Mint speaks…an Editorial.
We get that once you own a car, it is yours to do with as you please. Hey, look what John Lennon did to a perfectly good Rolls-Royce. Ditto some Swami who had money to burn. And Janis Joplin “personalized” her Porsche 356 in psychedelic colors. Some of those creative decisions may have been influenced by, how should we say this, out of body experiences. With that said, who would do this to a perfectly nice black Big Healey? We aren’t telling you who sent this in or where it was found but it actually exists and is for sale. We think the bottle of Windex is included.
What do you think?
Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and others painted BMW race cars in the 80’s to considerable effect, and are now considered museum worthy.
Who appointed the “Taste Police” to sit in judgement about individuals rights to paint their cars as they see fit?
Had Janis Joplin ordered her 356 direct from the factory, Porsche would have gladly painted it in any psychedelic color she chose — heck, they’d even match the color from a fabric swatch you provided. The point being that many prestigious marques who were meticulous about the quality of the cars they built nonetheless viewed the customer as the final arbiter of taste so far as appearance (and in many cases, coachwork) was concerned.
Compared to modern cars which all look decidedly the same it is great to see owners ideas of how they can improve their classics as long as they are roadworthy and not causing anyone any harm. And I also feel they word mint is misused surely it is a color not a condition.
There is no accounting for taste. Customizing classics was sort of cool when they were just cars. Now customizing needs to morph to restoration. The world has changed. Those back yard garages became attached garages. Now park your ’55 T-Bird in that attached garage & your wife complains about gas fumes. Let’s keep classics classic & let’s keep our classics in a classic detached garage.