Flashforward 2010

Aforementioned green Spitfire (notice the RAF Roundel???!!??); yep - it's a 1970.....

Flashback 1970

I am a pretty lucky guy. I would venture a guess that most people don't recall the moment they fell in love with cars. I do. It was the summer of 1970. I was 7 years old and we were visiting relatives. My cousin Bobby had just purchased a brand-new sports car. It was yellow. I didn't know the make or model, but I knew it was cool. He took my brother and I for a ride and I was hooked. Top down; wind in our hair; sights and sounds like I had never experienced before. That was it. I was officially a car nut.

The reason I'm so lucky is that I not only remember the instant I fell in love, I have a picture! Yep, that's me in the middle in my cousin Bobby's yellow 1970 Triumph Spitfire. (1970 was the only model year the RAF Roundel badge was used on the bonnet!) Although I couldn't have articulated it to you then, Spitfires became my benchmark for cool cars.

Fast-forward 16 years. I'm now 23 and able to buy my first sportscar. What do you suppose I bought? That's right - a red 1973 Triumph Spitfire.

Fast-forward another 23 years. I'm 46 now. Many cars have come and gone (including the little red Spit). I can't say that Spitfires are the fastest cars I've ever owned. I can't say they handle the best. I can say they are still my benchmark - the purest form of sportscar fun. And oh yeah, there is still a little green one parked in my garage. Happy motoring!