October 14, 2003

  • Hi Mandy,

    In direct response to your comment about my previous entry: Yes, a car is just a car. Whether you want to treat it like a significant other (like some of your friends do, perhaps) or treat it like a pet (like me), it's solely up to you. There's bound to be dings and dents, and the car will get dirty. You're certainly on the same page with me about not needing to get worked up about it.

    However, like all consumer products, it's not so much the object itself that matters, but the experience that the object generates that made us... I guess you can say... feel emotional about the product. Why Gucci over Prada? It's just a bag. Why Bebe over DKNY? It's just clothes. Why BMW over a Kia? It's just a car.

    A Beemer and a Kia will both get you from point A to point B. But the experience created on the trip, be it the driving experience or the social status experience, is considerably more enjoyable when you're in a BMW.

    It's starts there and the snow ball just gets bigger.

    The more you're attached to your car, the more you're inclined to use all of your senses to get a better feel of it. It's like any hobby or sports, where you want to have the best equipment you can afford and squeeze the most of it: How do I get a better better response in the handling? How can I decrease the lag time between the gas pedal and the wheels? What can I do to shorten the throws in between the gears?

    ...etc.

    And the kicker (for me): How can I personalize my car so it communicates my ideas and personality to the people that can appreciate them?

    So to me, my car is like a piece of my artwork (albeit an expensive one), and I modify it in a way where I hope people will see me walk up to my car and say, "This is exactly how I envision the owner of this car to look like."

    Besides, I am gonna have to pay $300 a month for the next 4+ years for it. I might as well make it into the car I want it to be. ;)

    I have never thought I would ever use a whole entry to answer a comment made by a reader. Don't you feel special? Thanks for reading and commenting, by the way.

    Henry
    http://otakkism.com

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