B
Bihari, James
Guest
<table>A couple weeks back I was showing the 2003 Amphicar Meet splash-in tape to my physics students
on the first day of class to amuse them and later one of the students commented that she thought that
an Amphicar looked so cute, like an old Chevy. I just smiled because people have said that every old
car I've ever had has looked like a Chevy, presumably because that's the first brand that comes to mind?
One guy told me that an Amphicar looked like a Henry J, which I though was about as close as anything
but nothing really looks like an Amphicar.
The $22 K I have in my Amphi all came from professional student loans and is somewhat more money
than all the money I have spent to buy the 15 other cars I've owned in my life. (Ten year ago, you could
buy decent daily driver 4-door sedans from the 50s and 60s for $500-$1200, now it's 4 times that.) So
in a couple years when I finish optometry school with over $100K in loan debt I'm going to have to sell
the Amphi and I know it will be depressing, but I often think about what I could buy to sort of "replace"
it. Sure I could rig up my 60 Buick to float like that Cuban guy did with the 59 Buick a couple years back
But I think that's beyond my skill level.
This morning I was looking at an old August 2001 Special Interest Auto magazine (#184) and on page 63
there was an article about a 1967 Citroen ID station wagon. I recall seeingCitroen sedans at the Ypsilanti
Orphan Car show in 2002 and 2003 (anyone near Michigan should go to that show--first Sunday in
June every year--it's far betterthan any other old car show you can find, with experts giving a history lesson on every car as it drives by the stands, plus there are always a few Amphis in attendance.)and I thought
the cars looked cool, but perhaps now after seeing an Amphi so much, the odd looks of a Citroen appeal
to me even more, plus I love station wagons.
There is a far uglier 1971 Citroen wagon in Kentucky on ebay right now (the quad headlights of the 71
don't look anywhere near as nice as the dual headlights of 67, which look something more like a 58
Packard Hawk or old MG or something--I guess there was a 67 wagon in the Buffy the Vampire
Slayer movie?). No one is bidding on it at $500 and if I had someplace to store it, I'd be crazy
enough to bid on it (wouldn't the Schlemmers have an empty old shed out back that could fit a
Citroen?) Two months after I bought my Amphi on ebay, I almost bid on a 59 Dodge but I had
a friend stay on the phone with me while the auction ended to talk me ought of it. A year later
I bought a different 59 Dodge on ebay that was in worse shape. So maybe I'll have to have
someone talk me out of this Citroen, only to buy a different one in a couple of years when I
sell my Amphi.
This is a long message to ask, if you had to sell your Amphi due to lack of money, what cheaper
(or more expensive) car would you buy to fight the "sold my Amphi blues?"
Jim Bihari
on the first day of class to amuse them and later one of the students commented that she thought that
an Amphicar looked so cute, like an old Chevy. I just smiled because people have said that every old
car I've ever had has looked like a Chevy, presumably because that's the first brand that comes to mind?
One guy told me that an Amphicar looked like a Henry J, which I though was about as close as anything
but nothing really looks like an Amphicar.
The $22 K I have in my Amphi all came from professional student loans and is somewhat more money
than all the money I have spent to buy the 15 other cars I've owned in my life. (Ten year ago, you could
buy decent daily driver 4-door sedans from the 50s and 60s for $500-$1200, now it's 4 times that.) So
in a couple years when I finish optometry school with over $100K in loan debt I'm going to have to sell
the Amphi and I know it will be depressing, but I often think about what I could buy to sort of "replace"
it. Sure I could rig up my 60 Buick to float like that Cuban guy did with the 59 Buick a couple years back
But I think that's beyond my skill level.
This morning I was looking at an old August 2001 Special Interest Auto magazine (#184) and on page 63
there was an article about a 1967 Citroen ID station wagon. I recall seeingCitroen sedans at the Ypsilanti
Orphan Car show in 2002 and 2003 (anyone near Michigan should go to that show--first Sunday in
June every year--it's far betterthan any other old car show you can find, with experts giving a history lesson on every car as it drives by the stands, plus there are always a few Amphis in attendance.)and I thought
the cars looked cool, but perhaps now after seeing an Amphi so much, the odd looks of a Citroen appeal
to me even more, plus I love station wagons.
There is a far uglier 1971 Citroen wagon in Kentucky on ebay right now (the quad headlights of the 71
don't look anywhere near as nice as the dual headlights of 67, which look something more like a 58
Packard Hawk or old MG or something--I guess there was a 67 wagon in the Buffy the Vampire
Slayer movie?). No one is bidding on it at $500 and if I had someplace to store it, I'd be crazy
enough to bid on it (wouldn't the Schlemmers have an empty old shed out back that could fit a
Citroen?) Two months after I bought my Amphi on ebay, I almost bid on a 59 Dodge but I had
a friend stay on the phone with me while the auction ended to talk me ought of it. A year later
I bought a different 59 Dodge on ebay that was in worse shape. So maybe I'll have to have
someone talk me out of this Citroen, only to buy a different one in a couple of years when I
sell my Amphi.
This is a long message to ask, if you had to sell your Amphi due to lack of money, what cheaper
(or more expensive) car would you buy to fight the "sold my Amphi blues?"
Jim Bihari
I drifted into the rear of his boat. The impact
