Soon after I bought my Buick back in the early 90's, I began participating in everything Buick. Shows, events, clubs, road trips, hanging around Buick performance shops, getting to know the big players in the Buick performance world........so on and so on. It pretty much became the primary basis of my social life.
But I was in my early 20's. No kids, no bills, no responsibilities. If I wanted to make last minute plans to go running off to some event, I just did it. This lifestyle grew until it peaked sometime before and after Y2K. I spent the money and didn't care about tomorrow.
Tomorrow has finally arrived. Now I have a 150,000 dollar car that is worth 22 cents. Financially, I have never really been able to recover from this addiction. I'm still playing catch-up against my non-hot-rod peers. It takes months of planning for me to go anywhere. And if at the last minute something important comes up, the Buick plans get dropped in a heartbeat. I can't even get a chance to wash it before I show it anymore.
If most of the Buick crowd is my age or close, then there's your answer.
But many Buick owners are probably every bit enthusiastic about their cars today as they were 20 years ago. I know I am. We just can't do it anymore.
There is one thing I know for sure. In my one life to live, I had the opportunity to be in a different financial place at 47 years old. But I gave it up for a lump of rolling metal, rubber and plastic.