A friend of mine got slightly upset the other day when he was described as a ‘classic car collector’. It wouldn’t bother me, but I know what he means. See, he regards himself – and indeed is – an enthusiast, someone in it for the ups and downs of ownership.
‘Collector’, on the other hand, conjures images of reclusive billionaires with dozens of mint ‘trophy’ classics entombed in climate-controlled hangars.
Wearing a velvet smoking jacket, this sort of collector might occasionally contemplate his SLs, Miuras and 540Ks, but will almost certainly never drive them.
Equally, it could bring to mind a slightly unhinged loner with a field full of Austin Maestros. While they might consider themselves enthusiasts, they are really just hoarders who would rather see their cars return to the soil than let anyone else have them. Maybe Maestros are not a good example, but in both cases the object is possession rather than enjoyment of the cars.
In both cases the object is possession rather than enjoyment of the cars. Is that a bad thing? Not always – but you have to do it right.