I think it’s great that you have a hobby.
I have a car with an engine, transmission, and tires. That’s about all I know about that part of the car.
Oh, and it’s not worth spending any kind of money to park a car on the streets of Manhattan, although I have seen a Maserati up against the curb, which strikes me as phenominally stupid. Then again, there are a lot of Democrats here.
Well, I’m working at keeping the car less of a hobby, and more of an oft-used epicenter of family fun. “Hobby” would be something more like doing a full frame-off restoration, and the time, nor the money, are in the cards for that.
If I were in an urban setting such as you describe, I think I’d be indulging an interest in model railroad. I’ve seen a couple of really inspired works in Z Scale done up inside of glass-topped coffee tables such as you may have seen: drawerless box-type tables with — essentially — a hinged window for a top to allow infrequent access to the curios placed inside for viewing-but-not-touching.