First Person: Love of cars revs up family bonds

The rumble of my grandfather’s brand-new Mercedes SL 550 engine made me question why I had waited so long to get my license. Although I was a new driver, he was eager for me to take his car for a spin. As he handed me the keys, I realized my obsession with cars had truly begun. But I wouldn’t be alone: I was joining a shared passion.

My family’s love of cars has been constant through generations. My paternal grandfather, Pierre, grew up with three older brothers who owned garages. This passion continued with my father, Alain, who was raised around his dad’s impressive collection of Porsches, Audis, Corvettes and other prized vehicles.

Pierre’s trust in young drivers was clear; he taught every family member to drive his Audi S7, eager to share his passion for fine cars.

On my mother’s side, her father, Yves, was known for his obsessive car care, refusing to let anyone touch his prized possession and cleaning it daily.

It’s no surprise that the legacy has continued with me, finding my interest in cars and even cleaning them as a job.

When I first turned on my grandfather’s Mercedes, that moment sparked a passion that would become my favourite hobby. But it was at my very first car meet, the weekly meet in the Orléans Fallingbrook Shopping Centre parking lot, that I heard a variety of engine sounds and connected with a community of car enthusiasts.

Nicolas Toscano, a videographer and car enthusiast who attends the weekly Orléans car meet, shares a similar story.

“The car community is my Thursday and Friday night,” said Toscano. “I’m not a big fan of going out to clubs and losing my hearing to some loud music. I much prefer to go lose my hearing to a loud-cammed V8 with catless headers.”

It was at the local meet, where I brought my grandfather’s Mercedes, that Toscano and I first connected over our families’ shared love for cars.

“I first became interested in cars at a very young age via my father. He wasn’t a big car guy, but he had very nice cars,” said Toscano. “To me, at that age, it was just my dad’s car, and it was normal. But as I got older, I noticed how people reacted to his car and respected what it symbolized.”

Toscano added that sharing this passion has brought them closer. “I remember being really young and riding passenger in my dad’s car and he would move lanes to get around slower cars and I would tell him ‘lane clear!’ and he would speed down the road,” he said. “A really cute core memory.”

From a father’s perspective, Pablo Coffey, my best friend Isabella’s dad, shares the same passion for cars as his son, Simon. Watching Simon appreciate vehicles brings back childhood memories and makes Pablo feel like a kid again.

“Not a day goes by that we don’t engage in multiple chats about cars and how much we love them,” said Coffey.

This passion has created a bridge across generations and formed lasting bonds. In a world that can feel divided, the sound of an engine and the shine of a cherished car show us that shared passions bring people together.