I should also remind people I don't have a regular car at all, and buying a garage space would buy a house in much of the country and I don't like driving where I live, so I would probably have to keep it elsewhere.

To put the car I Want in the Context of its era and why it is considered so beautiful, here is a car from the same period:

This post was edited by palimpsest on Mon, Apr 28, 14 at 12:54

My dad always said "Anticipation is the best or worst part of any experience", so IMO it's the anticipation of the purchase, the chase, if you will, or the thrill of thinking about owning that special _______ that makes anticipation delicious. Then, you drive that car, and realize you still have to obey speed limits, get stuck in traffic, can't find a good song on the radio to save your life, etc.

IOW, once you own, have or make love to it, the anticipation of the experience is over, and while the object or person may make you happy, getting that elusive fill-in-the-blank can be downright disappointing when the hunt is over. Then it's on to the next big thing and lather, rinse, repeat.

At least that's my .02.

sandyponder

I lusted after Red Mustang convertibles since I was sixteen. Forty years later, I finally got one. I LOVE IT!!!!

Linda

It's difficult to know as there are so many factors involved.

For instance, I've always wanted a chateau in the south of France and think I would find that very satisfying but it could end up being a PITA as far as maintenance and staff is concerned. Perhaps the dream is easier to maintain and enjoy!

Pal, it sounds like at the moment there isn't money in the budget for a "trophy" car and owning one would incur additional ongoing parking expenses, etc. ... but what if you didn't need a loan, had a spare garage space at home, had extra money for insurance even if only driven a few miles each summer?

If purchasing the dream is going to inconvenience you, then it won't be very satisfying, but if you had some extra money and you chose to spend it on the purchase and maintenance of your dream car, then I think you would be very satisfied.

When I was young I was so touched by the message in Virginia Woolf's The Lighthouse. For me the moment of attainment has always felt like an end in and of itself and the fleeting feeling of mortality always hits me when a long time goal has been realized. The effort truly means more to me than the goal.

Reminds me of the old saying "What's better than owning a boat? Having a friend that owns a boat." sandy ponder your dad's quote is so true.

Well, I do know that they have done research that shows that most people get more pleasure out of planning and anticipating vacation, then the actual vacation. So that is similar.

In a slight twist to what Chispa said, I think if you CAN get it, but simply decide for the reasons you've delineated that you don't want to, or don't want to right now, that just looking and educating yourself and tracking them can be very satisfying. Because on top of ogling and appreciating them, you get to feel good (/smug) about not "wasting" the money etc etc

I think it depends. Dh and I are working on our landscape. It is a process that has taken years and has many, many more years left of work to do. We harvest the rocks, build the soil, plant the plants, move the plants to better locations, etc. There are some parts I long to just have done because those are the parts I do not enjoy but there are other things that will likely be tweaked, over and over, again. It is satisfying to know that what is there was done by ourselves but we have not achieved the end goal (and we may not). It is similar to the decor of many rooms, where we tweak, tweak and tweak but can never really say "It is finished." The satisfaction comes from the process.

Then, there are some lofty/abstract/out of reach goals that are fun to imagine just because they are out of reach and the realities do not have to be contended with, those are much more satisfying to day dream about.

My dh always wanted a Harley although he knows I dislike motorcycles.

I asked him to please wait until we could afford for him to pay cash and for our kids to be grown in case he died on the dam* thing.

Well the joke was on him when we had 2 more kids ;-)

He still looks longingly at them. Hope it's satisfying for him to continue to look.

Isn't that second car an Edsel?

I certainly think there's a lot of truth to the chase/ anticipation often being more satisfying than the actual acquisition. I think that rings true for numerous situations whether it be material goods, or even to people/ relationships, think about how many people have left a relationship for a grass is greener scenario, only to find out that after the chase was over, so is the thrill, and they're back to same let down they felt before.

But when you admire a thing beauty (car, house, person) from afar your imagination is free to concoct only the most wonderful scenarios without any the negatives.

I think in some regards it is better to "Want and have not than to have and want not" A meal taste much better when you are hungry than when you are full.

The hunt for a desired but unneeded item can provide entertainment and excitement during the entire hunt, while the excitement from acquisition of the item is usually short-lived.

I love to think about owning and furnishing a seaside cottage, even though I will likely never buy one for a number of practical reasons. I can collect inspirational pictures, floor plans, product tear sheets, etc. and have fun with the ideas without ever committing to the actual project. For me, that sort of dreaming is different than goal-setting and the goal achievement process. There are no frustrations or obstacles when indulging in the dreaming process while frustrations and obstacles would occur if I were seriously setting out to achieve a goal. Is that sort of what you mean, Palimpsest?

The first is a Lincoln Mark II, the second is a Mercury Turnpike Cruiser, so they are both even the same car company. The Mark II was $10,000 new, so it rivaled Rolls Royce prices. They lost money on each unit sold, and Cadillac came up with their competitor, which was even more expensive and lost even more per unit sold.

The Mercury Turnpike Cruiser was built on the Edsel platform and shared a lot of sheetmetal.

The Edsel/TC were the first cars whose design was developed from extensive marketing surveys and consumer research, and we can see the result, and we know the history.

I lust after living in an MCM house. I know that my DH and children would hate it and so we don't. My post and beam, low clutter house will have to suffice, it is a happy compromise. And in the meantime pictures and the occasional open house keep me happy.

If I actually were able to live in one I don't know what the consequences of my emotions would be like.

My mother often said," when you get there, there, s no "there" there.

It depends....if you think the "thing" is going to change your life and make everything wonderful as in if only...... then you will be disappointed. If you think the "thing" will be just be some fun then go ahead and get it, if it makes sense in your life right now.

Sounds like the Edsel was like the New Coke.