The "Lambo" Index

When I was around 14, 15 years old, every boy I knew had at least two posters on their bedroom wall. Minimum two - maybe more - but at least two. One was a girl; nine times out of ten, it was Cheryl Tiegs or Farah (I, being the one in ten, had neither: I choose Linda Ronstadt. Iconoclastic taste even then.) and the other, the other was a Lamborghini.

The Lambo Countach was - quite simply - the sexiest beast on four wheels. All Italian angles and vents, great, big fat tires and so low that it looked like you had to lie flat to drive it. And the colours! No boring blues or nondescript greys for the Lambo. A Lamborghini was ORANGE or YELLOW or BLACK. (Never red; that was Ferrari.)

The cost of them, too, was part of the allure. Unthinkable money for a car! Unbelievable sums! Eighty thousand dollars!!! In Cranbrook, where a nice family home could be had for $20K, this was so outrageous as to be almost comic! Who had that of money?

The Lambo was every 15 year old boy's dream car... And we all kinda knew it was a dream only. We all had as much chance of owning a Lambo as I had of ever dating Linda. (Although I did hear she had a thing for tall, skinny boys from the Kootneays.)

No one I knew had ever seen a Lambo. Ever. They were the solar eclipse of automobiles: We knew they existed but only through pictures and articles in magazines like "Road & Track".

Two weeks ago, on our way home from the wedding of our eldest child's first babysitter (Jesus, time flies!), I saw three Lamborghinis. In one night. Three different ones. And, today, I saw a Ferrari, four or five Porsches and a turbo Bentley. None of them were vintage; all brand new. And $80K Beemers, Audi's, Lexus and assorted others are everywhere.

Look around you next time you drive down Granville or across the Lions Gate. Count how many $100K plus pieces of rolling metal you see. It is shocking! Aston Martins, Maseratis and the once rare Lambo are now routinely seen on our daily commute.

This city is awash in money. There is more more money in this town than I have EVER seen before. We are in boom times, my friends, boom times. The Lambo Index is way, way up.