[V8] Fall pilgrimage and restoration of faith

[Roger M. Woodbury]

My wife and I took our annual fall pilgrimage picnic the other day. We 
do this to look at foliage and have what might well be the last pleasant 
afternoon before real cold sets in.  The destination was Mt. Battie 
which is a state park that overlooks Camden and the greater Penobscot 
Bay.  It was a mild, sunny day: perfect for a short trip and picnic in a 
beautiful location.

While driving through Camden I fell in line behind a BMW 740iL. Now, I 
am not much of an authority on BMW's in general since my last BMW 
debacle in 1983, but this car was absolutely sparkling.  I mean, 
aparkling like right off the assembly line sparkling.  Everything about 
the car shouted "new", although given the age of the car, it might well 
have just been cosmetically restored recently.  I don't know what year 
this car was, but the simple fact that it  had true, straight, classic 
German car lines told me that it was a 90's something edition.  White 
with black interior, I immediately felt a certain Teutonic kinship as my 
V8 is white-pearl over black also. And my car looks every bit as fine as 
the BMW looked.

Given the nature of the Camden/Rockport/Rockland area, this car could 
have been "as new", used only as someone's summer car.  It was striking 
as most everything else one sees around generally is a shapeless 
Japenese/Korean wannabe car of various manufacture. This BMW was 
eye-arresting.

Today I am not driving the Audi V8.  In point of fact I have not even 
registered the car for a year as our primary mode of transportation is 
my wife's 100 Avant.  Still, seeing that BMW and then pulling into my 
driveway and seeing my, every-bit-as-nice Audi V8 made me realize what a 
nice example I have and how much I really need to keep on keeping on 
with that car.

In the new year I will have the few things the car needs done completed 
and put it back on the road....if not sooner.  I will do it for various 
reasons.  I will do it for the pleasure of driving it, but I will also 
do it because the classic lines constitute an improvement in the overall 
visual experience of those who are so unfortunate as to not have a REAL 
automobile to look at every morning.  Let's call my V8 experience a sort 
of "enlightened self-interest with humanitarian overtones."

Works for me!

Roger

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