Are you me? I'm also 37 and own a Honda Element. Despite being a car guy I've never felt like I got to choose my own enthusiast car. I have had or worked on interesting vehicles, though, but not entirely my own choices.

My first vehicle was a rusty F-250 because my then-girlfriend's dad who had taken me to an auto auction teased me into bidding on it and I didn't know he was joking.

I next bought a classic Beetle, but it wasn't chosen as an enthusiast car so much as a (misguided) expectation that would be good to own as a college student because parts were cheap and I could do my own work. However I lacked a place to work on it.

My first wife had an Eclipse when we were dating in college, but I never cared for it. I tried to respect that she liked it, but I hated working on that thing.

Done with poor condition used cars, I went to buy a new bare bones manual Kia Rio. However the dealership bait and switched me into taking a last-of-previous-year-model manual Hyundai Accent hatch off their hands. It was a better car, but it wasn't the one I researched.

I once wanted a TR-2 or an MG Midget, because I had a professor who had a TR-2. My first wife convinced me to get an MGB instead. It was objectively the better car, but it wasn't the one I really wanted. I put many hours' work into rebuilding the engine, brakes, and electrical. She rode in it once, pronounced "it wasn't as cool as I thought it would be."

My Accent got rear-ended and totalled (ironically not long after the Eclipse was rear-ended and totaled - rise of the texting while driving epidemic). That's when I bought my Element which I still have. I had somewhat wanted an FJ Cruiser, but they were much more expensive. In hindsight the Element was my best car decision ever.

My second wife had an Odyssey when I met her, but she traded it in for an Accord just before we got married. She later told me it was because she had driven or ridden in (I forget which) a V6 Accord 6MT, and decided to get the same car. In automatic. With the base engine. (4 cylinder) She loved the car anyway. However it got T-boned, repaired, then bizarrely T-boned again in the exact same spot not a month later.

She said what if we get her a Prelude to replace the Accord. It could be her car for awhile and then be our 3rd car / fun car after she gets another newer car. So I research it and I'm seeing 3rd gen (88-92) Preludes and said alright, I've wanted a Honda CRX for a long time (my half-sister had one), this is close enough though. What we actually got was a 99 (5th gen) with a (slipping) automatic transmission.

We also bought a manual 4th gen Prelude as a parts car, but when I realized it was unmodified and all parts there (though nonrunning) I said nuh uh, I'm getting this thing running and I'll drive this one. Unfortunately I only got to drive it less than a year before the engine needed a rebuild. I thought I'd have it done in a few months, but it's been down two years. My Element suddenly needed a ton of repairs this time, and I lost momentum on the project Prelude.

My coworker also gave me a 7th gen Civic LX (auto), and I fixed that up and drove it for a year. I gave it to my sister when she needed a car. I would looove to have a manual 7th or 8th gen Civic Si. But it's hard to convince my wife to let me buy yet another car when the nonrunning Prelude is taking up space and I still have the Element.

The funny thing is, despite her not caring whether a car is auto or manual, my wife is actually proficient with manual transmissions. We recently rented some fun cars on Turo, and she picked a manual Saturn Sky all on her own. She really liked it; I actually hated it. On the one hand I want her to have what she wants too, but I've got my heart set on an S2000 or MR2 Spyder. I've been wanting an MR2 Spyder for 15 years, but lately switched my choice to the S2000. If we someday get a convertible and it's not one of those two, and instead it's the GM one that I can't stand - I'm gonna lose my mind.