Bela's blog

So what exactly is a relay? Take your time.

I'm not ashamed to admit it. I know precisely (and I've measured using scientifically calibrated micro-calipers) diddly-squat about cars. However, I'm also a skinflint. So when something bad happens to a car of mine, the skinflint genes easily overpower the diddly-squat no-nothing repressions and force me to try the best I can to find a solution before I spent hundreds of dollars getting it towed somewhere, thousands of dollars getting it repaired, and hundreds more dollars on booze to help ease the pain of all those hundreds and thousands of dollars I so recently spent on repairs.

That leads me to my story.

Ah, the joys of a mid-life crisis. Certainly, the inevitable (assuming one lives long enough) transition from 39 to 40 years of age can be faced casually, with dignity, grace and resigned acceptance. Or it can be met with a mild, understated, but entirely panic-stricken subconscious voice that impels one to perform a dramatic about-face in terms of vehicular practicality. I opted for the latter.

Alfa Romeo GTV 3.0 V6 - front

The result: my driveway is now adorned with a strikingly beautiful Italian sports car, the Alfa Romeo GTV 3.0 V6 24v, vintage 1998. In Alfa red, of course.