Johnny I'd say you followed the head sheep. Now you're in a cubical wearing khaki pants to work spending your day on ycombinator news, dreaming about what could have been.
It's about breaking the trends. The classic car is just an example of what most people DON'T do. Most people think the safe choice is to purchase a vehicle with a warranty because they know what they're getting into.
Joel, you need to check out Google Website Optimizer. It tells you when the change is proven. I'd love a 2 minute change to result in a 2%+ in conversion.
I bow to your awesomeness. The overall improvement between designs was 12% overall. The article is one post in a series where the overall conversion goes from 10.3% to 14%.