the hint and got pictures of this crowd taking pictures, because I did bring my camera, but someone else was asking me questions at the time and I thought it would be Rude to not answer.

After about 30 minutes, one of them asked, "So, if you were to sell this, what would you ask?"

I said the first number that came into my head, "Oh, maybe 10," and husband Immediately said, "Now wait a minute!!" and another one standing there said, "I was gonna say, if she's serious and if I had 10 I'd take it now! but it sounds like he doesn't want that."

Salesmen! They'll tell you anything!
(';')

 

Well done.

Real cars are rare anywhere, and good ones even rarer.

 

Always nice to get out for a drive, and a bit of appreciation from the public makes you feel good.

 

Great to have a nice drive and a bonus to be rewarded for your hard (but enjoyable) work with eye popping comments.....nice to hear Elinor!

 

Sums up the nicest part of Jag ownership, so many others get pleasure from just admiring it! Very rewarding.

 

Thank you for your kind comments, Guys,

It was a real hoot watching the whole dealership drool over a 40 year old car! Most of them considered themselves to be Car Guys, and genuinely appreciated that they were looking at a restored Classic.

One of them mentioned that This is what having a classic should be all about! When he sees Trailer Queens he thinks, What's the point of that?! What a waste! They should be driven!

I have to completely agree!

Nix isn't *Perfect* because she's a Driver, so there were a lot of bugs on her face as it was a warm day, and there are a few paint chips I haven't covered yet, but Not One of them mentioned Anything about that!! They only saw the overall picture, of a clean, shiny, Long, Low, Black car, powered by The Heartbeat Of America.

It was a Lot of fun talking to them and watching them; at least as much fun as it was driving the 75 mile round trip.
(';')

 

Sounds like a great day out. I bet Nix is purring!

 

Thank you, anjum,
It Was a great day! In fact, that day will carry me through Many not-so-great days.
(';')