Introducing: Fine Autos of Distinction ("FAD")

When I was about 12 years old, I realized that I had a budding interest in automobiles. About that time, I saved some of my paper route money and purchased my first magazine subscription to Car & Driver. For years, I subscribed to the magazine, and it became for me what sports were for other boys my age. I had my favorite brands and models. Every shoot-out or “comparo” took on the significance of key games between teams. Always patriotic, I spent a lot of time routing for American brands. Sadly, the late 80’s and early 90’s were not good times to pin one’s hopes on American automobile manufacturing. That was the age of the Chevrolet Corsica, the unforgiveable second generation of the Buick Roadmaster, and the Ford Tempo.



Anyway, now many years later, I flatter myself that this world is populated with unimaginative masses, crowds who base their tastes on the newest, hottest trend. For these, we have Civics, Camrys, Cobalts and all the rest of the appliances people call cars. To some extent, this same complaint would apply to those who blindly lust after the supercars of this world. These one-trick ponies definitely have a place in this world, but their limited application ought to relegate these automobiles to a place somewhere short of the top.

Having vented my spleen, I freely acknowledge in myself a somewhat unorthodox but very much cohesive sense of “taste” in automobiles. Some of you, like Rachael and my “fellow travelers” on the vanpool will consider this so-called “taste” formidably taste-less. Still, if you review this list with an open mind, I believe you will find there are reasons for my selections. So it is with pleasure that I begin a new column on my blog highlighting some of my favorite cars and my reasons for their induction in my list of Fine Autos of Distinction.