Cars are great, when they are working, that is. As an avid enjoyer of a good car and a fun drive, I tend to be picky about what I drive. Of course being a poor college student the choices I have of what I drive are very limited to say the least. The choices have been limited to what most people would call buckets of bolts and other derogatory names for old, beat up cars.
And the thing is though, those old beat up cars are gold mines for a driver that appreciates the machine that gets them from place to place. You see, I don't think cars are just a piece of machinery that we use as a mode of transportation. They are living breathing things, with a soul and personality. I have not owned a lot of cars in my 22 years on this earth, but the ones that I have owned, I have loved passionately. Not all of them started with me liking them however.
I owned a 1993 Plymouth Acclaim for a year or two, and at first, I hated it. It was my first American car that I was actually able to drive (my first car ever was a 1981 Chevy Impala but I was never able to drive it...), and it was a '93... But I loved it after only a month. The noise of the engine, the way it handled. She became my Batmobile, she took care of me.
Before that I had a little 1995 Honda Odyssey. This was BEFORE the Odyssey became a huge minivan, it was more like a car that wanted to be a minivan. And that is what I liked about it. It wasn't quite sure what it wanted to be, but whatever it was, it was good at it. The timing belt broke at 226k miles, which is the only reason why I got rid of it. Because, that was my first car and I loved it.
My last vehicle was one that I wanted very badly for many years. It was a 1998 Volkswagen Golf, in a nice dark Forest Green, 5 speed manuel transmission, my first car with one of those! Did I know how to drive standard? Nope! But I bought it anyway, and I took it to the back roads and drove around until i had it down perfectly.
When you drive cars for a long period of time, and when you truly appreciate them as a living thing, you get to know them. You learn those little character traits that all cars have, you learn what they are capable of, and what they want. It is a great feeling. Other people get behind the wheel of them and say; "WTF is this??" you just sit back laugh and explain how when you put it into second you need to pull the lever to the left a bit and it will slide right in. And isn't that the fun of having a car?? Learning all those little things that only you, the Driver really can learn because you are consistently driving it every day?
Recently however, I have been thrown into someone else's vehicle, my dad's to be exact, and you see, he drives a Chevy Suburban. I hate SUVs. I honestly don't see the point in them at all. Everyone tells me that people feel safer behind the wheel of something that big and useless. Only problem is, you aren't, not totally anyway. It is bigger than a VW Golf, so therefor your blind spots are bigger. You are taller than normal cars and so some of the little ones can drive by without you ever even noticing! How is that 'safer'?? They take up way too much room, they use way too much Fuel to keep running. Emissions are out of this world. Why do people like these things?? I really don't get it. Well, maybe I do though.
SUVs are a status symbol in America. People who can afford to drive one, do, and those who can't, want one or drive one anyway, because of some sense of twisted need for status. Not that I am saying that the need to feel like you are higher on the status field is wrong, mind you. I am only stating that by driving an SUV you have not moved up at all. I just dont understand...
you people need to get yourselves a nice little car. Like a VW Golf or something small. If everyone had little cars not only would the price of gas go down but I think we would see fewer accidents. I am no expert, and this is all just limited speculation from me, but hey.
Right on, I will end there, becuase i am not happy with this one at all. It was supposed to be more personal but it ended up being me just ranting. DAMNIT
