To say that my husband likes cars is as silly as saying the Grand Canyon is merely a big hole.  Since we’ve been married we have owned trucks, vans, SUV’s and a plethora of muscle cars and before we were married, he owned numerous motorcycles too.  It’s his hobby.  Collecting cars.  Sure we’ve sold our share of vehicles too, it’s not like he hoards his automobiles.  He’s even given a few away.  He acquires, he restores, and he enjoys going to auto show and shines.  I finally convinced him a couple of years ago to put one of his restored muscle cars in a local car show and to his utter amazement he actually won and got a trophy!  It has never been his intent to “compete” with his cars; he likes displaying them, and restoring them but mostly he likes to drive them!  “What is the point of having a car if you can’t drive it around?”  He says.  I am more worried about getting a scratch on his “babies” than he is.

I have learned after nearly thirty-four years of marriage that if you can’t “beat ’em, join ’em”, so I have embraced my husband’s hobby and I have actually come to a respectable semblance of understanding when he goes into his car conversational mode and spouts off car-related vernacular that he thinks I should be interested in.  (I smile and nod…a lot 🙂 )

That said, I have actually found a deep appreciation for those creative individuals who are involved in car restoration projects knowing how much time, energy and skill it takes to restore a rusty, engine-missing junker to a gleaming, show-worthy classic car.

My husband and I even spend good quality time together watching those different car shows on T.V…. from Pimp My Ride, to the Barrett-Jackson Car Auctions.  This past weekend was no exception, especially since on the auction block this time was the famous Batmobile created by George Barris. The Batmobile is based on a 1955 Lincoln Futura, a concept car built in Italy by the Ford Motor Co.  In 1965, it was bought for a nominal $1 by noted customizer George Barris, who had 15 days and $15,000 to transform the vehicle for the show. He has owned it ever since. Barris told Reuters that he had supplied vehicles for movies and television shows before, but this one had to be markedly different.

This past weekend, an Arizona man bought the original Batmobile for $4.2m (£2.6m) at the Barris-Jackson auction.   A price tag that some say is one of the largest amounts of money paid for any car.  Rick Champagne, a Phoenix-area logistics company owner, bought the car that was featured in the much-loved Batman series, which ran from 1966 to 1968 and starred Adam West and Burt Ward.

Believe it or not, my sweet husband had the opportunity to buy a Batmobile many years ago…not this one per se, but one of the several “replica” cars that were used on the T.V. show.  At the time, we just didn’t have the money or the shop space available to buy the “Batmobile” but we’ve always had a fondness for the black-winged iconic car.

So we say congratulations to Mr. Champagne (appropriate name somehow :)) for acquiring the original Batmobile.  I hope the car brings you many years of pleasure.  It better at that price!