Any car people out here?
Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2018 3:41 pm
I'm not a car person. I don't particularly hate cars, but I have like zero attachment to cars. It's probably because my first car was a Rover Mini Kensington, that was just put under my care by my uncle. He didn't give it to me, he just wanted me to keep it "current" (inspections and such) and in working condition, and in return, I could freely use it. I already had my license, and so I was like cool, a free car. Well, little did I know that a classic, air cooled, vintage Mini Kensington would be like courting an insane person. Every inspection would result in massive repairs. Missing parts couldn't really be bought because there are none being produced. Second hand parts had to be hunted down, and even if acquired, they were still used and vintage. The car itself drove like a gokart. No power steering, no power anything, barely any AC, and a top speed that was more like a motorcycle. But I didn't really care, I was already very much non-car person. I thought driving the Mini was funny because it was so similar to a cartoon car. So I drove it around for some 5-6 years, and took very good care of it. Eventually I had to ask the mechanic to put it in "storage" mode, because the transmission was about to break, and if it did, the car would not be able to reverse anymore.
So with that experience, what I expect from a car.. MY car, is pretty minimal. If it's not air cooled, that's a huge plus. (so that's 99.9% of all cars) Having hydrolic assisted steering is a plus. (that's 99.9% of all cars) And power windows, and a nominally functioning climate control would be nice, but maybe not a necessity. Anything beyond that I see as a blessing, or luxury. So I think it can be said that I'm very easy to please when it comes to cars. I pretty much just needs to be a contemporary car, and it will exceed my expectations. Over the years though, with my uncle's explanations, I've come to appreciate the Mini Kensington experience more. That was about as "real" as cars get. It wasn't fast, but it was about feeling the surface of the road through the steering wheel vibrations. Driving that thing was all about the road surface, and feeling it, sensing it, and reacting to it. It was a crappy go-kart style road car, but the sensations driving it was much closer to driving a race car on the tracks.
Today was apparently "classic car day" in Jersey City. I went to see what the commotion was all about, and saw some classic Mustangs laid out. I was like, well, yeah they look nice and well maintained. But as I got closer, and started to see the details, or as the car in its entirety started to speak to me.. I was enchanted by these cars. I can't explain the feeling, it was kind of magical. I was just drawn in, sucked in, even. I saw a blue Chevrolet convertible. It was big, and its form was, maybe not provocative, but it was loud, boisterous, and assertive. And I thought, yeah, that's sort of a typical "classic car" kind of attitude... until I peeked into the driver's side, and saw the Impala logo... I was like, the Impala? The only Impala I knew were the contemporary ones that look like a cross between a Camry and nothingness. The modern Impala was a nobody... but here I'm seeing a beautiful, sexy Impala that could assert its presence from across the street. What happened? Did someone decide that it's a bad thing to make cars look cool? Do people overtly hate awesome cars now? And prefer boring, tasteless, flavorless, McFastfood McNugget, unmemorable, no-identity, no-face cars? Did we lose the technical skills to produce beautiful designs? I just couldn't understand. John Wick's car was sexy as hell. Why don't cars look like this any more? I mean, these weren't one of a kind art pieces right. These were mass produced products. How can the know how of how to make these beautiful objects just fade out over time? So I'm asking around to see if anyone can tell me why cars went from super awesome, to super suck. I don't give an anything for contemporary cars because that's what they are, they are nothing. They completely suck. I think even the contemporary Mustangs are of a different DNA compared to the classic beasts. But if cars looked like these funky Mustangs, I WOULD totally care about cars. How could anyone not? That's the problem, the classics were beasts. Wild, little bit crazy machines. Contemporary cars are genetically mutated house pets that only give prozac infused, xanax sedated sensations that have no definition or meaning.
And I get these classics are still in circulation, but WHY aren't we making MORE of them? These are obviously more valuable and more MEANINGFUL than boring no-face filler cars. What the HELL happened? It CAN'T have been the Japanese imports... yes, they are terrible, and they lack any meaning and character... but they're also just terrible cars, no? I mean, LOOK at this! The world deserves more beauty like this!
So with that experience, what I expect from a car.. MY car, is pretty minimal. If it's not air cooled, that's a huge plus. (so that's 99.9% of all cars) Having hydrolic assisted steering is a plus. (that's 99.9% of all cars) And power windows, and a nominally functioning climate control would be nice, but maybe not a necessity. Anything beyond that I see as a blessing, or luxury. So I think it can be said that I'm very easy to please when it comes to cars. I pretty much just needs to be a contemporary car, and it will exceed my expectations. Over the years though, with my uncle's explanations, I've come to appreciate the Mini Kensington experience more. That was about as "real" as cars get. It wasn't fast, but it was about feeling the surface of the road through the steering wheel vibrations. Driving that thing was all about the road surface, and feeling it, sensing it, and reacting to it. It was a crappy go-kart style road car, but the sensations driving it was much closer to driving a race car on the tracks.
Today was apparently "classic car day" in Jersey City. I went to see what the commotion was all about, and saw some classic Mustangs laid out. I was like, well, yeah they look nice and well maintained. But as I got closer, and started to see the details, or as the car in its entirety started to speak to me.. I was enchanted by these cars. I can't explain the feeling, it was kind of magical. I was just drawn in, sucked in, even. I saw a blue Chevrolet convertible. It was big, and its form was, maybe not provocative, but it was loud, boisterous, and assertive. And I thought, yeah, that's sort of a typical "classic car" kind of attitude... until I peeked into the driver's side, and saw the Impala logo... I was like, the Impala? The only Impala I knew were the contemporary ones that look like a cross between a Camry and nothingness. The modern Impala was a nobody... but here I'm seeing a beautiful, sexy Impala that could assert its presence from across the street. What happened? Did someone decide that it's a bad thing to make cars look cool? Do people overtly hate awesome cars now? And prefer boring, tasteless, flavorless, McFastfood McNugget, unmemorable, no-identity, no-face cars? Did we lose the technical skills to produce beautiful designs? I just couldn't understand. John Wick's car was sexy as hell. Why don't cars look like this any more? I mean, these weren't one of a kind art pieces right. These were mass produced products. How can the know how of how to make these beautiful objects just fade out over time? So I'm asking around to see if anyone can tell me why cars went from super awesome, to super suck. I don't give an anything for contemporary cars because that's what they are, they are nothing. They completely suck. I think even the contemporary Mustangs are of a different DNA compared to the classic beasts. But if cars looked like these funky Mustangs, I WOULD totally care about cars. How could anyone not? That's the problem, the classics were beasts. Wild, little bit crazy machines. Contemporary cars are genetically mutated house pets that only give prozac infused, xanax sedated sensations that have no definition or meaning.
And I get these classics are still in circulation, but WHY aren't we making MORE of them? These are obviously more valuable and more MEANINGFUL than boring no-face filler cars. What the HELL happened? It CAN'T have been the Japanese imports... yes, they are terrible, and they lack any meaning and character... but they're also just terrible cars, no? I mean, LOOK at this! The world deserves more beauty like this!