Hmmm.
Well...
Couple of things:
- The "no trucks" rule is because I already spend a serious percentage of my life in the Silverado. And that truck will be around until at least 2015.
- I do have a soft spot for the HHR Panel - but even if I lifted the "no-GM" ban, it would still be wrong-wheel-drive. That's not something I'm prepared to accept - especially in a car I'd buy simply because I want one. The truck is what I have to own - anything else has to be something I want.
That said, test drives are fun so I would flog just about anything around the block once.
- As for new cars, they have a separate(but equally powerful) appeal for me than do old cars. It's just a matter of what floats my boat at the time. For example, I would never buy a sedan, or minvan, or any such plebian vehicle new. The GTO and the Firehawk, and the El Camino SS, are the only sort of non-work truck purchases I am ever likely to make in new form. The notion of financing some little econoturd requires a state of mind that I will never be in. As of right now, only the Camaro, Challenger, and Mustang even come to the table with the right stuff for serious consideration - and none of them have made a compelling enough case yet to make me want to pay the new car premium vs. getting a good deal on a year-old example. The car and the timing have to be just right for me to make that leap.
Such was the case with the Firehawk, GTO, and Camino.
Before my hopes were dashed, there was simply no doubt in my mind that the ST was going to be my next new purchase. Simply put, nothing has yet taken its place in my heart.
And my heart is what I buy new cars with.