Yes, another post about goals and dreams. Don’t you find it annoying when a PF blog talks to you about goals? They throw out key terms like “financial independence”, “early retirement”, and “working for myself”. Why do they waste so much energy on being politically correct? I want to be rich, filthy stinking rich. That’s my goal.

I’m not interested in a monologue about such generic diction. Here’s my interest. It’s important to share your goals and dreams with the people you care about. By talking about it, you garner enthusiasm and support from those around you. With my dream of being filthy stinking rich comes a dream of what I would do with the money. I’ve shared this with the people I care about, mostly my family and girlfriend. Since starting this blog, I’ve agglomerated a group of daily readers. It’s only fair that I share some of my dreams with y’all as well.

If you’re familiar with Jay Leno’s garage, then you’ll understand exactly what I’m thinking about. A car museum. With the right amount of money I would start a car collection to preserve rare, interesting, and personally appealing vehicles. It would serve as a private collection, but at the same time be open to the public.

This dream is a distant reality, but owning a piece of the dream can be an attainable goal. The most significant car to me is the BMW M5 (pictured). For car enthusiasts, I speak of the E39, 02-03 vintage. This car isn’t special to many, but it is to me. As a high schooler, I got mixed into a crowd of car enthusiasts and was exposed to the culture of cars. I first met this car then; to date I’ve only been on a ride in it once. Black on black and at night, it rolled up the driveway with just the angel eyes illuminated. A signature look for BMW, and in this time one of the few packing the feature. Straight evil. But its what the car looks like at high noon that gave me a connection to this car.

You see, as humans, our passions gravitate us objects that represent something about us. My mother loves Jane Austin novels. They speak to her fascination with the classical British upper class and European royalty. A high school buddy was what you might call a hick, and proud. Confederate flags, dip, cigarettes, big belt buckles, tattoos, etc… naturally his dream is to restore a Pontiac Firebird; you know the kind with the big bird on the hood. It fits his style. This BMW fits mine. The car looks great without drawing attention to itself. This is no Ferrari, and most people would think its just a normal guy’s BMW. I’m not a sexy guy, but I look alright. The M5 will only draw attention from those that understand what it is. I only want attention from those that care about me. This car is also no lightweight, but it remains fast and powerful; similar to me. I can find a million reasons why this car and I are related, the important thing is the connection I have with it.

Back to the goal. This car has since been replaced by a newer, faster version. While I have strong emotions for that car, it doesn’t evoke the type of emotion the older does. So this car does have a depreciated value now, but its still well out of my price range and the budget couldn’t afford the maintenance either. So my goal is to one day afford this car. It might take me 30 years, and I’ll need to do a restoration, but I want this car. The desire for this vehicle drives the motivation to succeed. So forget “financial independence” and all the other bogus goals PF bloggers preach, find a tangible goal to work for.

Oh and for other enthusiasts out there, I’ve included a list of other vehicles that would be in my museum. By no means is this all of them. If you want to know why I chose these or to tell me what your passion/goal is, send me an email: Philip@weakonomics.com

Aston Martin DB5
Aston Martin V8 Vantage
BMW 2002
BMW M3 – (E30, E46, and E92)
BMW M5(E60 - and the forthcoming F10 )
BMW M6 (E24) –
BMW Z8
Dodge Challenger (or any 2 Mopars to preserve the 440 Magnum and 426 Hemi) –
Ferrari 575 Superamerica
Ford GT
Land Rover Defender 90
Porsche 911 Carrera RS
Toyota Supra Mark IV
Willys Jeep

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By The Weakonomist

The Weakonomist is the founder of Weakonomics. Clicking the picture of the puppy will tell you more about him. If you like what you're reading consider subscribing to the blog, following him on Twitter, and checking out the related posts below. Please consider a donation if you really enjoy Weakonomics. Also keep in mind that nothing I say can be construed as financial advice.

categories: cars, personal