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One thing I feel like we discuss rarely here is cars.
I drive a late 90s/early 00s German sedan. When I made less money, I spent a good amount of time wrenching on it. I wanted to have some minimal competence and understanding of the car, and it was a great way to save money.
It still would be a great way to save money - I won't kid myself there - but the stress of preparing for a maintenance job, buying the specialized tools/parts, and working in my extremely cramped garage has lost some magic. I still feel accomplished doing little things but when I'm constantly under pressure to be doing work or parenting, there's less magic in DIY. Bike maintenance provides a similar dopamine hit with far less commitment.
That said, I just picked it up from the mechanic this week after a month-long absence and some significant work being done. I truly do not understand how people put up with newer cars.
This thing is absolutely sublime. It strikes a perfect balance between the precision and feedback from all of its systems while driving and what you'd define as "luxury" and comfort. I splurged on an aftermarket exhaust that fades into the background on the highway and absolutely rips when I'm driving like I stole it late at night on more empty roads.
Not to mention how it looks. Of course, any car you see as a teenager is what you base everything else on, but the slightly angular design language of this period right before everything turned into aero blobs for fuel efficiency and crash standards just really gets me going. I absolutely still look back at it when walking into the office and find myself getting excited when I step back into it after a long day.
Whenever I'm on the road watching hundreds of drones driving dirty shitboxes without using their turn signals or trying to drive efficiently, I fall into such a superiority complex. How could you care so little about something you do so much? For a country supposedly in love with its cars, it would be tough for Americans to give less of a shit about how driving feels and how they perform at it. For all I'm made fun of about the time and money I've invested in an older car, when I spread that out over the time I've used it and the joy I derive from it it seems like an obvious trade.
I've finally gotten my driver's license after nearly a decade of procrastination. Sadly my hopes that self driving cars would be good/cheap enough for that to never be necessary haven't yet manifested.
I never really got the appeal of burning gas for the sake of it, now that I actually need a car for my job, sure, I want one that fills me with a sense of "pride and accomplishment", and most importantly, doesn't scare off the hoes. So probably a second hand half-decent sedan.
I really don't particularly care about the experience of driving, if I want to indulge in fantasies, I'll just fire up Forza and take cars that cost more than I make in a decade out for a spin.
If there was a box where I could sit for t=same time that actually driving would take, and it magically apparated me to my destination when time was up, I'd take it.
I think women may care slightly about supercars, but I think they actually care about something that is kept clean both inside and out. I would also throw out that an older, more uncommon car that's not a shade of greyscale would have some sexual market value. Plus, if she breaks up with you and sees something like it, she'll get a nice ping of remorse. If you drive a black camry there's no opportunity for long-distance, indirect emotional warfare.
I think some people just don't have the driving "gene" and that's OK, but I also suspect there are many people who do have it and don't realize it. If you haven't pushed a machine to its limits before then you won't know if you enjoy it. Even an afternoon at a high-end go-kart track can let you know if you have the bug or not.
Not every drive can be enjoyed for the same reasons. I love the utility of my minivan for long-haul interstate travel, where the compliant suspension, sliding doors, and infotainment system pay far more dividends than my sport sedan.
I don’t have strong feelings about driving, but I did inherit the driving stamina gene. I can, and have, driven for 14 hours in a single day without excessive fatigue.
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