Secret Confessions

[Howard and Pat Warren <warrenwood@domain.elided>]

<<<<<
So to everyone, tell us.....what is the longest you've keep a car? Average 
time between purchases? Bought, sold, and bought the same car over and 
over? The one that you should have NEVER sold? Let's hear some confessions!
>>>>>

Since January 1996 I've owned 6 Alfas: 3 Spiders, a Milano, and my current 
pair: a GTV-6 and a 164L.  My changing family and the occasional 
"opportunity" has resulted in my changing the Garageria Warren about once a 
year.  The Milano was the longest kept, at 23 months.  Next longest was my 
85 Spider at 18 months.

The shortest was a 74 Spider I bought sight-unseen (grossly misrepresented 
by the owner) that I owned for only two months.  Fortunately I sold it to a 
man with far better mechanical skills than I, who is rebuilding it into an 
SCCA car.  So the car lives.  And by a stroke of luck I broke even on the 
car <g>.  (This was the only Alfa I didn't name.  My wife and daughter 
named it "organ donor" <g>.  )

Three kids have pretty much ruled out driving a Spider, but in spring and 
fall I still miss my 85 Spider Veloce, "LongShot-II".  It was symbolic of 
the romantic times my wife and I shared; the times of growing together, 
discovering and exploring our marriage and the world around us.  That was 
the car that got away from me... I shouldn't have sold it, but the mistake 
was made and I can't buy her back.

With a family I drive a GTV-6, my wife drives a 164L.  Some say the 164 
isn't a "true" Alfa, but where for $8k can one find leather, luxury and 
power to rival the best that BMW, Lexus, Infiniti, et al produce?  The 
GTV-6 is old, but her engine is 15k miles young, and her sports car 
heritage burns bright.  Cutting off 911s is a daily treat, and the throaty 
growl always brings the adrenaline into my blood.

Still, I feel the leanings towards adding a third car back to the Garageria 
Warren.  There are two in the area that have come up: an 85 Spider, and a 
91 164L.  I have good reasons for and against either of them, but I can 
only buy one right now.

And my last confession: a few weeks back, somebody mentioned that Alfas as 
"make-out" cars aren't really a practical proposition.  I would like to 
respectfully disagree.  It is quite possible to have sex in an Alfa Spider. 
 It just takes some... flexibility...

Howard K. Warren, Little Rock, AR
1984 GTV-6, "Falconi", 135k miles
1991 164L, "Peregrine", 66k miles

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