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by Bobby McCarthy
Copyright (c), 2003, My Daily Driver -- All Rights Reserved 
OK, let's be honest, one of the biggest reasons we drive these classic cars is the "Cool Factor." Granted, it is by no means the only or most important reason for our decision, but it is "cool" to drive a classic car. There are as many different and varied vintage cars as there are reasons they are purchased and driven. This article is only focusing on the "Cool Factor." We'll omit the element of nostalgia. Whether the car you drive is the one you could not afford when you were sixteen, had one and let it get away when you "grew up" or to recapture some youthful exuberance, carries no weight with this analysis. In addition, the fact that with a nine-sixteenth inch wrench, an assortment of screw drivers and a timing light, I can caress my engine to a smooth purr, will also not be discussed. This is all about "Cool." When was the last time you saw a soft-drink commercial that featured a Nissan Maxima? Never, right. Did Thelma and Louise drive off the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in a Taurus? No. Every time a "cool" character in a film, TV show or commercial drives up, you can bet it's behind the wheel of a classic car. Why is this? After an exhaustive study, we here at My Daily Driver came to the conclusion that classic cars are "cool". 
When driving your vintage car on a summer day, you can pull up to a red light right next to a new BMW
or Porsche and the folks in the crosswalk will make a fuss over your car. "Wow, what year is it?"
"Nice car!" You do not need to be operating a "Best of Show" or a Yenko to evoke this kind of
response.I am an adult, I have been for quite some time, and I do patronize drinking establishments. On a warm evening, parking my car outside a said establishment usually results in numerous conversations with folks entering and exiting. The hood comes up, the doors swung upon and occasionally the trunk is popped. This is Cool. Once entering the water hole, perhaps a few folks will approach you and inquire, "Is that your car parked out yonder?" Cool. Once again, let's be honest, we are not Arthur Fonzerelli. If we subjected ourselves to the Cool-o-Meter (a device developed by NASA in the '60's and currently only used by Hollywood) we may come up a bit short. However, if we factor in that we daily drive a classic car, then the Cool-o-Meter might just be pinned. What's lost on the casual observer is the fact that we spend our hard earned dollars and commit countless unpaid hours to the maintenance of these vehicles. Well, that's sort of the point. We really don't drive these cars for "them." It's a labor of love. I feel "cool" just driving my car to work and driving to work is generally considered "un-cool." 
Even if I'm going to Wal-Mart, I find myself looking for a "cool" parking space. You know, the "spot."
That mystical parking zone that your car is safe from both predators and hazards. I find it important to
locate a "window" parking spot. These are the most desirable. Not only can the folks within the structure
see you pull up, the "window" spots are historically the "safest." That's "Cool."As "Cool" as I may consider myself to be, I am in a bit of a quandary. Is there an unwritten "Cool" rule regarding beeping your horn at another classic car? I can spot a vintage car by its headlight configuration on a dark, rainy country road. I always give a "beep, beep, beep". However, I have experienced about a 30 percent return-beep. Now occasionally I attribute this to this to the oncoming driver needing all of their faculties to navigate their "old" car down the road, thus, the non-return-beep. Or perhaps the non-return-beep is because they are too focused on isolating an annoying squeak somewhere on the dash. Well maybe, but I suspect that the "Cool Factor" is to blame. Have some folks taken being "cool" too far? Too "cool" to even acknowledge another "cool" car? Wow, that amount of coolness confined within a vinyl interior staggers the senses. If that were the case, even The Fonz would be proud. 
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