I can't believe this but it happened to me but it's true. Someone pinch me to make sure I"m not dreaming but.....

I have been following Hyundai's launch of the Equus for several months now on the Internet and just love everything I've seen and read to date about it. I've even got one for my desktop background on my PC. My wife thinks I'm crazy for doing it but I told her that one day this was going to be MY car.

I live in Boquete, a little mountain community "village of about 3,000 people" in Panama and my wife was in David, Panama, a town of about 100K people, about 45 minutes from where we live a coupe of nights ago when she called and told me that she saw an Equus in David on her way to the university and it was right in front of her. I thought she surely must have been mistaken because there is not an Equus in Panama for sure. She was certain it was an Equus and I halfway believed her.

Anyway I was in Boquete this morning and I was on main street standing on the terrace of a little restaurant and all of a sudden I look down and this black Equus is going down the street right in front of me and turns the corner. I could not believe it; it had to be the same car my wife saw just two days ago in David.

I was parked about a block away so what do I do? Run and try and catch it on foot, or run and get my car and try and catch it. Quick decision needed as the Equus was getting away. I went running towards my car. I got to the corner where my car was and I looked up and the Equus had made the block and was pulling in to park right across the street.

Of course I went across the street to help guide the driver of the car into the parking space. He didn't need my help of course but I was already trying to win points with whoever was driving the car.

This well dressed young man, about 35, got out of the car. I was standing right next to the car, in shock of course, not knowing if he even spoke English but I told him what a beautiful car he had. At first he just kind of stared at me like who is this crazy man wearing shorts, T-shirt and moccasins looking like a refugee from a prison camp or something (my normal daily attire for Panama) talking to me about my car. Then he turned around and opened the back door and this nicely dressed Asian lady got out and went into a local tourist shop. There was some man sitting in the backseat on his cellphone but I could not tell anything about him due to the tinted windows.

I ask the young man if this was his car. Wow.... in pretty good English he told me it was not his car, he was just the driver. The "Driver" who in the heck is the owner of this car I thought. He explained that the man in the backseat is the Ambassador of Korea to Panama and that he and his wife were in town for a little vacation and to meet with the ex-president of Panama who has a home here in Boquete. He told me that they sent this car to the Ambassador last December as a "perk". I never got a perk like that in my life!

Anyway, wiping the obvious drool from my mouth, I started asking questions about the car. I was surprised that he didn't know a lot about the car. Actually I knew a lot more about it than he did. He explained that they were going to go check into a hotel and ask for my phone number and said he would call me later and I could come meet him and see the car if I wanted to. Wanted to??? What kind of insane question was that.

I found my wife about the same time all this was going on and she came over and explained to the driver why I was acting so crazy. She speaks Spanish and I'm sure that was the reason he was being so nice and it wasn't because she's pretty, about the same age and was dressed all sexy.

I think the man took pity on seeing an old retired Gringo in Panama about to lose what little sanity he had left over a car.

My wife and I drove back to the house and no sooner than we got there my cell phone rang. My wife answered it and I was dying to know if it was him but since she was speaking in Spanish I wasn't sure but then I saw the smile on her face and I knew it was him. She hung up and said he was in town and was waiting on us to meet him.

We jumped in our Lexus and probably broke every speed law in town to get there even though it's only five minutes from home to town. The car was parked in the same space at the central park in the middle of town.

The young man steps out and ask if I would like to see the inside of the car. Of course I jumped in and sat in the passenger set soaking up all details I could. He then ask me another dumb question, "Don't you want to sit in the driver's seat instead of sitting in the passenger seat"? Grinning from ear to ear, I said yes and seconds later I was sitting behind the wheel of a beautiful black on black Equus 460 with the stereo turned up listening to some classical music they had on a CD. It was certainly an "oh my God" moment in my life. After about five minutes he asked me another dumb question; "Would you like to drive it"? My heart sank to my knees and I pushed the start button. With the young man sitting next to me and my wife in the back seat we pulled out onto the road.

The car was just wonderful to drive even though it was raining like hell and the stereo system simply amazing to say the least. I explained to him that it's the same one that's in the Rolls Royce but he didn't even know it and he drives this car everyday! I thought where are all my friends about now? I didn't see anyone I knew and I needed actual proof that I got to drive this car. Then I thought about the cell phone's camera! I looked in the mirror and my wife was one step ahead of me and was already taking pictures of me driving the car.

I ask the driver if he was hungry since it was about 1:00 and I would be happy to take him to lunch and I knew a great little restaurant only about three hours away. He laughed and said he only had an hour or so before he had to get back to the hotel.

So I did the right thing and drove it for about 10 or 15 minutes down the highway and then back to town to a local restaurant. I parked right in front where everyone could see it and hopefully at least one person I knew would be there. Nope, nada, not a friend in site. My wife ask me where I wanted to sit, at a table overlooking the parking lot or in the back. My God, why am I getting such stupid questions today? Of course I wanted to sit at the table where I can look at the car.

After a quick lunch I was back behind the wheel again driving back to get my car. We got out and he drove off towards his hotel in "my" Equus.

Oh well, sometimes dreams come true I guess.

David
Boquete, Panama
Central America

ps: As soon as I can I will post a few photos we took on the IPhone.

 

Thats a gorgeous vehicle...the front end seems remarkably similar to a maybach but with a spin on it.. I haven't followed the Equus debut or anything but I can imagine it must have been sheer luck finding that Hyundai tucked away in the hills of Panama...

BTW, Boquete looks like a great place for R&R...

 

This was visualization taking place. It's happened to me many times in the past. Find something you really like something you want and put photos on your computer desktop as wallpaper, you office wall, you bathroom mirror etc. Keep this image in front of you all the time. Then say that "one day that will be mine". You will be amazed at how often it works. For some reason the universe will bring it to you.

 

Very sharpe vehicle...