Essay on the death of a 2001 Saturn

[ifcar]

Articles like this serve as a reminder that even when people don't care about cars in the enthusiast sense, many still do care about their cars:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/20/opinion/sunday/all-things-come-to-an-end-even-my-2001-saturn.html?emc=eta1

[Raza]

That was really nice.  It's true; people who may not know a thing about cars or care how they perform or drive (or in some cases, even look), can fall well and truly in love with their cars.  It's really quite beautiful, in a way.  Like bread, means of transportation is almost universally shown affection by the people who use it.  Even going back to horses, people cared for their way of getting around town.  I'm guilty of talking to my car, and I won't apologize for being sentimental over some of the ones from which I've moved on.  Especially in America, your car is a big part of you, enthusiast or not. 

[JWC]

That's pretty much how I feel about my V70. It sits in the front yard (not on blocks though) awaiting a "For Sale" sign. I'm running it in a local bargain trader now for $2,000. Getting some cash for it would be great.....buuuutttt....I still hate to give it up. I drove it last week before taking off the plates and turning them in. It still drives and rides great. It just needs more work than I'm willing (or have the time) to put into it.

I haven't gotten any calls so far. I kept the price at $2K so the ad would be free. I might take photos and resubmit it to the bargain trader. The price will got up though....$2500. Still I hate to give up my 2000 V70. At 85,000 miles, it is in the prime of its life.

[MexicoCityM3]

That was really nice.  It's true; people who may not know a thing about cars or care how they perform or drive (or in some cases, even look), can fall well and truly in love with their cars.  It's really quite beautiful, in a way.  Like bread, means of transportation is almost universally shown affection by the people who use it.  Even going back to horses, people cared for their way of getting around town.  I'm guilty of talking to my car, and I won't apologize for being sentimental over some of the ones from which I've moved on.  Especially in America, your car is a big part of you, enthusiast or not.

Well written.

[Rupert]

That's pretty much how I feel about my V70. It sits in the front yard (not on blocks though) awaiting a "For Sale" sign. I'm running it in a local bargain trader now for $2,000. Getting some cash for it would be great.....buuuutttt....I still hate to give it up. I drove it last week before taking off the plates and turning them in. It still drives and rides great. It just needs more work than I'm willing (or have the time) to put into it.

I haven't gotten any calls so far. I kept the price at $2K so the ad would be free. I might take photos and resubmit it to the bargain trader. The price will got up though....$2500. Still I hate to give up my 2000 V70. At 85,000 miles, it is in the prime of its life.

Try $1950.

[veeman]

Loved that piece of writing. 

While cool to drive a Jalopy, eventually the car is a real hazard to you and other people on the road.  Car stalling on the highway, total brake failure, wheel coming off, exhaust falling on the ground, etc. 

Airplanes are designed to have a structural integrity for a certain tens of thousands of take-off/landing cycles. 

Her front bumper falling off is a good sign that it's time to put her car out to pasture.

[giant_mtb]

I wish I had money to fix TRACKER. Even though I have a truck for off-road now, Tracker is just way more fun because it's old, loud, and tiny.

[Rupert]

IMO, this sort of sentimentality is missing from a lot of car enthusiasts' relationship to their cars. I think it's healthy, at least if you like your car.

[FoMoJo]

I have a great deal of sentimentality about many of my former cars. However, the one that, almost, broke my heart was my Alfa Spider.  As mentioned in another thread, we have recently moved to a condo and, although I'd hung onto the Spider for over 40 years with the hope of finding time and resources to give it the make-over it deserved, life and circumstances did not allow for that to happen.  So, last fall, I made the rather painful decision to let it go, hopefully, to someone who could resurrect it and give it a new life.

The deal was done.  An Alfa enthusiast in Montreal, who restored old Alfas for business and pleasure, drove up with his brother-in-law, trailer in tow, and took it away.  Now, I don't cry over cars or funerals, though I sometimes do over movies, but the sadness I felt then, was akin to losing a dear old friend.  What was almost as touching as seeing it disappear down the street atop the trailer, was that my wife told the guy that, when he had finished the restoration, give us first dibs on buying it.  As much as I appreciated her sentiment, I'm not sure I would want to do that.  There are just too many memories for me, from its former life.

[Raza]

IMO, this sort of sentimentality is missing from a lot of car enthusiasts' relationship to their cars. I think it's healthy, at least if you like your car.

I agree. Now everyone's all about the mag racing and the tech. Like omg, I can play music from my friends' phones on my stereo and I can get live updates from Buzzfeed. Uh, this car doesn't have real time updates of Drake's Twitter feed? Junk.

[MrH]

I agree. Now everyone's all about the mag racing and the tech. Like omg, I can play music from my friends' phones on my stereo and I can get live updates from Buzzfeed. Uh, this car doesn't have real time updates of Drake's Twitter feed? Junk.

Can't wait for the next gen M3 when they finally integrate Drake's twitter feed into iDrive.  Bout damn time.  They're falling behind the competition.

[12,000 RPM]

IMO, this sort of sentimentality is missing from a lot of car enthusiasts' relationship to their cars. I think it's healthy, at least if you like your car.

Yea... for a lot of "enthusiasts" cars are just means for showing off, be it by building a dyno queen, drag racer, or just something to throw parts at with a maxed out credit card for internet cred. Car model forums are pretty much unbearable for anything but reference. I don't know if it's just my age but I feel like things have changed fundamentally.

For me I'm finding the more I can beat on and get feedback from a car the more I like it. Performance is kind of secondary as long as it's adequate.

[ifcar]

Can't wait for the next gen M3 when they finally integrate Drake's twitter feed into iDrive.  Bout damn time.  They're falling behind the competition.

I hear they'll also shave a few tenths off key performance specs like phone-syncing time.

[Raza]

Can't wait for the next gen M3 when they finally integrate Drake's twitter feed into iDrive.  Bout damn time.  They're falling behind the competition.

I'm going to hold out for the Kanye edition. I hear it's going to be integrated into the HUD and be projected on to the windshield.

[2o6]

Yea... for a lot of "enthusiasts" cars are just means for showing off, be it by building a dyno queen, drag racer, or just something to throw parts at with a maxed out credit card for internet cred. Car model forums are pretty much unbearable for anything but reference. I don't know if it's just my age but I feel like things have changed fundamentally.

For me I'm finding the more I can beat on and get feedback from a car the more I like it. Performance is kind of secondary as long as it's adequate.

Don't be tellin on yourself, now

[12,000 RPM]

Don't be tellin on yourself, now

Lol.... I pay my CC off every month, and if I wanted internet cred I would have bought a dental assistant's off-lease 3 series.

[280Z Turbo]

I think Roadkill kind of did our hobby a favor by making people realize that expensive technology, shiny paint or matching numbers doesn't make a car fun. It's about the experience.

[giant_mtb]

For me I'm finding the more I can beat on and get feedback from a car the more I like it. Performance is kind of secondary as long as it's adequate.

+1

[CaminoRacer]

I think Roadkill kind of did our hobby a favor by making people realize that expensive technology, shiny paint or matching numbers doesn't make a car fun. It's about the experience.

I agree, although I've kinda gotten tired of Roadkill. It's too popular now. /hipster

[Rupert]

Yea... for a lot of "enthusiasts" cars are just means for showing off, be it by building a dyno queen, drag racer, or just something to throw parts at with a maxed out credit card for internet cred. Car model forums are pretty much unbearable for anything but reference. I don't know if it's just my age but I feel like things have changed fundamentally.

For me I'm finding the more I can beat on and get feedback from a car the more I like it. Performance is kind of secondary as long as it's adequate.

Ye olde proxy penis. Car enthusiasts as a group suck... present company excluded, of course.

If it's not a penis proxy, it's a mid-life crisis.

[Rupert]

I think Roadkill kind of did our hobby a favor by making people realize that expensive technology, shiny paint or matching numbers doesn't make a car fun. It's about the experience.

IMO Dirt Every Day is an even better example of that. That dude and his show are chill, and off-road enthusiasts as a whole are even more of a little dick group than other groups of car enthusiasts.

[Morris Minor]

Good writing. Dontcha just love it? You're up late, stressed & sleepless. You read something like that & appreciate the craft & the work and the rewrites. And it brings a smile to your face.

[AutobahnSHO]

For me it's not the car itself but I remember the events about the car.

-getting stuck in a 1978 Subaru wagon
-driving the SHO from Germany through France to Spain (and paying way more in gas money than it would have been to fly and rent a car)
-maxxing out the speedo of my first minivan on the Autobahn
-first time I went over 200k miles (Legacy)
-driving Impreza 100% full inside with a giant roofbox, from Utah to SC.
-moving a piano the other day in Odyssey