Thursday, December 13, 2012

Vehicular Portrait

Have you ever noticed that you can tell what someone drives by the way they dress?


The guy in the leather jacket (and pants, man, those must be uncomfortable) toting his helmet everywhere obviously goes with the motorcycle. The girl with the puffy jacket, leggings, and fashionable scarf matches the little eco-friendly car that is the same color as her skirt. And the guy in the work-worn jeans, flannel shirt, and baseball cap is the one driving the two ton pickup truck. And the harassed woman dragging several children along behind the stroller she’s pushing is going to put all of that stuff in the minivan. Or the SUV. Or maybe the four door wagon.


Each of these people needs their respective vehicle to accomplish their daily tasks. The guy needs the motorcycle to show the world how cool he is, the girl needs her little car to save the earth and match her outfit, the truck is for hauling, and, in a different way, so is the minivan/SUV/wagon.


Some cars are for fun and some are for work. But why can’t the ones we use for work also be fun to drive? And by “fun to drive” I mean “not automatics.” Do auto makers think that soccer moms are too distracted making sure that their kids are still buckled in to change gears? Personally, I’m more befuddled while driving an automatic, because I’m used to a car that changes gears when I tell it to instead of a week later or whenever it gets around to it.


If the people mover that I’m going to have to purchase in the future had a manual transmission instead of an automatic, I would find it much more fun to drive, and therefore, be less reluctant to give up my tiny Volkswagen, which I have never dressed to match.


At least not on purpose.

No comments:

Post a Comment