A colleague, asking me how I like my new car (an Audi TT Coupe), reminds me that when I first got my New Beetle, I commented that I felt compelled to drive with extra consideration for others -- e.g., smiling and nodding at drivers who yield to me, obligingly changing lanes to allow other drivers plenty of room to merge into traffic. There was something about the overall image of the happy -- smiling -- car that required the driver to have a matching personality. It's always bad to be a selfish or angry driver, but any touch of these admittedly human qualities is really going to stand out if you're driving a Beetle. It's like getting into a fistfight while wearing a peace sign. After driving the Beetle for five and a half years, I'm now faced with the notion of merging with a different car's personality. It's quite a different sort of car. Is it me? Driving, do I form a single personality with my car? But it's not so obvious what the Audi TT personality is. It's a subtle process of self-discovery. What am I like as a driver of this car? What is the integrated Ann/Audi persona? If I can't discover it, Ann/Audi will be a split personality.
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Dear Ann,
It is true that cars are simply plastic, rubber, and metal, but they do say something about the driver. Can a car have personality? The other comment says no, but if that is true, then explain why the millions of dollars spent on ads to convince us otherwise actually works? Ford has even gone to the extreme of shaping the driving lights on its SportKa (in Europe) to make the car look like it has fangs. Then, they had those contriversal "unauthorized" internet ads. No, a SportKa will not kill your cat or birds, but the people attracted to them now tend to be a little more aggressive. And when you look at it, you sometimes wonder if maybe you have read too much Steven King. The word "Personality" has a broader definition than the last comment accepts. Just like the word "character." We live in a world where even things like Coffeemakers and toasters have been designed to grab your attention. Everything from the houses we live in, to the Apple computers we use, to the iPods and Razrs in our pockets have character which reflects the personality of the user. The world of the last comment where cars are just tools, houses are just a large box to keep you dry and clothes are just something you wear to stay warm would be a world of Orwellian drab. Everyone would drive the same unpainted (or black) jellybean car, live in the same concrete highrise desolate apartments, and wear the same dull burlap coveralls. Wait a minute, does this sound familiar? Does that last commenter pine for the communist utopias of the past? Well folks, for those of you who think that may be too harsh or that you may agree with the Giant Machine Theory, history is on my side. People's moods, thoughts, and actions are greatly impacted by their surroundings. We can't help it. We are even willing to pay the high prices of gasoline if it means we can continue to persue our personal happiness. And when the cost of gasoline (not the environment) finally starts to drain away our happiness, we will trade in our old Chevy Tahoe for a new Tahoe that burns e85! (How about a new Hummer H2H? The H is for hydrogen.)
So, the choice is yours. A world of grays, or a world full of color!
One last thing, I happen to drive a Civic Hybrid that gets 50 MPG, but not because I give a hoot about the environment. I happen to think the "spaceship interior" is cool. Now if only they would paint them in something other than green and gray....
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