Car Dreams--Rendell

It was November of 2010. The sudden surge of a new car smell came as we walked into the hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center. So many cars of different body styles and colors, all brand new and shiny, ready to be showcased for all. As a 8 year old, 4 foot 5, really dark and chubby 3rd grade Filipino boy, I was so happy to just be in the presence of what I loved the most at the time, which was cars. I would always wait for this moment every year, the Los Angeles Auto Show that came around every mid November. 2 weeks full of automakers all across the world showcasing their brand new cars, engines, features, and sometimes special gimmicks. The car brands I would always be interested in were all the high end luxury cars, like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Land Rover, Jaguar, and Lexus. But at the Lexus booth, there was one car that caught my attention the most, the brand new 2011 Lexus LFA. It had an amazing sounding 4.8 liter V10, with 552 horsepower, a beautiful red leather interior with the cleanest, sparkly white paint on the exterior and an extreme price tag of $375,000. My Lolo, or Grandpa in English, would always take me to the auto show every year, just so we could look at all the cars. So when I saw that Lexus, I told him, “Lolo I'm gonna buy that car when I'm older!” Realizing the price tag of the car, my Lolo had told me “This is a very expensive car, but I know you can buy this one day. Always remember to work hard and that’s how you will achieve your dreams.” Now as a 3rd grader, I took that advice a little lightly because at the time school wasn't very hard for me, but little did I realize that his words would mean way more later in my life.
When I was 15 and a half, my friends would ask what I was looking for as my first car. I had my eyes on the first generation Lexus IS300, mainly because it had the same engine from one of my other dream cars, which was the legendary 2jz inline 6 engine from the Toyota Supra. The engine was known for its reliability and its ability to take on immense amounts of power. I also knew that the car was the perfect balance of safety, reliability, and price for my parents to approve. From the time I got my permit, I watched so many IS300 videos on how it drove, the maintenance issues, and the most important part, which was how many modifications you could do to the car. From intakes, to exhausts, to new stereo head units, and especially lowered suspension, you could do so much to the car. That’s when I realized that cars weren’t only a way of transportation. Modifying your car was another way of art and expressing yourselves by making the car the way you want it. But the most important thing I realized is that these people with modified cars weren’t the richest people, but instead were people who worked really hard to buy all these expensive car parts to fulfill the idea in their head of the dream build of their car. My Lolo’s message to me came to mind, as it made me realize that working hard for your dreams doesn’t only apply in school, but also applies to other things to be successful in life, like cars. From that point on, I was focused on saving up for a car, doing as much as I could to earn money; whether it was selling my old stuff on offerup, reselling shoes, and even having an under the table job at one point. By the time my Lolo had come back from the Philippines, he saw that I was saving up for a car, so a few days after I turned 16, my Lolo had pulled up a car to my house and surprised me with the IS300 I had been saving up for! The previous owner had done a lot to the car, including a full exhaust, an intake, and even a bodykit! It was a very good looking build and I wished to keep the car in great shape to respect the previous owner’s hard work, but as a new driver driving a lowered car, I had some problems with maintaining the bodykit. Nevertheless, I always tried my best to take care of my car. I’ve had so many memories

with it so far, trips to go play basketball with friends, going out to eat with friends, and finally driving my family around. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing with the car though, I’ve had times where it didn’t start and a ball joint broke on the car one time and I couldn’t drive it for a few weeks. But that’s a given with old cars, no car is perfect. Now I don’t know when I’ll start saving up to get my next car, or even when I get my dream car, the Lexus LFA, but I’ll always remember what my Lolo said to me, to always work hard and my dreams will be accomplished!