Cobra snobs

[Carroll DeWeese]

CowtownCobra,
You asked, “Why does someone build/buy a cobra and then within say 6 months, and fewer than 500 miles, its for sale?”

Many reasons can apply, but for some people the dream is better than the reality. Their desire to possess is greater than the possession itself. We who have Cobras know that they are almost totally impractical. There is no rational reason to own one. They are an in-you-face expression of independence and non-political correctness. They are not very safe. They are expensive to maintain and operate. They take an inordinate amount of time and attention. The reality of a Cobra can overwhelm someone that acts on impulse in getting one. They just do not fit everyone’s lifestyle.

The problem may happen most often with buyers, not builders. Some people apparently have more money than they know what to do with it. Finding that the Cobra does not meet their needs, they bail out and sell it. Sometimes builders sell soon after completion. They are either building the cars to sell or get their kicks in building, not owning. Sweat equity implies a certain degree of specific commitment to the sweat equity project. This is not to say that a person that buys a car has less commitment to it than a person that builds a car. Some buyers are much more committed to their cars than some builders. They have great psychological and personal commitment to their cars. The reality to them is as great or greater than the dream.

If a person spends years building a car and actually completes the project, they have dealt with the reality of building and achieving their dream. The odds favor their being committed to their car. They have dealt with the reality of building and found that the car has become part of their being. For a man, it is analogous of a woman giving birth. The resulting car is the baby. Because of the process, most women – but not all -- are very committed to their child. The very process of birthing reinforces commitment.

I did not build my car with my own hands. Others build it for me. It took me years for me to decide to commit. It was not an impulse decision. I am as committed to the car as if I built is myself. I see myself as the coordinator of great craftsmen to build a car that is better than any given person could do by themselves. I am committed. I do not to sell it in any foreseeable future. I changed my lifestyle to fit the car. I did not reject the car because it did not fit my lifestyle.

Some people try to own and possess a Cobra. To me, a Cobra is its own entity, its own being. To try and possess and control it is to lose it. Those that do not know how to relate to their Cobra find that it does not meet their needs. They bail out of the relationship and sell the car. They may have been the technical owners of the car, but they never really possessed it.

Part of the “snob” question has to do with some people’s inability to relate to their car, their possessions, and to others. As I indicated earlier, this inability is their problem. I hope that the Cobra community has room for all – even for those that do not have room for them.