Joseph Stromberg from Vox on an interesting illustration by Claes Tingvall:
By depicting roads as chasms and crosswalks as rickety planks spanning them, Tingvall shows just how lopsided the proportions of a normal urban street corner really are.
/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/2466040/3206.0.jpg "What if?")
Interesting depiction of reality. We ‘civilized’ humans really have given a whole heck of a lot of space to our personal transportation mechanisms. In a time when our businesses squeeze the natural landscape more and more, it is surprising just how much room we give to cars.
One could argue airplanes might have cars beat as far as space devotion goes (the sky is so massive). Still, air travel is not nearly as ubiquitous as personal automobile travel via cars, so cars still win in my book.
What could possibly possess us to allow so much of ‘our’ land to be devoted to cars? Note that I don’t think we are actually possessed; rather, the answer to this riddle is that we humans just love our cars, plain and simple.
My own love affair with automobiles is not overly romantic or ambitious like, say, [Chris Harris][7] “Wikipedia: /DRIVE”) or [Larry Kosilla][8]. In truth, I wasn’t really interested in cars until around the sixth grade. Before then it was all about [great TV][9] “Wikipedia: /DRIVE”) and [Legos][10]. Here’s what happened: I remember driving to school, and as we turned left onto the street which led to my school, I saw a pretty neat looking car pass us by. My mom or dad answered “[Corvette][11]” when I asked what kind of car that was. Looking back, I am pretty sure it was a [C5][12], not a [C4][13] like the example pictured above. Anyways, that moment stuck with me. But, oddly enough, I don’t think I started really getting into the marque until I told my grandpa about seeing the Corvette. That’s when it got real.
What is important for you to know is that my grandfather was probably the most important person in my life for the majority of my childhood (and beyond). He wasn’t a particularly educated man, but he was more than smart enough for me. There wasn’t anything he couldn’t fix. And his expertise with automobiles was unending. I can’t remember ever discussing cars before I told him about seeing the Corvette. I did not know this at that time, but retrospectively, he was arguably the biggest [General Motors][14] apologist ever. Anything Ford or [Mopar][15] was just substandard. Worse yet, [imports][16].
So you can imagine, then, just how special it was for me to have his approval. After all, the Corvette was [America’s Only True Sports Car][17]. For the rest of the time that I knew him, I was totally content being a Corvette fan. The C5, and especially the [C6][18] “Wikipedia: C6 Corvette”), made Corvette a true contender against the venerable [996][19]'s and [997][20]'s. [If you continue reading on, you will see just how much my tastes have changed.] Back then, inspired by my grandpa’s love of GM stuff, I became another blind supporter of the American automobile—as long as it was from GM—and the Corvette especially.
My undergraduate experience was life-changing, no doubt. I made [friends][21] there that I still have, I met my [wife][22] there, and I chose my [profession][23] there. Precious. Ignoring those more important life consequences, one interesting change I went through concerned my car preferences. That was partially inspired by the car culture I discovered on the third floor of [Grainger][24]. Several of my hall-mates either had nice cars, or talked about them incessantly. At first, my devotion to America’s “great for the money” sports car was unwavering. When they talked about the then ‘it’ sports cars like the [E46 M3][25] and [E92 M3][26]'s, or the 997, my response was the typical “Yeah, but for the money, the [Z06][27] beats those cars because xyz.” (Any car with fans decrying how good it is for the money has serious identity issues. Even Jay Leno regards Corvette with [price in mind][28].)
I grew up in the [Central Valley][29] “Wikipedia: California Central Valley”), historically an agricultural land ripe with farmers/ranchers. The area has since devolved substantially, mostly as a bedroom community for bay area commuters. My upbringing was pretty humble. My family wasn’t wealthy. Subconsciously, the notion of an affordable sports car was likely a particularly important one for me. The Corvette fit that mold perfectly.
So you can imagine how my more affluent friends’ ill-opinions and condescension toward Corvette would have effected me. Eventually, my thoughts began to mirror their’s. It wasn’t peer pressure per se. I just saw the light. The Corvette has always been a [fiberglass][30]-body’d automobile. It offers great weight savings, but as [Jeremy Clarkson][31] so ingeniously demonstrated, the material isn’t exactly [structurally stable][32]. ‘Cheap’ comes to mind. And then there was the [interior][33]. For the longest time, the interior of Corvette was lifted right out of the Chevrolet pickups of the time. The worst culprit being the 5th generation Corvette. All these things started to add up slowly at first. It all came to a head when I discovered the next car-of-my-dreams: the Acura (“Honda” outside of North America) [NSX][34].
![Changing tastes: I went Asian. Pictured above: a 2002 Honda NSX 🇯🇵][35]
There was no going back.
That car was an [engineering masterpiece][36]. By the time I discovered this car, it had already [ceased production][37]. It was created for one purpose: murder the Ferrari [328][38]/[348][39]. [Oh, and history [repeats itself][40].] And murder it, it did: The all aluminum body was supremely rigid, and thanks to a [certain F1 superstar][41]'s stamp of approval, the automotive community instantly fell in love. It was the [supercar anyone could drive][42]. Dentists, lawyers, [CEOs][43], and any number of [corporate yuppies and movie stars][44] could get in an drive fast like the pros. Yay.
This NSX was my halo car until [graduate school][45] where, guess what, I met a bunch of other people who, guess what, had different tastes than me. Eventually, I caught the Porsche bug. (Apparently, the de facto dentist car is the 911).
![Ahhh: what some would call the purest (and last) classic Porsche 911, the 964 🇩🇪][46]
The 911 has had very few iterations of the years. It mirrors Corvette in that way. The truly classic lines are, well, classy. The [automotive prowess][47] accompanying the brand puts others to shame. The most modern yet still old version of this car is the [964][48] generation, neatly nestled in the 911’s history with a quaint 5 years of production. What followed was a much more [modern model][49] (by Porsche standards), and the then came the crazy concept of cooling the engine by water and not just air. Silly Germans. Everything changed for the 911 after that.
In preparing for this post, I did a fair amount of self-reflection. A lot of that was so that I could be sure to do my grandpa justice when writing about him. I hope I did.
The biggest thing I learned about myself:
I must really like 90’s cars. I guess that makes sense. I like [90’s music][50] too. [90’s movies][51]. [90’s TV][52]. ([Sentence fragments][53]—those last two.) Maybe it is because I was born in the late 80’s, and, therefore, all of my formative years took place in that decade? Hard to say.
Cars have [changed greatly][54] since the 90’s. And then again, [some things about cars haven’t changed][55]. The average human who drives an automobile may not have the same affection for cars that I do. But, like most hobbies, zealot culture eventually becomes pop culture. Cars were no different. Maybe it isn’t so crazy that we let our cars take over so much of our space?
Maybe we couldn’t have it any other way 🚗
[7]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive_(web_series [8]: http://carsalways.com/2013/01/07/the-story-of-larry-kosilla-and-his-passion-for-cars/ “Story of how Larry Kosilla came to be” [9]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive_(web_series [10]: http://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Barracuda-Pirate-Shooting-Cannons/dp/B0021XFDL0 “Vintage 1989 Lego Black Seas Barracuda Pirate Ship #6285” [11]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Corvette “Wikipedia: Chevrolet Corvette” [12]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C5_Corvette “Wikipedia: Corvette C5” [13]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C4_Corvette “Wikipedia: Corvette C4” [14]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors “Wikipedia: General Motors” [15]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mopar “Wikipedia: Mopar” [16]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota “Wikipedia: Toyota” [17]: http://www.amazon.com/Corvette-Americas-Only-True-Sports/dp/B000NR7XKA “Corvette: America’s Only True Sports Car” [18]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Corvette_(C6 [19]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_996 “Wikipedia: Porsche 996” [20]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_997 “Wikipedia: Porsche 997” [21]: http://twitter.com/The_Real_Hunter “Wesley Hunter on Twitter” [22]: http://twitter.com/venusautumn “Allison on Twitter” [23]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dentistry “Wikipedia: Dentistry” [24]: http://www.puc.edu/puc-life/residence-halls/grainger-hall “Pacific Union College Grainger Hall” [25]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_M3#E46_M3 “Wikipedia: BMW E46 M3” [26]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_M3#E90.2F92.2F93_M3 “Wikipedia: BMW E90 M3” [27]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Corvette_(C6)#Z06 “Wikipedia: Corvette Z06” [28]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC_TTqul92I&t=3m59s “2015 Corvette Z06 - Jay Leno’s Garage” [29]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Valley_(California [30]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiberglass “Wikipedia: Fiberglass” [31]: https://twitter.com/JeremyClarkson “Jeremy Clarkson on Twitter” [32]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko9kzyqW-l8&t=0m15s “Corvette Z06 Review - Top Gear - BBC” [33]: http://www.coolridesonline.net/news-blog/news-entertainment/why-the-corvette-will-always-suck/ “'Why the Corvette Will Always Suck” [34]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_NSX “Wikipedia: Honda NSX” [35]: https://www.arab4x4.com/wp-content/gallery/car_wallpapers/Honda-NSX/Honda-NSX-008.jpg “Changing tastes: I went Asian. Pictured above: a 2002 Honda NSX” [36]: http://honda-nsx.info/history/ “History of the NSX” [37]: http://www.nsxprime.com/wiki/Production_Numbers “NSX production mumbers” [38]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrari_328 “Wikipedia: Ferrari 328” [39]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrari_348 “Wikipedia: Ferrari 348” [40]: http://jalopnik.com/once-again-the-acura-nsx-targets-ferrari-for-a-fractio-1643380797 “Jalopnik on how the new NSX is targeting Ferrari” [41]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayrton_Senna#cite_note-141 “Spirit of Ayrton Senna is Lewis Hamilton’s spur” [42]: http://www.petrolicious.com/the-acura-nsx-is-faster-because-it-s-better “Petrolicious on the NSX” [43]: http://www.businessinsider.com/larry-ellison-gave-acura-nsx-supercars-presents-2014-9 “Business Insider on Larry Ellison giving presentation on Acura’s new NSX” [44]: http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Media/famous.htm “Famous NSX owners” [45]: http://www.llu.edu/dentistry/index.page “Loma Linda University School of Dentistry” [46]: https://d.pr/i/G4PX+ “Ahhh: what some would call the purest (and last) classic Porsche 911, the 964” [47]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_in_motorsport “Wikipedia: Porsche motorsport” [48]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_964 “Wikipedia: Porsche 964” [49]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_993https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_993 “Wikipedia: Porsche 993” [50]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990s_in_music “Wikipedia: Music of the 1990’s” [51]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990s_in_film “Wikipedia: Film of the 1990’s” [52]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fresh_Prince_of_Bel-Air “Wikipedia: ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’” [53]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentence_clause_structure#Incomplete_sentence “Wikipedia: Incomplete sentences” [54]: http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/26/7451199/tesla-announces-roadster-3-0-an-upgrade-package-with-massive-range “The Verge reporting on the Tesla Roadster 3.0 upgrade package” [55]: http://jalopnik.com/alfa-romeo-selling-cars-with-sex-since-pretty-much-alw-1677174438 “Jalopnik on how the Alfa is always sexy”