Cars

Buying my daughter Jane her first car was an interesting experience for me because it forced me to notice more things about cars. Unlike most men, I have little interest in and usually ignore automobiles. I never have known much or cared much about cars, probably because as a child I had other interests than the mechanical ones. All the kids in my neighborhood felt the same way. But as long as cars take me where I want or need to go without any mechanical breakdown I appreciate them. People, usually men, who love their cars are a special breed. I find that the attitude about cars is similar to one's attitude about dancing. The individual most often either hates to dance with intensity or he or she likes it very much. I personally hate dancing even more than I dislike cars. In the case of females, few like to think about cars but most love to dance. I wonder why it is so.

After taking test rides in the new cars Jane and I looked at before she selected one to buy, some observations about the state of the automobile today came to me. You get those today. First, I must say that cars are well made today, far better than in the previous decades. Even the tires today rarely get flats. I remember when I was a young driver having so many mechanical problems with cars I owned. I appreciate the few problems today. I think if the buyer of a new car tends to it according to the owners manual suggestions he or she will have few mechanical problems today (and the person who services the car with the many costly suggested maintenance trips that manual for the car posts will be wealthier).

I also notice how much cars look and act alike. It's almost as if there is a master blueprint to make them and that every manufacturer shares it when building a new car. Most of the time the differences are in the gimmicky design or features that have little to do with whether the cars run any better or worse. Too, there is great snob appeal in owning a car that is expensive, much as there is when wearing an expensive watch or fur coat. If you ask someone what kind of car he or she has and they reply, "A BMW", the status of the owner himself immediately goes up. If the reply is, " my dad's old Chevy" there is an air of discomfort in the room.

And some models have mixed status. Those eco friendly hybrid cars that pollute less or run on electricity to "burn cleaner" are highly treasured by the liberal, eco trendy crowd. I think every Hollywood type must own at least one of those kinds of cars. Rednecks and the common men, however, see them as sissy cars and wouldn't drive one even if it were given to them as a gift. I suppose the personality of the car owner can be indicated by the type of car he or she owns.

Another thing I noticed about cars was that the government feels it can saves us by mandating safety features be included in them, some good and some annoying. Most people agree seat belts are a great invention. But car air bags injure or kill passengers when they malfunction (as they often so) and there is uncertainty as to where they are necessary. In the U.S. there is a multitude of safety features manufacturers must add to the car they make. They can increase the cost of cars dramatically. So I wonder, for example, if that extra iron bar on the sides of the car that are placed to make the rider safer are worth the price they add to them.

It's also odd to me that the government misses on some safety features it should require but does not. I think all cars should be the same size and same height. If you drive a mini car and one of those huge cars that have jacked-up wheels crashes into your small car from behind, you may be decapitated by the monster car. And why do cars have speeds that far exceed the legal speed limit. "My car can do 120 mph", a driver may utter proudly. But for obvious safety reasons, no road legally allows that rate of speed. Shouldn't manufacturers be required to make cars that only go as fast as the highest legal speed limit?

I think I have mentioned enough about cars, given I care little about them. Oh, Jane choose to buy a new Honda Civic, a "highly rated" car....But the accuracy of car ratings are a whole other story left for another discussion. Happy Driving!