As much as we love the quirks of our British cars, There is something to be
said about current vehicles. The original author was trying to show that how
he thought his car was alive and he never felt alone when he was driving it.
But the same can be said with any car you work on and know the ins and outs.
Even my old reliable land cruiser feels this way. It is not only British
vehicles that have a spirit. I must say though that in modern cars, that are
hardly unique, it still proves true, to a much lesser degree. Car owners and
enthusiasts always treat their cars as so. My soon to be brother-in-law with
his very new Tundra likes to floor it from time to time to "stretch out her
legs". Perhaps it is because some of us don't know exactly how their smarts
work that we don't appreciate new vehicles. After I took my auto electronics
class, I had a whole new look on modern cars. The amount of engineering and
work in them is mind-boggling compared to our Spridgets. This is probably
one of the very reasons that we like our cars, the simplicity of all the
systems independently working together to get you from point A, to B.
Today's systems are so inter-linked electronically to make them "work
better" that I would say %95 of drivers have no idea what is pulling them
forward and moving them around town AND have no idea of the workings behind
their climate controlled leather interior. Not only to people not know what
is going on, but they have NO desire to know. Sometimes I try to explain how
my sister's cell phone works to her, but hey eyes just glaze over and she
starts dialing. I am really sad for them. Advertisements for new cars purely
show the looks and sometimes performance of the vehicle without one thought
on instructing anybody on how they actually work. They like to throw around
buzz words like like VTECH and VVT-i but without even trying to explain
them. When I was looking for an AUDI for my mother, the sales man was quick
to point out that this vechile had the quattro option. I asked himn about
it, since I had heard so much about it. He knew NOTHING on it. No brochures,
no nothing. Even the mechanics were dumbfounded. But this model did have it,
and it was only a $2000 option.
ing discussion. It kind of parallels one I
>had with mf GF
>a while back. I was talking about the joys and pleasures of MG
>ownership in
>much the same line as what is here. She drives a 96 Ford Probe
>GT w/ Mazda
>V-6. Now not a "sports car" but a very nice handling car with
>a lot of power
>for its weight. Her attitude towards cars? Does it start, does
>it get me
>where I wanna be, do I really have to put oil in it??
>
>It also reflects a comment made on this list right after it
>started (wish I
>could find it) about the pleasures of Spridget ownership. My
>ex read that
>and promised me the Midget would always be mine. She is gone
>but the Midget
>is mine.
>
>Larry
>
>BTW I have searched the archives for that messages and either I do not
>remember enough of it to find it or it just ain't there and I dreamed.
>
>At this exact moment in time 12/6/00 3:19 AM, "Tomsaudi@aol.com"
><Tomsaudi@aol.com> made the profound statement:
>
>> Well, for starters, that's one of the most thought-out
>e-mails I've read this
>> year, and it wasn't even about an MG! Argh.
>>
><SNIP>
>> Tom
>> 78 Midget (fun)
>> 89 Range Rover (was inclined for a Jeep, but, I had to go British)
>> 95 Audi 90 (wife's, our long distance tourer)
>
>Larry Macy
>78 Midget
>
>Keep your top down and your chin up
>
>Larry B. Macy, Ph.D.
>macy@bblmail.psycha.upenn.edu
>System Administrator/Manager
>Neuropsychiatry Section
>Department of Psychiatry
>University of Pennsylvania
>3400 Spruce St. - 1015 Gates
>Philadelphia, PA 19104
>
> Ask a question and you're a fool for three minutes; do not ask a
>question and you're a fool for the rest of your life.
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