Cadillac Ranch

Many of us have that special attraction to a specific car…the car we learned to drive in, the car we first purchased on our own, the car used at graduation or the first date or the one driven away from the wedding reception with cans tied to it.

Yes, I still have a longing for a 1965 Chevrolet El Camino (my first car). The 1966 Ford Mustang I owned after that will always live on in my memories, as will the string of automobiles my wife and I have driven together since our marriage.

But my favorite car...well, that would be on a track in Disneyland.

The Disneyland Autopia cars put this wide-eyed 6 year old in the driver's seat for the first time and I’ve never looked back. While the cars have changed and the roadways have been reconfigured since opening day in 1955, the Autopia driving experience remains, giving many future drivers their first experience behind the steering wheel. A trip to Disneyland isn’t complete without a spin on the cars of my youth, re-capturing America's fascination with the latest transportation innovation of the mid-20th century, the "freeway”.

I’ll admit that driving on real freeways isn't always what I call fun. Ah, for the days when I could sit back, relax and let the Autopia car do most of the driving…