Every car snob becomes a car snob as a result of the cars they love- or are subjected to. Although your memories will include different cars and different stories (except for my family members), I think you'll notice some similarities in your own car experience. The following timeline shows how I became the car snob I am today:

1966 MG-B: a sweet deep blue convertible British sports car my father owned when my parents first married. About six months after Mom became pregnant with my twin brother and I, she could not longer fit her stomach in between the seat and the dashboard and my sports car days were over... for a long, long time. (Sweet hair Mom)

1966 Oldsmobile Delta 88: I can't remember much about this car although it is amazing we survived sleeping in the rear window during my parents' cross-country move.

1964 Volvo station wagon: the first of several family station wagons. Dad had us convinced that it was a sports car. Of course, we were a little gullible at age 2.

1974 Datsun station wagon: Even though it was a Datsun (the predecessor to Nissan) it was in this car that I first remember thinking that cars could be fun and exciting. On Sunday afternoons Dad would take the family out for a drive on a dirt road we called "Rollercoaster Road" and I recall my siblings and I thinking we were actually leaving the ground as we crested every hill. On one occasion Dad miscounted the number of hills on "Rollercoaster Road" and then had to demonstrate his emergency braking and power slide technique. Even though we nearly crashed I remember thinking how cool it was that Dad could drive like that.

1976 Volkswagen bus: Only two redeeming qualities: 1. German made. 2. Porsche engine. Once again, Dad tried to convince us that because of the Porsche engine, the van qualified as a sports car. He actually got it up to 100 mph (downhill) on a trip to Salt Lake City in an attempt to prove the fact. I was a little older and not quite as naïve at that time but still thought the Porsche engine and the 100 mph was cool.

1980 Mercury station wagon: Yellow. Domestic. Fold-out jumper seats in the rear so that you could sit knee to knee with siblings, making for easy fighting on long road trips. In those less-peaceful road trip moments Dad always said, "Do you want to get out and walk?" He made good on the threat a couple of times, dropping us off on the side of the highway, pulling ahead about half a mile, and waiting until we caught back up to the rest of the family.

1982 GMC Caballero (that's GMC Gentleman to all you gringos out there): GMC's less-known and less-cool version of the Chevy El Camino, a cross between a pick-up truck and a car. I learned to drive in this car and hauled a lawnmower in the back throughout the summer months. Three speed. Brown. Enough said.

1986 Jaguar XJ12: This was my first real contact with a European sports car, and I think it started me down the road of becoming a car snob. My uncle Gary bought this car when I was a sophomore in high school just after I got my driver's license, right as my interest in cars was rapidly increasing. I loved the silver color, the black leather interior, and the amazing power of this car. I never got to drive it but I remember it felt different, drove different, and sounded different than anything I had ever experienced.

1976 Pontiac Grand Prix: the requisite high school muscle car. My twin brother and I drove this one during most of our high school days, so I have a lot of great memories of this car, spending summer nights driving up and down the Main Street of our hometown. In this car I first drove 100 mph (sorry Mom and Dad). Not quite as fun as I had imagined after 90 mph when the steering wheel started shaking.

1982 Corvette: fire-engine red, my Uncle Kent always kept it in perfect condition. One of the few cars American automakers have done right consistently, a classic. Uncle Kent was kind enough to loan me this car to me for the senior prom and it was definitely one of the highlights of my high school years.

1987 Porsche 911: Uncle Gary sold the Jag after a couple of years and moved on to a sweet red 911. He loaned it as a backdrop for the high school homecoming dance my senior year.

1989 Hyundai Excel: This car has a special place in my heart because it was the first car that I officially owned, given to me by my father.

1980 Cadillac Fleetwood: Inherited this car when a family member died and it got me through Physician Assistant school at University of Washington. It pulled a U-Haul trailer with all of my life's belongings to clinical sites throughout Washington and Idaho. My children and I found our own "Rollercoaster Road" out in Washington state in this car. It was dubbed the "Love Boat" at my wedding reception.

2001 Ford Focus: OK, I was just trying to be practical but this car forced me to admit that I am a car snob. There, I said it. I am a car snob. I bought the car in a time when money was a little tight, trying to save some money while I paid off my student loans. I hated this car from the first day I drove it. Gutless. No personality whatsoever. It worked just fine, got good gas mileage and always started but I was embarrassed to drive it. I ended up selling it within a month and from that point on my wife started calling me a car snob.

Life is good for this car snob. I currently drive an Acura MDX with the family and an Audi A4 when I'm on my own, and Mom gave Dad an old MGB for his 60th birthday.

So there you have it, the cars and stories that have made me a car snob. A whole lot of average cars with funny quirks and good memories attached to them. A few beaters intermixed with glimpses of how great cars can be. It doesn't make me a snob in other ways; it doesn't mean that I'm self-centered or that I think I'm cooler than the guy driving the minivan in the slow lane . I just want a well-designed car that looks good and performs well. I depend on my car to be reliable, safe, and fun to drive. I want a Polished Image Auto Sales car.

We spend a lot of time in our cars, sometimes nearly as much time as we spend in our homes. We laugh, we cry, we play, and we work in our cars, so you shouldn't have to apologize for wanting the best in your car. You want to be safe and you want to enjoy the ride. You work hard and you want your car to represent who you are. It's OK to be a car snob. After all, you are what you drive.