Twenty five years! A milestone in the collector car hobby, for now anything that is at least 25 years old is collectible, instead of collecting dust. And if the cover of Hemmings Classic Car is right, it not only got my attention, but anything 1987 or older is now a classic. Now I was around in 1987, and busy raising kids, and starting a new career, having just left the unemployment capital of the US of A at the time, Farmington, New Mexico. How bad was it? Rider Truck was paying people to drive their trucks there-it was the number 1 one way origination point in the US! People would just drop their house keys off at a realty office, and leave town. Complete blocks of downtown were vacant-all due to the oil field business going bust. But back to the cars, 1987 cars really weren't outstanding to us at the time. Mustangs had 225 horsepower from the 5.0, today the advertise 421! Camaros had a whopping 245, but only with the 350! Big bucks-if you could get one insured. So looking at the list of 1987 cars, I laughed to myself as to why and what would be collectible. Were any of these cars so interesting that we will begin to see them at car shows?
Mini vans were all of three years old. SUV's were still a few years away. Convertibles were not yet popular, although we did have Mustang GT convertible, which shook terribly whenever you hit a bump. Quality had not become Job 1 yet. The Taurus was 2 years old, and had started a whole generation on its way to ovoid cars, or mostly cars to avoid when recalling some of them on the roads. Cars were just starting to come out of a performance doldrums, Japanese cars were the best quality, and the Germans still were known for luxury in this pre-Acura, Lexus, and Infinity world. Cadillacs had shrunk, but still were huge, Vettes were big and heavy, and Chrysler was still selling variants of the K car-the one that Lido I. had used to salvage Chrysler, remember him telling you "if you can find a better car, buy one!" We did. Even Roger Smith, "call me Roger," CEO of GM, when asked what did his company have to compete with the Japanese for value, answered "a two year old Buick." I'll bet Lee loved that answer. And maybe that is why we don't remember these cars of just 25 years ago.
A far cry from just 25 years earlier when you could tell a Ford from a Chevy, and known for their performance, and add Dodge and Plymouth to the mix. If you wanted economy it was a VW-one model only, the Bug, or the van if you really wanted to never get there. English cars meant sports cars, and Asian cars meant small, uncomfortable, cheesy cars. Cadillac was still the Standard of the World, and the final destination in your upward mobility. Red convertibles still made young couples fall in love, and sedans outranked anything else. Longer, lower, and wider was the theme-bigger was better, and who cared about 9mpg. Remember cruising all night Friday after checking the gas and filling the oil? For $2 combined from all your friends, fun was still fun, and affordable. And the cars were classic, just as their owners are today. Times and styles change. In this pre-EPA and CAFE world, cars told us so much about us. It was an extension of us, and I wonder what today's cars tell us about us. Or do we really want to know?
God looks at things different than we do, and it is us who need to change to be like Him. We tend to look on the outside, and still determine people by what they drive. God looks at the heart, and sees what drives us, that can be scary. Pretty packages we have become, but still need to be changed from the inside out, not the opposite. We didn't start out poor to become poorer, but so many have as things make us instead of God. The story of the widow giving all she had still can be upsetting. She gave all she had, just like Jesus did. He held nothing back, and she followed His example. Her heart was right, and without monthly payments. No envelopes from her church either to remind her to give. She truly gave, and because of her example in this lesson is a classic example of giving, and of God's love. And she did it in secret. Can you honestly say you never told anyone about a huge gift you intended to give? Or never went to show off your new car? Or your new coat, boots, or hair style? This widow lady had style, a style that only God could see, it was that priceless. And expensive.
That is why salvation is a gift. It is so valuable that no price could be put on it-no one could afford it if He did. So God made it free, and a gift for all. Classics and non. A choice you make to accept or deny Christ. Widow or married, it is still our decision. Looking back we have made some bad decisions, can we look ahead with Jesus? One decision to choose Him will correct all the previous ones. A classic decision, based on who He is, not what you drive. 4, 6, or 8 cylinder, it is better to be tuned with Jesus than adding a turbo for short bursts of more power. 25 years from now your car will be old, and you will be older. Jesus will still be God. Classics may come and go based on age and interest-try Jesus. A classic at any age-for all ages. Step into the future with Him now. And leave your payment book at home. If it works for a car, imagine what He can do for you.
love with compassion,
Mike
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