I have spent the last few months entertaining a vanity that a roadster, once again in my life, might be a good idea. My first one was a 1967 MGB, just 3 years old at the time and that little offering from England set the hook. I owned three more British Leyland offerings before a Porsche 914, a beat up 912 and a Europa, (God bless Colin Chapman!), before having children and starting a serious career while driving sedans and SUVs. A brief re-acquaintance with the type was a '92 Miata, (MX5), which only lasted a short time as my daughter drove it of to Med School and I never saw it again. Finally, the kids are on their own and the word 'roadster' kept sneaking into my mind.
Slowly, and with a variety of influences effecting my trajectory, I settled on a 2012 Z4 sDrive 35i. The car had 11,300 miles, 2 years of warranty, was well equipped and had been respectfully owned. The final push was price. Originally priced at $62,900, I paid $37,000. As I drove it home cautiously, I felt a bit like a thief; I could not fathom a car of this quality and performance could be had for such a low price. I also felt a bit intimidated! The 35i is a BEAST. It is competitive with Porches, Lotuses, and,believe it or not, Corvettes! I had read abut the "Launch control" feature, but immediately thought I would never have the confidence to even try it let alone regularly use it. In fact, after a few weeks of ownership, i still haven't had the courage to try the advanced "Sport +" mode. This is no MG, Healy or Triumph from the 60's. This is a serious, modern autobahn car. Until last weekend, I was beginning to think I had bought too much car, but was eager to see if an old Geezer like me could adapt to the modern sports car.
Last weekend, I put 460 miles on the odometer going to see an old sailing buddy who is in late stage Alzheimer's. He and his wife retired to Chestertown, (Eastern Shore of Maryland), 5 years ago and within months of the move, Chip began to shows signs of the disease. I went down to spend the day with him and help get his sailboat in the water. The boat was his dad's, and Chip sailed it for 50 years. It has been good therapy for him to just sit on deck and have lunch over the last few years. Sadly, he didn't remember either me or the boat; his amazing wife tells me he is "Spiraling in.", and he is not sure who she is most of the time. Incredibly sad; he was an amazing trial lawyer and at 55, he needs constant supervision. I thought he might enjoy waxing his old boat, but he couldn't remember how to put a jacket on let alone wax a boat, so I offered Nancy a few hours alone time by taking Chip for a ride in my new convertible.
We got him dressed and set out. His first question was, "What happened to the roof?" Poor guy. We got moving, and I heard him chuckle as we sped thru some turns. I have been trying to learn the manual shift points and we found some nice flat country roads to unwind it a bit. I stole a glimpse at Chip's face every so often and he was clearly enjoying the ride. A few outright laughs as I threw him against the seat belt reminded me what a funny guy he used to be. ..and one of the smartest, sharpest, most fun loving folks I have ever known. He was enjoying the ride more and more as his chuckles turned to squeals and loud laughs.
We worked our way north to Millington, then south to Goldsboro, Greensboro and Denton. Knowing the Delaware State cops have no souls, I stayed in Maryland and on secondary roads, but looked for twisty stuff. The Eastern Shore is built like a pool table and there are few obstacles so the roads tend to be drawn with a ruler - perfect to learn the nuances of manual dual clutch shifting. Its a strange feeling to leave your foot on the gas when upshifting! After 90 minutes I decided I still have a LOT to learn - and I had yet to put it into either of the 2 Sport modes! My reach has exceeded my grasp, but its the journey, right? So I have time to master this beast.
Outside of Denton, we were both laughing as the car had gotten light over a heave in the road and we stopped at the light laughing at like schoolgirls. Chip was wiping his eyes when he looked at me and asked if I knew where he lived with a very real look of concern, even fear, on his face. I assured him I did and he said, "This is too powerful a car for me, I don't think we'll buy it....we should go back to the dealership." He had forgotten who I was again. What a horrible disease. It takes WHO YOU ARE away! I said , " OK, we'll head back.", and tried not to weep. We motored back at sane speeds and enjoyed the sunshine. He was asleep as we pulled into his driveway. His wife met us and helped me get him back in the house where he collapsed asleep on the sofa. She walked me to the car as I encouraged her to stay strong and reminded her what a great person she was to support the fight Chip was forced into. "Yeah," she said, "but every day he gets further away from me." I told her he was lucky - he had her. We hugged goodbye and I headed for the bridge, counting my blessings and wondering if I'd ever see my old friend again, but knew I was unlikely to.
An hour or so later I passed Rt. 81 and knew I was back home in the high country of the Maryland mountains. I realized my new-old car had briefly made my old friend happy for a while....maybe that is the first of many such moments for me and the Z. The car is just a week or so old for me, and I hardly know it, but I like how she makes others around me feel. Maybe it was the right decision after all....
Slowly, and with a variety of influences effecting my trajectory, I settled on a 2012 Z4 sDrive 35i. The car had 11,300 miles, 2 years of warranty, was well equipped and had been respectfully owned. The final push was price. Originally priced at $62,900, I paid $37,000. As I drove it home cautiously, I felt a bit like a thief; I could not fathom a car of this quality and performance could be had for such a low price. I also felt a bit intimidated! The 35i is a BEAST. It is competitive with Porches, Lotuses, and,believe it or not, Corvettes! I had read abut the "Launch control" feature, but immediately thought I would never have the confidence to even try it let alone regularly use it. In fact, after a few weeks of ownership, i still haven't had the courage to try the advanced "Sport +" mode. This is no MG, Healy or Triumph from the 60's. This is a serious, modern autobahn car. Until last weekend, I was beginning to think I had bought too much car, but was eager to see if an old Geezer like me could adapt to the modern sports car.
Last weekend, I put 460 miles on the odometer going to see an old sailing buddy who is in late stage Alzheimer's. He and his wife retired to Chestertown, (Eastern Shore of Maryland), 5 years ago and within months of the move, Chip began to shows signs of the disease. I went down to spend the day with him and help get his sailboat in the water. The boat was his dad's, and Chip sailed it for 50 years. It has been good therapy for him to just sit on deck and have lunch over the last few years. Sadly, he didn't remember either me or the boat; his amazing wife tells me he is "Spiraling in.", and he is not sure who she is most of the time. Incredibly sad; he was an amazing trial lawyer and at 55, he needs constant supervision. I thought he might enjoy waxing his old boat, but he couldn't remember how to put a jacket on let alone wax a boat, so I offered Nancy a few hours alone time by taking Chip for a ride in my new convertible.
We got him dressed and set out. His first question was, "What happened to the roof?" Poor guy. We got moving, and I heard him chuckle as we sped thru some turns. I have been trying to learn the manual shift points and we found some nice flat country roads to unwind it a bit. I stole a glimpse at Chip's face every so often and he was clearly enjoying the ride. A few outright laughs as I threw him against the seat belt reminded me what a funny guy he used to be. ..and one of the smartest, sharpest, most fun loving folks I have ever known. He was enjoying the ride more and more as his chuckles turned to squeals and loud laughs.
We worked our way north to Millington, then south to Goldsboro, Greensboro and Denton. Knowing the Delaware State cops have no souls, I stayed in Maryland and on secondary roads, but looked for twisty stuff. The Eastern Shore is built like a pool table and there are few obstacles so the roads tend to be drawn with a ruler - perfect to learn the nuances of manual dual clutch shifting. Its a strange feeling to leave your foot on the gas when upshifting! After 90 minutes I decided I still have a LOT to learn - and I had yet to put it into either of the 2 Sport modes! My reach has exceeded my grasp, but its the journey, right? So I have time to master this beast.
Outside of Denton, we were both laughing as the car had gotten light over a heave in the road and we stopped at the light laughing at like schoolgirls. Chip was wiping his eyes when he looked at me and asked if I knew where he lived with a very real look of concern, even fear, on his face. I assured him I did and he said, "This is too powerful a car for me, I don't think we'll buy it....we should go back to the dealership." He had forgotten who I was again. What a horrible disease. It takes WHO YOU ARE away! I said , " OK, we'll head back.", and tried not to weep. We motored back at sane speeds and enjoyed the sunshine. He was asleep as we pulled into his driveway. His wife met us and helped me get him back in the house where he collapsed asleep on the sofa. She walked me to the car as I encouraged her to stay strong and reminded her what a great person she was to support the fight Chip was forced into. "Yeah," she said, "but every day he gets further away from me." I told her he was lucky - he had her. We hugged goodbye and I headed for the bridge, counting my blessings and wondering if I'd ever see my old friend again, but knew I was unlikely to.
An hour or so later I passed Rt. 81 and knew I was back home in the high country of the Maryland mountains. I realized my new-old car had briefly made my old friend happy for a while....maybe that is the first of many such moments for me and the Z. The car is just a week or so old for me, and I hardly know it, but I like how she makes others around me feel. Maybe it was the right decision after all....
opcorn:
. . . and it was going so well
