Remember when it was fun to drive a car?

In the early 1970's, my mother sold me her Mercury Cougar. It was a long sleek car, V8 engine, dark green, and boy could it go. And it had a dial that showed RPMs which fascinated me. It was a great car to drive.

After a while, it got a bit too much for me. It had carburetor problems and I didn't have much money for fixing. So, when it wouldn't start, I'd get out, lift the hood, take off the distributor cap, hold it open with a screw driver and mist some sort of fluid some male acquaintance told me about into the distributor. Worked like a dream . . . until the next time.

Eventually, several old car fanatics saw it in the parking lot and began bidding against each other and I sold it for more than I paid (but certainly less than it was worth as a classic.) I bought a new VW Rabbit which didn't have a carburator. I loved the Rabbit too, but for a different reason. With the Cougar, you could go up an on ramp to the highway with minimal merge space and spring forward, sure of adequate acceleration.

But here's the thing: yes, the Cougar was exceptional. But there was something more. I had an attitude. I was young and life was fine and interesting. Yesterday, driving my Toyota minivan, which is now 7 years old but still performs well, I remembered that Cougar. And that memory was a fine wine. Oh, that Cougar! What fun it is to drive a fast car.