“I brought you something to go with your Suckstang.” Back when I had a 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt, my wife’s Uncle Larry, the “Colombo”-loving, steak-grilling car guy I told you about in July, always referred to it in his own special way. What exactly did he bring me? A great gift for many car enthusiasts: a watch!

If Larry had picked this watch up on a whim at a random store, that would have been cool enough. But the story behind this timepiece goes back a lot further. Larry’s late uncle used to own a now-defunct auto parts business. One of the items he’d give to clients was the same watch Larry gave me. Larry inherited a whole pile of the watches, but this particular one immediately became special to me.

Not only was Larry’s gift thoughtful, but it also had some interesting design elements. I opened the metal Blue Oval case and saw the hang-tag stating that the watch was an officially licensed piece of Ford automobilia. The porthole-style case surrounded a black and white dial with the word “Mustang” spelled out in script, a running pony logo, and an aperture between the 10 and 2 o’clock markers that displayed a rotating disc set behind the dial. Judging by the colorful SN95 Mustangs on that disc that change with the time, the watch must have been made in the 1990s, before the “New Edge” facelift for the 1999 model year. One of the coolest features was the brown leather rally strap, which fit the image of a car that’s meant to be driven fast.

I don’t have the Bullitt any more, but I’ll always keep the watch Larry gave me. Unfortunately, since he lives on the East Coast, I don’t get to see him as often as I’d like. Now that I have a new battery in my watch, I can wear it more often and be reminded of his random act of thoughtful kindness — even if he did call my car a Suckstang.