HIGH SPEED HOBBIES Each type of car has a unique history and subculture, which many in Palo Alto adore
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s a young child, Paly parent Drew Hudacek loved cars—he could tell you the year, make and model of just about every other car parked on the street even after just a fleeting glance. However, there was one car that caught his eye more than any other: the 1988 BMW 535i. Seeing his friend’s dad roll one into his driveway as a kid, it stuck with him forever. “I remember the kind of look and feel and smell of the car,” Hudaceck said. “I remember just being mesmerized by the car and by the way he drove it.” Decades later, the same car Hudacek fantasized about as a kid now sits in his garage, alongside his other Porsche sports cars and a BMW convertible. Over the last few decades, Hudacek has transformed his childhood dream into an intense hobby of collecting and flipping sports cars. Whether he’s driving at the track, working on his cars at home or going on a relaxing Sunday drive, cars are what’s on Hudacek’s mind. Although Hudacek has had years of experience under his belt, there are many others within the car community who do not. In fact, because there are dozens of subcultures within the broader car community, car cultures capture an extremely diverse mix of people who share a passion for cars all in their own unique ways. Whether it be like Robert Henderson, another Paly parent who has been a car detailer for over twenty years and collector of cars he rarely drives, or Andrew Schultz and Marc Guillet, who have a fascination with the race track, they all see cars as more than a machine to get one from point A to point B. Like Hudacek, Henderson’s love for au-
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tomobiles started at an early age. His devotion started as soon as he laid eyes on that one special car- a Porsche 911. “That was the moment when I realized cars are my passion,” Henderson said. “I did everything in my power to earn money so that when I had my license, I could finally have a car.” After years of hard work, going from mowing lawns and then moving on to detailing cars, Henderson was finally able to purchase his first car, a 1982 Volkswagen Rabbit. His admiration for cars skyrocketed, and after that, he slowly worked his way up the car hierarchy. Henderson has now gone through a total of 90 cars in his lifetime, buying and reselling along the way. Henderson treats each car with extreme care. Every piece of machinery—regardless of size, shape or color— is like a work of art. “Unlike some of the other guys, I don’t race my cars, my cars are always clean,” Henderson said. “Any kind of marks Marc Guillet and such, would drive me nuts.” Another subculture of car culture are the track racers. Unlike Henderson, they prefer to keep their cars on the run going as fast as possible. Amateur racers like Marc Guillet take their cars to the track to clock in their best times. “[Racing] is often an escape from a world that sometimes has layers of problems that can’t be solved,” Guillet said. “If you’re driving on a track for two or three hours, you’re just thinking about that.” There is also an aspect of excitement while racing. “You’re getting an endorphin release from this exhilarating experience of tactically taking a turn at the exact right moment or hitting the accelerator while turning the wheel,” Guillet said. Not only has car culture been a prominent part of older generations, but it has recently begun to manifest itself into younger generations. Junior Riley Herron’s interest in cars has been passed down through her family line. “My dad and grandpa rebuilt an engine together and other pieces of cars, from the suspension to the seats, from bumper
[Racing] is often an escape from a world that has layers of problems that can’t be solved.” –
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