Unlike vocal subway devotee Mayor Bloomberg, Andrew Cuomo identifies as a “car guy.” According to a charming New York Times report, he lived up to that title on Sunday with a trip to a car show in Nassau County. There, the governor — “car-obsessed ever since his teenage days” — proceeded to regress a little:
He showed a clear weakness for Corvettes, particularly those with their hoods propped open. He admired the elongated quarter panel of a 1969 Buick Electra and a salmon-colored racing stripe on a black late-model Ford Mustang. He was so smitten at times that he ignored signs imploring visitors to look but not touch.
Apparently, all those cool rides made him sort of self-conscious about his own vehicle, a sky-blue 1975 Corvette he purchased while in college. As he shyly explained to a reporter, “I use it — it’s not a show car by any means. I leave it in a parking lot, so the car isn’t as clean as these cars. It’s far from perfect.” Aw! Good thing Nassau County’s Edward P. Mangano had a special prize on hand — one for the “best, if only, gubernatorial Corvette at the show.” The trophy seemed to restore the governor’s confidence a bit, allowing him to try out some adult humor: “I look at that car now and I smile, sometimes — the memories of days gone by. There’s no back seat in the Corvette, so that’s not where it is.” Much too fast, indeed.
For a Governor Partial to Corvettes, a Chance to Indulge His Inner Gearhead [NYT]
