I've been feeling the need to own an impractical car recently. Whenever I drive down the highway, I find myself looking over at the Porsche Boxter, BMW Z4, or an Audi TT whenever one passes me. I look at the drivers with a certain amount of curiosity tinged with a small streak of envy.
I don't necessarily understand why I have these feelings. I look at a car as an almost purely utilitarian device. The idea that a late model car somehow expresses individuality seems positively ludicrous, given the number of models and colors available. I look at the car I bought five years ago and see cars just like it all the time. How does that make me different from anyone else?
I think the thing drawing me to the sports car is precisely its non-utilitarian nature. True, I did once see a Porsche with a child seat in the passenger side not long ago (and what a sight it was), but that as an aberration. It would be nice to drive a car that is simply built because it has an interesting shape and is nice to drive.
Or perhaps it is the idea that I could have enough disposable income to be able to afford and impractical car. In all my anxiety over the price of local housing, I long for a time when I could have enough to be able to afford a practical car for the family and impractical cars for Mrs. Geek and myself. Of course, that would mean house with a large garage, which would imply a house to begin with... and the rest of my (upper) middle class dream falls into place nicely.
said drgeek
on 2006-10-29 at 8:52 p.m.
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The Wayback Machine - To Infinity And Beyond
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