My wife and I have this "thing" going on the past 5-6 years.
In 2011 I picked up a KIA Optima when they first came out. I got it because I drive 35k-40k miles a year. I wanted better MPGs than my old car, I wanted something I liked, and I wanted to stay under $30k (because I drive a lot, and I trade them in every 3-4 years.)
There weren't many Optimas on the road back then. It looked pretty nice from the factory but not as nice as they could have made it look. So I lowered it just a tad and put some tasteful wheels on it. It had a nice classy OEM look to it when I was done and I didn't spend all that much on it.
Here's where the "thing" starts. I was getting compliments and questions 4-5 times a week. Sometimes multiple times a day. A lady in a Benz pulls up in a parking asking me what kind of car I had and the jaw drops when I tell her. One rather attractive woman walks by me as I'm coming out of the gas station and says "nice car" in a way that made me wonder if she was flirting with me or the car. She made me blush!
Of course I was very flattered and proud that people thought my car looked good. And of course my wife (and kids) think I'm ridiculous for feeling this way! That's the "thing" and I played it up as much as I could with them. I smile proudly like Old Man Parker did when he got his lamp in The Christmas Story and they all roll their eyes.
These types of things went on pretty strong for a few years until Optimas got more common. I still get the occasional compliment on my 2015 running the same wheels, but nothing like I was getting in my 2011 and 2013. And quite frankly, the fun has pretty much died now that my car is getting to be almost as common as a Toyota or Honda.
So today I take my unfinished Savage project, "That 70s Show", out on the town for the first time. It's not finished, it's more of a rat bike than show bike, but it has that big shiny motor and I like it like I like my car. Like Old Man Parker likes that lamp!
So I pull into ACE and as I'm walking in an older guy says "What year is that? 72 or 74?" Then his slightly younger coworker says "That looks nice!" Of course I'm proud and hell!! Who wouldn't be? I tell them what it was and I thank them for noticing! I told them that they just made my day and I was going to go home and tell my wife they liked it!!!
Then, and I'm not making this up, as I'm walking up to my bike, a guy in a mini van pulls up and says "What year is that, a 76?" I took the long way home and told my wife what happened. She just laughed at me and rolled her eyes.
The "thing" is alive and well!