| My New Car |
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| Monday, 01 September 2008 17:51 | |
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I went looking for a new car this week. It is a fairly invigorating procedure, like hunting wildebeests or something. Once you find your prey, you have to go in for the kill. You know, kick the tires, lift the hood, remove a stick or two and generally act like I know what the hell I am talking about (which I don’t by the way). The guy I am buying it from could tell me all sorts of things about the springs and the struts or the tires and the axles. He could be telling me lie after lie, and I would fall for it hook line and muffler. Which is why I no longer really pay attention to the fellow. Oh I listen to what he has to say; I can catch most large fibs. But if I trust him or her, then as they think that it’s a good buy, I am set to look for the things that I consider to be important when buying an automobile. I’ve deduced that there are three key factors. First off, I need to find out where the lighter input is. My I-pod dock station needs a good place to breath. It sticks out of the console about three inches. And depending on where the hand brake is, the I-pod can be off pointing somewhere I can’t see. This makes for a safety hazrd to be sure. If I have to crane my neck to see what song I am picking next, well, I could slam into the next tractor on the road. Second, a solid cup holder is a must. I once rode in a Toyota 4-Runner that was amazing. The cup holder itself was huge, but it could fit a cup of any size. It had this neat clapping arm. Absolutely brilliant. My old Dodge Dynasty was nice as well. The cup holder came out of the arm rest, and then locked into position. I looked at a Chrysler New Yorker today that had something similar. Except here the cup holders did not lock into the place. They were, how shall we say, impotent cup holders. Sure their placement was nice, right in hand’s reach, but if the cup flops all over the place, that too is a safety hazard. My mom’s old Ford Thunderbird was terrible. It didn’t have any to speak of. Sure, one could put one’s coffee mug in the middle console, but it would slide around like a Texan on icy roads. Third, the car needs to have a decent “cool” factor. I don’t mean mainstream coolness by any means. If I sit in a car, I need to feel a connection with the car. It should take about two seconds for this feeling to manifest itself. If you are not impressed within this small time frame, move on. I personally enjoy “old man” or “grandpa” cars. They are generally a nice smooth ride, with plenty of arm and leg room. The stereo is usually pretty good, and the trunk could carry at least four bodies.
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