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Thursday 9 February 2017

The car bug

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Cars are rum things aren’t they? Years ago cars had a significant hold on the young masculine imagination but times change. Is anyone interested in the sleek products of robot factories? Technically they are far better than the old cars, but in becoming better they have lost something.

As I drive around I tend to see three types of car, small, medium and large. They seem to come in three colours these days too – black, white and grey. So that makes nine general types. In spite of being overloaded with gadgets all are pretty efficient at doing what cars do and really there is little point in customers making much of a distinction between them. 

BMW and Mercedes just about manage to keep hold of a faintly upmarket image even though both brands are mass-produced, common and unremarkable. There are also a few eccentricities and a few genuinely upmarket brands but the great mass of cars are an undistinguished stream of black, white and grey boxes. Even the so-called MINI has evolved into an uninspired lump of a car.

Yet considering the money spent on them, one would think manufacturers would make their wares more distinctive even if only superficially. I suppose the exigencies of robot manufacture, and the physics of aerodynamic design make for an inevitable sameness. Who can tell one SUV from another without a quick peek at the brand name? And who cares?

5 comments:

Scrobs. said...

I can't resist it, Mr H!

Here we have a post from Scrobs way back, and your immortal picture still conjures up memories of a strain in the back...

http://scroblene-webley-bullock.blogspot.co.uk/2010_08_01_archive.html

wiggiatlarge said...

Your header picture reminded me of this garage in New Buckenham Norfolk.......

https://c8.staticflickr.com/5/4033/4341547127_4726d4a412_b.jpg

the photo does not do it justice as they stopped selling petrol and left the sign at 2000 prices and filled the forecourt with even more three wheelers in various states of disrepair, sadly and by pure coincidence went passed a couple of days ago and the site is being cleared.
A sad day for lovers of tripods.
NFN

Demetrius said...

I wonder if my old 1934 Austin 7 is still around?

wiggiatlarge said...

Passed ? past, sure sign senior moments are creeping up on me..........

A K Haart said...

Scrobs - I only ever rode in a Reliant once and that was enough for me. Noisy, uncomfortable and dodgy round corners. I once saw one tip over while going round a corner. The two guys inside just hopped out, shoved it back on its wheels and carried on.

Wiggia - we used to pass a garage with lots of old Reliant Scimitars waiting for some tlc which unfortunately they never seemed to receive. All were eventually cleared out.

Demetrius - it may well be, try searching for the registration.