In his eyewear shop, rue de Metz, in Toulouse, Jean Fabre wears a striped shirt, original binoculars and a gray curly haircut. At first glance, it is impossible to guess the passion that has driven him for ten years now. You have to go to his place, in a district close to the Minimes to better understand the character. It’s a car that catches the eye. A white 1989 C15 with a strange “Picole” logo. The optician had fun hijacking the Police logo and colors to make his “Picole” car. Inevitably, with such a cart, he is regularly accosted in the street and in particular by the police. By his admission, he received only a smile. “I buy vehicles for fun. Then, for little cost, I transform them and afterwards with my friends, we go for a walk with them”, says, with a significant flow of words. About ten years old, this lover of old cars belongs to a group of friends who are just as crazy as he is. In total, more than thirty cars passed through his hands.

C15, R19, 305, Twingo… “It’s simple when I’m looking for vehicles, my criteria is more than 30 years old and less than 2,000 euros. In fact, I think I like all ugly cars. I’m not a fan of Porsche or Ferrari, it’s too popular. I prefer cars that no one is looking at, ”says the interested party, still just as energetic. Sometimes a follow-up, the one who could be described as an entertainer likes everything “that recalls childhood, memories”. “The smell of gasoline is my Proust madeleine,” laughs the forties while showing the photos of these acquisitions. Once he has the keys to these old cars, it’s time to find an idea to personalize them. “I am inspired by those around me, jokes between friends or those of my children who make fun of me”. Result: an R21 takes on the colors of the “National bullshit”, a buggy bought for a few hundred euros becomes the vehicle of Satanas and Diabolo in the famous series of the 1970s “les Fous du volant”… Jean does not get caught not seriously, he spends his time laughing and he is inexhaustible on the technical details of the vehicles he owns. But the most fun for him is to turn this old woman, hear the clicking of the starter then the roar of the engine and join his friends. “We meet, we dress up”, summarizes this father, a bit quirky.

But this overflowing passion does not stop at the 4L, at the 205, it also spills over into his daily life. “I only buy old things. From plates, to CDs and bicycles, everything in my house is at least second-hand”. Proof of this is, in his garden, twenty suspended bicycles, a scooter from the 1960s, signs of brands of sodas… “I also have mopeds. With friends, we go for a ride with it, we participated in the Meule Bleue in the Lot”, continues the inexhaustible enthusiast. As a family, they shared this taste for what was before without necessarily denigrating the present. Latest acquisition: a C15, beige this time. “I still have to find how to transform it”, finished, pensive, this “mad driver”.