Keith Chau Honda S2000

The sense of security stripped from the recently unemployed can turn even the most frivolous of shopaholics into money-conscious misers. S2K enthusiast Keith Chau is no shopaholic, but he's also not one to hoard away each paycheck for that rainy day. So when the Bellevue, Wash., resident fell victim to company downsizing in 2002, he did the only reasonable thing a level-headed car fanatic would do: He bought a brand-new S2000.

Chau knew of Honda's anniversary roadster when it started rolling off of production lines, yet he wasn't impressed. Then one day he found himself driving a buddy's S2K and was smitten with a sense of longitudinally mounted, 2.0-liter rear-wheel-drive ecstasy. No sooner had he fallen for the car than he had to return the keys.

Although he'd just joined the ranks of America's unemployed, Chau had to have the 60-hp-per-cylinder inline four. After much contemplation, and despite mom and dad's protest to save his severance money for food, clothing and shelter, Chau visited a local Honda dealer and shelled out the dough for his open-top desire.

Like many S2000 buffs, Chau refrained from jumping headfirst into his buildup, but rather methodically stuck in one toe in at a time. He knew the S2K was a factory performer in its own right and that any prospective mods had to enhance the car.

"I had a vision," Chau says. "I knew I wanted to make the car better. I just didn't know in what way at first." He turned to friend and owner of Seattle's Intec Racing, Lawrence Ojas, for help. Power figures get a nudge in the right direction thanks to a J's Racing carbon- fiber intake and HKS Hiper Max exhaust system, but Chau admits that the 195-whp F20C1 is no match for his daily driver-a GReddy turbocharged Infiniti G35 (not severance pay-funded, by the way). But power is not what the S2000 is all about, Chau says, explaining that there's no beating a top-down S2K when cruising around local Lake Washington.

While the G35 would serve the S2 its VTEC ass on a yellow platter at the dragstrip, the Infiniti can't touch the Honda in the curves. "With the S2000, you just point the wheel and the car follows better than the G35 ever would," Chau says.

His favorite feature on the car, and indeed one of the reasons it drew our attention, is its looks. There's no denying this head-turning yellow convertible as it cuts and weaves through a city full of sedans and SUVs.

So how does Chau keeps two great rides in the garage on an unemployment salary? By no longer being unemployed, actually. The 29-year-old former brokerage firm research analyst has since landed bigger and better things. But if his S2000 is a product of unemployment, we can't help but wonder what else the guy can do should he find another pink slip on his desk.