Automotive

1. older and not interested in current trends, climate change, etc.(Toyota Prius hybrids and other such foolishness). From the rest of the items below, and the voter signs in car-rich neighborhoods, I deduce that the car collector tends not to be a progressive Democrat, but a conservative Republican or Libertarian with a "leave me alone and I'll leave you alone" attitude rather than "let's work together to make this a happier, safer, cleaner, more inclusive world ..." 

 2. stuck on cars in general or on one brand / model - where there's one cool car, there are usually several 

3. immune to negative opinions of their neighbors AND/OR the neighbors don't care - this happens more in older, mind-your-own-business neighborhoods rather than up-and-coming, keep up with (or beat out) the Joneses areas. Guys with lots of cars parked around the house tend not to be so worried about property values (theirs and those of their neighbors). As an example, I used to have a nice Chevy Corvair Rampside pickup. I owned it in partnership with a friend. I live in an upscale part of town but it's very old by Calif standards, settled 100 years ago. Never had any problems with my car in the drive or on the street. My car buddy, on the other hand, lived with his family in a 15-year old swanky new neighborhood, and continually got notes on the truck saying "Move this piece of crap" or "We're calling the cops on you" for parking one second past the city's 72-hour parking ordinance. 

4. As a follow-on from 3, interesting cars are not found often in new condominiums, planned communities, places with covenants and restrictions, or big apartment complexes. The occasional low-rider or slightly eccentric car might be the exception to this. Or the interesting cars are parked outside the complex, on public streets.

5. Given the extraordinarily high prices of real estate here, and our Proposition 13 property tax regulations, many people stay put and thus have more discretionary income to squander on cars. Here's the thinking "Hmm, I bought my house in this once-nice neighborhood for $135,000. I pay 1% tax each year, or $1350. If I move, a different house only slightly nicer will cost me $400,000 and $4000 on taxes. Heck, I can get a nice '55 pickup for the savings in property tax alone!" As an example of this: yesterday, in a moderately borderline neighborhood at a decent house I saw 2 Range Rovers, a Land Rover Sport, a Discovery and a BMW in the driveway and yard.  

6. While California is noted for strict emissions requirements (Democrats), older cars are exempt (Conservatives). And we have absolutely no safety or MOT inspections (Libertarians). So it's a great place to keep a marginally safe or totally unsafe car. 

7. The weather is not too cold (hard starting), too snowy (road salt), too hot (Las Vegas) or too humid (rust).

Cazalea

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