[Shotimes] "Soul"

[Mark Kelley]

George,

I was referring to the statement that we were mistaking familiarity with a car
for "soul".  I was making the point that I've had an instant connection to a
car I've never driven before so it couldn't simply be dismissed as just
familiarity.  Certainly familiarity plays into the long term love of a
particular car but has nothing to do with that instant connection that is also
a part of this "soul" discussion.

Mark

On Fri, 06 Dec 2002 11:42:15 -0800 George Fourchy <krazgeo@jps.net> wrote:

> On Fri, 06 Dec 2002 08:13:01 -0800, Mark Kelley
> wrote:
> 
> >No, it isn't familiarity.
> 
> Actually, I think it is all these things.  I
> think that "Soul" in a car is one of
> those abstract things that has a different
> meaning for everyone who tries to define
> it.
> 
> I believe we could all agree that a SHO has
> that something that makes it
> special...we feel instantly comfortable with
> it...everything that connects us to it
> (hands and feet) feels just right....and after
> a very short 'get aquainted' period
> with a new/different one, we feel just as
> confident with it as we do our own.   That
> is, it is very easy to become familiar with it.
> 
> I know the Plus from Hell and the other two
> '90s I have feel almost the same as the
> Lowrider when I sit in them, and I think if
> they had the same brakes, struts,
> steering wheel, exhaust, and tires that it has
> they would drive close enough to be
> 'the same car', and be able to give me the same
> feeling as I described earlier in
> this thread.  In itself, this fact would be
> considered 'familiarity', but since I
> have never been able to make another car feel
> as connected to me as these cars do
> [and I have tried...'65 Mustang with springs,
> Konis, lowered, disc brakes, best
> tires for the time (won every NCMC autocross I
> entered), etc....'69 Boss 302 with
> similar upgrades, plus wide radials...'87 Turbo
> Coupe with lowered springs, very
> good stiff struts, 4 wheel discs (quite good
> from the factory), and Gatorbacks],
> combined with the fact that despite the
> inevitable aging associated with 253K miles,
> I prefer the Lowrider over any other car in its
> class, then or now.  Since all 4 of
> these cars have (or have the potential to have)
> that same level of comfort, car to
> person communication, and 'familiarity', I'd
> say they have something
> more.....'soul'.  I'd say I was definitely
> familiar with those other cars...I drove
> the three of them a total of over 490,000
> miles.
> 
> To me, feeling as one with the 'soul' of a SHO
> is a great step higher than just
> being 'familiar' with it.
> 
> George
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