Car Talk
Taking a deep breath, the tall man made a declaration to the two women at the table.
"I like American and German cars because they have a good, solid feel to them that Japanese cars don't have," he said proudly, as if he were responsible for manufacturing them himself. I had to bite my tongue and listen because this sounded like argument made by someone whose ideas are stuck in the 60s. "Japanese cars feel cheap, small, and cramped to me and I never feel safe in them." I would like to point out the man in question stands 6-feet 4-inches, almost a foot taller than the average Japanese male.
"I like a car with good pick-up. Also, any car I buy has to have all the gadgets and conveniences. I refuse to buy a car that doesn't have Bluetooth or GPS," he added. Both women nodded enthusiastically in agreement. "Yeah, there's no way I would ever buy a car without Bluetooth or GPS, either" one of them added. I could tell this was not a conversation I wanted to jump into for fear of sounding like ... well, like a racer boy.
"Yeah, I hate my Mazda because it feels like a toy," one of the women present responded. Mazdas are marketed as 'fun-to-drive,' I thought. It's SUPPOSED to feel like a toy. "I hate it. I can't wait to get a new car."
"However, I really love Volvos because of their reputation for safety," the guy piped. Ah, the benefits of great marketing and decades of solid branding. The reality is that cars today have gotten safer over the course of the past five decades thanks to the pioneering work of consumer rights advocate Ralph Nader. The good news is last year we had the lowest vehicular collision deaths per miles driven in this country in years. Still, more than 32,000 people lost their lives last year in these collisions and many more injured. That's 32,000 too many.
Although I'm a car enthusiast, my autocrossing habit colors my views on cars far more than memorizing facts, like many buff book enthusiasts. Where most people see solid build, I see an overweight, bloated vehicle. Where most people see small and cramped, I see a quick, nimble vehicle. And, where some people see a toy, I see a racing tool with potential for great fun.
"I like American and German cars because they have a good, solid feel to them that Japanese cars don't have," he said proudly, as if he were responsible for manufacturing them himself. I had to bite my tongue and listen because this sounded like argument made by someone whose ideas are stuck in the 60s. "Japanese cars feel cheap, small, and cramped to me and I never feel safe in them." I would like to point out the man in question stands 6-feet 4-inches, almost a foot taller than the average Japanese male.
"I like a car with good pick-up. Also, any car I buy has to have all the gadgets and conveniences. I refuse to buy a car that doesn't have Bluetooth or GPS," he added. Both women nodded enthusiastically in agreement. "Yeah, there's no way I would ever buy a car without Bluetooth or GPS, either" one of them added. I could tell this was not a conversation I wanted to jump into for fear of sounding like ... well, like a racer boy.
"Yeah, I hate my Mazda because it feels like a toy," one of the women present responded. Mazdas are marketed as 'fun-to-drive,' I thought. It's SUPPOSED to feel like a toy. "I hate it. I can't wait to get a new car."
"However, I really love Volvos because of their reputation for safety," the guy piped. Ah, the benefits of great marketing and decades of solid branding. The reality is that cars today have gotten safer over the course of the past five decades thanks to the pioneering work of consumer rights advocate Ralph Nader. The good news is last year we had the lowest vehicular collision deaths per miles driven in this country in years. Still, more than 32,000 people lost their lives last year in these collisions and many more injured. That's 32,000 too many.
Although I'm a car enthusiast, my autocrossing habit colors my views on cars far more than memorizing facts, like many buff book enthusiasts. Where most people see solid build, I see an overweight, bloated vehicle. Where most people see small and cramped, I see a quick, nimble vehicle. And, where some people see a toy, I see a racing tool with potential for great fun.
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