The Thing about Cars and Do Overs...

My belief is that the Digital Video Recorder, or DVR, not the cell phone, is the major reason for today's distracted driver. You ask, the DVR? I say yes and before you tune me out as yet another loon talking about the foibles of driving carelessly, let me explain why I believe what I do.

WHEN I WAS A KID...this is the point where the eyes of my three teenagers glaze over and their minds head off into a land that I no longer remember nor do I want to. So let me start again. When I was a kid the idea of a DVR was just a gleam in the eye of some NASA engineer hoping that one day he would be rich, rich, rich! Television controlled your life. You worked your life around its schedule. You paid attention to your watch, your surroundings, time of day, sunrise and sunset to gauge when your favorite show was on. In early June around sunset on Sunday you knew it was about 7:00 and it was time to watch Jim wrestle alligators and lions on Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom while Marlin Perkins stood safely in the studio watching Jim's arm being torn from its socket.
More importantly it meant that the Wonderful World of Disney would be on next and provide the hope of catching just a glimpse of Annette Funicello!

To make all of that happen, you had to pay attention or you would miss the show and it would be forever gone. There was no DVR to record and save it for your purview later.

Many of the drivers today have never experienced life without a DVR. They have never had to plan their day around a television show. If Nickelodeon is showing a One Direction concert at 7:00, just hit record.  If Iron Man 3 comes to an end and you want to watch it all over just click 'Play Again'. You missed the hilarious punchline from Brian Regan? No problem, a simple pause, rewind, and play and, voila, there it is! The current generation has been instilled with a sense that if you don't pay attention, no big worry, just rewind and play it over.

Unfortunately, life does not have a DVR. As life moves along and you miss something, well that moment is gone forever and you don't get to do it over. You may get to repeat it but it is not the same moment, it is a copy of a previous moment. As a result a mistake cannot be erased. Whatever happens you will live through the consequences of the action, or inaction, you performed. That includes good and bad.

So when you see that driver, old or young, carelessly driving down the road with phone to ear, texting and reading texts, putting on makeup or shaving, at 70 MPH, with traffic all around, it may not just be stupidity (although that still rates pretty high on the Darwin scale). It may be that the person believes that life is just like television with a DVR, if you miss something you can hit Pause, Rewind and Replay and get a different result. The issue being that is not even close to reality. A moment of inattention, loss of focus, distraction at 60 MPH, or even at 25 MPH, will eventually result in a wreck and the results can be devastating. Maybe it is just the loss of a car but the mistake can easily be much more serious. Your inattention may result in a life changing injury or even death,  your own, or possibly worse, the person you hit. While the mobile phone gets all of the blame, and it has earned much of it, I do not place all the fault on the phone itself.  I believe it starts with the mentality that comes from using a DVR. People truly believe it is fine to be inattentive because when you miss something you can just do it over.


That's the thing about cars and do overs, the two together don't exist...

The Thing About Car Events...

While I love and breathe cars I actually earn my living working with technology systems. You learn early that a software system consists of people, process and technology. Add a new computer but don’t change processes and nothing changes. New people, old technology and well, you get the point, you won’t see any improvements. You need a system.

The same can be said of car related events. Whether it is a Friday night cruise-in, a Saturday morning Cars and Coffee or full weekend car festival three things are needed to make it complete. You must, of course, have cars. You need a great venue and the final ingredient, and this may be the most important, are the people who attend the event. The best cars, best venue with rotten, snobby, cranky people and you will have, well, a lousy event. Great people make or break an event. If you are lucky enough to get two of the above three components you have done well. All three? That is a rare event.

This past week I hit the trifecta. Every April Bo Black and his crew create an event called ‘Mid-America 2002 Festival’ that is held in Eureka Springs, AR. This is my second year to attend and this time I brought my 14 year old son. The event celebrates all things related to BMW 2002s. Tech talks, drives, show and shines, and food. The entire weekend focuses on the person and the car.

So why a trifecta? Remember, you need people, place and cars to make an event fun, memorable and rewarding. Mid-America has done so in spades (not quite sure why spades are so great, but the organizer, Bo, did it nonetheless). If you will permit, let me explain what a trifecta looks like.

First, the location. Arkansas you say? Yep, Arkansas. I live in Birmingham, AL and I get all the comments about living in the south. Rednecks, mobile homes, and outhouses is the impression most have of Birmingham. By contrast Birmingham is a modern and pretty city with great people and simply a great place to live. 

Arkansas reminds me of the same, the state shares all of the jokes of Alabama but they don’t fit, not one bit. The mountains of northwest Arkansas are some of the most beautiful you will ever see (being a Vermonter, this is not easy for me to say). The roads curve in and through those mountains and through little towns that remind us of 50 years ago when a downtown was the heart of a community. You take all of that, double it, and you have the beautiful town of Eureka Springs. A Utopia? Probably not, but it is awfully close.

Now mix in the cars. Am I saying cars are second in importance? As Phineas and Ferb say, ‘Why yes, yes I am.' What can be said about BMW 2002s? If you have never driven, ridden in, owned or seen one I have nothing but sympathy for you. The car is possibly one of the best cars ever manufactured. It is a car the produces a smile each time you drive it. Somehow this little car built in late 60’s and into the early 70’s has a way of working its way from being a vintage car to something you cherish in your heart. In today’s world we drive new cars with power windows, door locks, automated wipers, 1,248 speaker system, 256 way power driver’s seat that cools, warms, blow dries hair and massages you on your way to work. With all of these features you simply point and drive. The 02 is not that car. you don’t drive a 2002, you experience one. As you drive down the road it talks to you. It tells you how fast you are going, how bumpy the road is, and if you are going too fast or too slow through a corner. It invites you to join it on its drive. The car, and you, experience driving nirvana together.

Add to it that 2002s are like snowflakes, where no two are alike and what can be said? 

There were nearly 60 cars at the event and not one of them similar. We had very old cars made in the 60s and ‘new’ cars made in 1976. Some owned by the same person since new while others have had the opportunity to be enjoyed by dozens of owners. Some have perfect paint and some have, well, paint, or something similar. 

And just like couples begin to look like each other as they age each 2002 has its own personality that reflects its owner. While there is not scientific evidence, I am convinced that some of the owners begin to look like the cars they drive. All in all, the cars have more personality than Shirley Temple on a dance stage.

Last, certainly not least, in fact most important, are the people. Maybe this is true of other car marques but I have not seen it. 2002 owners are just ‘good people’. Other phrases to explain them include ‘good eggs’, ‘salt of the earth’, ‘good company’ and host of other warm and fuzzy thoughts that can be associated with people that are just wonderful to be with. Walk into a room filled with 02 owners and you are immediately part of the family and that family is diverse. There is the older German couple who has owned their 1971 car since new and used it daily while raising a family. We have 21 year olds who are attracted to the cars based on the reputation of being sporty and sprightly vehicles. There are engineers, wealthy sales people, mechanics, computer programmers, business owners and everyone in between. We all come together for the same reason, we love our little cars.

I am not sure if good people purchase 2002s or if 2002s make people good? Either way a weekend with a group of like minded people who are happy to be together regardless of the condition of their car or the distance of their trip is a special thing. I am truly sorry for those who don’t have a 2002 and cannot experience a wonderful weekend of everything cars. 

That's the Thing about Car Events...

The Thing about Cars...

There is a Thing about Cars that can't be described. For some it is a 'thing' about cars, a love, or sometimes even a lust, affair. For others there is a thing about cars that makes them mysterious and hard to understand but still attractive. Finally, there are those whose thing about cars is simply that, they are things. 

I want to declare that 'The Thing about Cars' is meant for everyone from those of us with gasoline in our veins, or in the case of this person, on his knuckles. 

To those that drive a car under duress and can't wait for the Star Trek teleport machine or making the self-driving car a real and viable option (look up Google car - your wait is almost over).

But why so many different perspectives? Why do we all look at cars and see something different? Is it nature? Is it nurture? Is it both? Can you ever take someone who thinks about cars as things and turn them into someone who has a thing about cars? So many questions and so few lines to answer them in but I will attempt.

Let's start with the one who thinks of cars as things. You have seen them. From entering the dealership to purchase to driving the vehicle of their 'choice' home (is it really a choice if you don't care?), it just doesn't matter. The shape, the color, the features - none of it matters. Clean or dirty, who cares? Dings, small dents, cracked lenses, so what? Drive-ability, handling, and performance, where is the Webster dictionary? These are questions that never enter into the equation. Now, does it run well? Will it get great gas mileage? What are the annual maintenance costs? These are the only questions on their minds that need an answer. 

What cars then jump out at them? None, or you think I am going to list only ugly and boring cars but that is not always the case. Yes, the majority of them will drive a Nissan Versa, Toyota Yaris, a stripped down Dodge Caravan. In the early days they would have driven a Ford Granada, AMC Pacer, or a Chevrolet Vega. However, I have seen them driving a Mustang or an Acura or something fancy or sporty. When pressed on why that car for them? The answer will be something like 'Well, I read it was a good deal' or 'It was the cheapest car on the lot' or 'I don't know, I just bought it.'. 

A person who thinks of cars as things will not care, maybe not even remember his or her first car. In fact, press them on what they drive today and they may not know the year or model. Most will never know what trim level they purchased. When you see a 'thing' car in a parking lot you will know the owner. Missing hubcaps. Dirty on the outside and inside. A dashboard covered with dust and multiple post factory creases surround the exterior.

A person who thinks of cars as things will never become a lustful member of the car love community. It isn't going to happen, so don't waste your time trying to get them to think that way. 

Those who like cars but only because of their looks or advertising theme are a different sort. They do like cars. They like what it says about them and how the car looks on them. A BMW is like wearing an Armani suit, A Lexus represents a Brook Brothers golf shirt and khakis.  A Camaro owner doesn't own a suit but has a drawer full of skateboarder graphic t-shirts.

This is a difficult group to distinguish from the lustful, car obsessed individual.  Their cars won't give them away because they usually are driving a nice vehicle. A Mustang GT500. Is that someone who loves power and the history of the pony car or do they love the rally strips, the illuminated entry door panel, and the pony stitched on the seats? The BMW M3 or M5 in your company parking lot. Who is this person?  Is it because he can drive the car Monday through Friday to work and then change out the tires and take it to the race track on the weekend? Does she love the history of the car and know it by not the name displayed on the trunk lid but by the internal BMW code? However, this groups thinks the BMW at a Starbuck's makes a great combination. 

At the tennis club it is very chic to say 'My spouse just bought a 3 series'. You may even hear someone from this group say 'You should see the neat cup holder my car has." (that comment makes me shudder).

While it is difficult to know who is part of the 'I like cars' group based on their vehicle, you can easily be identify them through a short conversation.  Their love is only sheet-metal deep. Ask them about the recent American LeMans race and how did Aston Martin do? Ask about the early SL500 and how did it influence 2 seat sports cars of today? Ask them if a Miata is cool? The answers from this group will be insufficient to anyone who lives and breathes automobiles. It will be like going on a date with that beautiful girl in your high school only to find out that, well, brains don't come with that beauty. 

Can you get someone who likes cars, maybe even think they love cars, to become a true lover of anything automobile? I am sorry to say, no. You might think that you have converted them when they start to know the history of their favorite automobile marque. However, at the end of the day, when standing in a parking a lot with a group of friends, a wonderful engine note erupts during the conversation, sadly, their heads will never turn to see what caused such a glorious sound. 

  The gasoline in their veins crowd, of which I am one, is a different story. We are few in number and possibly becoming extinct, definitely on the endangered species list. While at times it may be hard to pick us out of the police line-up, or maybe on the car lot or at an evening dinner party because our cars overlap with those 'who like cars' (Dodge Challenger, AMG Mercedes, Audi, even a Focus ST), we distinguishable. My group lives, breathes, thinks about, lusts after, dreams, day dreams, well, just are one with cars. I believe that chromosome 18 has a genetic defect by which gasoline is truly produced in our bloodstream (I am 68% by volume I believe). 

We are Shylock in the Merchant of Venice. 

'If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? If you wrong us, shall we not get revenge?"

Except we live by

'If you text and drive, do we not yell? If you damage your car, do we not get angry? If you kill a car, do we not weep? If you slander one of us, shall we ever help you again with car questions?

This group, my group, just knows when we have seen a fellow combustible engine person. We will be driving the quirky car that people say 'What in the world is that?' but you know that they made that particular model for 4 years, it had a successful racing career and is truly spectacular. Don't get me wrong, we will own the exotic, the muscle car, the hot rod. We also are likely to pull up in 'rat rod', or maybe a 'rattling rod' in my case, and be proud to get out of it even as those around us are as shocked as a nun on the Vegas strip. Our cars may be multiple colors, with grey primer, no front bumper but when examined closely will have amazingly expensive tires (not wheels - we shall talk about that difference at another time), a shiny and lowered suspension and an engine that makes the ground shake below your feet. My group knows my people!



If you love cars, I mean really love them you know what a burden it is to live with this genetic trait. People don't understand us. Conversations about what's playing at the movies? What is on the news? Your neighbor's new baby is really just biding time until you can mention a car and some obscure factoid that would only interest you, and a fellow fuel veined soul. Talking about Weber carbs and the sound they make when the accelerator  is pushed through the firewall makes your heart race, your eyes dart around and makes you, well, ALIVE! 

A person who is totally infatuated with cars cannot change. Honest, as much as I would like to shut off my car brain at times, it just can't happen. My head will snap around when I see something old driving down the road. I can't help but notice that between 2007 and 2008 the Odyssey changed the turn signal location on the taillights. My mind will drift and I will lose focus in a conversation when I hear a V8 engine rumble by. The obscure, unnoticed cool car of the 50's, 60's or 70's will stop me in my tracks while my party continues to walk forward. I just can't stop it. It would be like asking you to stop, to stop...breathing...you just can't do it.

A disease like the Bubonic Plague? Maybe. 
Annoying to the non-petrol head? Definitely. A cure needed? A clear no. Patience needed? A definitive yes!

So who are you? Be honest. Can you say that you love cars when really you know you like them a lot and how they look but you don't love them? How about those of you who think of cars as things? Well, you probably didn't read this far and that is OK but for those that endured the torture, you know fit my description.

For the car obsessed. Let's unite, let's find a support group, let's start a national awareness of our disease! Oh, wait, that's right, they already have that - it is called racing.

The Thing about Car Clubs...

As I sit down at the kitchen table to eat lunch I suddenly feel lonely as the only other two people at the table, my wife and daughter, are engrossed in some house decorating, furniture type magazines and I have nothing but my bowl of soup to stare at. That is when I notice that my January issue of Roundel has arrived. I exclaim my excitement that my magazine is here! As I rip open the plastic bag protecting my coveted club periodical my daughter asks what am I reading and I explain to her that it is Roundel the BMW Car Club's magazine (and only the best club magazine on the planet) and I set off to read Satch's opening editorial. 

My daughter, noticing that I am now ignoring her, asks 'Do all cars have car clubs?’ My immediate answer was 'Of course not, only cool cars have clubs.' She reminds me that 'There is a club for Mustangs' and then asks 'So what cars don't have clubs?'. Again, I, a man filled with the all knowing wisdom of everything cars, quickly replies 'Well you would never see a car club for a Chevy' and my first thought was the Nova but then I realize that old Novas are cool so there is a club. Next on the tip of my tongue is the Impala. No, again, many cool Impalas have driven on our roads and highways, so there must be a club. I stammered a bit and blurted 'Well, cars like the Honda Odyssey and Ford Escort probably don't have clubs' with a finality in my voice that seemed to satisfy her curiosity.

It got me thinking. Is it only cool cars that have clubs? Which led to the question what makes a car cool? Is it exclusivity? Not really, if that were true then why is there a club for the seemingly millions of Mustangs out there? It must be speed of course, yes, that's it. No, then how did the Volkswagen Beetle ever earn a club? Nice looking and sporty? No, the venerable Jeep has a very active club. So what makes a car cool?

Defining cool cars, which therefore make them club worthy, one must follow the thinking of Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart when asked to define hard core pornography. Justice Potter exclaimed '...and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly (describe what is pornography)... But I know it when I see it...'. Cool cars are like that, you just know them when you see them.

A car from the moment it is introduced by its creator is immediately assigned a place in the car world. No matter what the manufacturer might try to proclaim and market, the general public is the final decider of the type of car it will be. Take the PT Cruiser and the Scion xB (both of which have clubs by the way, are they cool? I think not, but I digress). Both of these models were created to reach a young population market with their quirky and different looks, the cars, not the young population. Yet to the manufacturers’ utter amazement, more appropriately stated, shock and despair, old people loved them!  With the definition of old in this case people over 30 who most likely have thighs with cellulite or expanding foreheads. So their cool cars became ones in which the uber cool 20 something person and his grandma both find hip. Imagine marketing to those two groups!

In the end, I have done little to define what makes a car worthy of its own club. It could be because it is cool. Maybe it is useful and utilitarian or just plain cute. Maybe it is because the people who purchase certain vehicles have similar backgrounds and interests.  They may think 'Let's meet because we like the same car so we must have something else in common'.

A true statement is that we can never force a club to start for a car that should never have one. We also can never stifle a club for a car that clearly deserves one.

What to make of car clubs then? When it comes to starting, participating, or actively promoting and building a car club just make sure that you join and make your mark. That could be writing articles, helping to organize events, or simply attending club events and sharing your enthusiasm and whatever knowledge you might have. Be proud of your club and make sure to tell others about it, even if your car is not ‘cool’...So what makes a car cool? Well, it has to do with, oh, never mind.