I saved virtually all of the biographies offered in the couple of weeks
or so, and had another look at them tonight, not so much for statistical
purposes, but more looking for intangible qualities, for the less
substantive and more ethereal aspects of Triumph ownership....
The following are just observations, rather than expectations that
everyone should admit to hard and fast rules about Triumph owners or is
some sort of statistical analysis....
About half of the respondents tempered personal information with
information about their cars. The other half saw their personal
biography almost exclusively in terms of the cars they'd owned.
Conclusion: we have some nice people here, and some real car nuts, and
the two groups are not mutually exclusive. <smile>
Virtually all of the respondents were men. There are only a few women
with Triumphs who regularly respond to the list, but none, as best as I
can figure from posts, supplied a biography. A shame, because I would
have been intrigued by their backgrounds.
As might be expected, a lot of people who regularly use the list have
some occupation related to computers, in one way or another. I don't
think that's exceptional, since a lot of people using the Internet have
some computer savvy.
To a considerable degree, the respondents are in the 45-60 year age
range. Only a few people described themselves as in their `30s, and only
a handful as in their `20s (the latter folks seemed, mostly, to
apologize for their youth, and generally suggested they had no life to
describe in biography). I assure the final category that if they spend
their time with British cars, they have lived lifetimes of a particular
sort of experience, even at a young age.... <smile>
More specifically, as has been suggested on the list in previous times,
the kids who in the `60s and `70s were enamored of British cars had
urges no different than kids today who find outlet for those urges in
Honda CRXs and Corollas and Neons. If there are fewer 20-year-olds
interested in Triumphs today, it's only because Triumphs were part of
the prevalent iron three decades ago; today, they are not. What
attracted most of us to these cars three decades ago is the same impulse
driving people of the current age to what is current and interesting and
exciting.
About a third or respondents generally tend to political conservatism,
which I find a bit odd, since British car ownership, in some ways, leads
me, at least, to surmise that one is willing to accept the unknown and
take chances--hardly, by definition, conservative credentials....
<smile> Ah, the world is full of conundrum.... <smile>
Many more Americans replied to the request for biographical information
than Brits or other nationalities... that is certainly a reflection of
percentages of participation and availability of car ownership, but it
may also be due a well-entrenched British view that one does not blow
one's horn in public, or in private.... <smile> Those Brits, however,
who did respond, had marvelous stories to tell of themselves....
A few people made comment about their cars in relationship to the
economic status of themselves and others... there's a perception,
generally, that British car ownership, especially to those outside
looking in at those who show such cars in concours exhibitions, that
such implies status and wealth and a life of general leisure. To that,
it's worth mentioning, few here are actually retired (congratulations,
Fred and Dan!), and most work for a living (yes, some make good money
and have more time than others to devote to their passions), but, on the
whole, Triumphs are owned and operated by working folk, just as they
were twenty or thirty or fifty years ago.
For those younger people who subscribe, but think that Triumph car
ownership is impossible except for the well-to-do with time on their
hands, it's worth the reminder that the biographies clearly suggest that
many of us developed our obsessions for these cars a long time ago, when
we were high school or college students, or were first starting jobs, or
were in the military--for the most part, in times when money was scarce
and other responsibilities were mounting. It's no different today--not
much money? Then look for the best deal and plan to learn about the car
and to put in a little sweat equity to make a driver of it. (!) And,
later, yes, there may be the possibility that a marriage or a child may
necessitate sale of an LBC (as is so often recounted in the biographies
presented here), but there is still the possibility held out, sometimes
long-deferred, for eventual ownership. A high percentage of respondents
said of the cars when they were young, in some fashion, "I loved that
car, but I had to get rid of it because [fill in the blanks]. I've
wanted one ever since."
Fortunately, some of us, with kids through college and mortgages paid
off, have a few extra dollars to spend on things, cars, some frivolity
which will never end war, or famine, or guarantee the education of kids
in Angola, but which might help teach us patience, forbearance and the
value of using one's mind well toward completion of a task, and the
ability to prepare a job to be done well.
The cars, and their owners, are reflections not only of the past, but of
the values of workmanship in the past and the technology of the past.
Triumphs are a baseline for the future.
Cheers, all.
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