Look around, and you will find a hundred different machines around you. You're probably using multiple right now. Assuming a slightly broad meaning of machines, everything from the alarm clock that wakes you up, to the phone you unplug from the charger, to the bread toaster that always burns your bread just that bit, is ultimately just a lifeless piece of metal, plastic and "other things", with one sole purpose. Ok maybe apart from the phone. Too many purposes there to list.
But my point is you don't wake up early on a Sunday morning to toast a special bread. You don't spend your holidays enjoying your alarm clock. And when your phone goes blank, you simply throw it away and get a better one. Unless you have warranty. In which case you lose the invoice and then throw it away. But that's what sets cars apart. You will never hear of a man who spent his weekends fixing a dishwasher, but a car? There are thousands of men who will happily do that. You will never see anyone cleaning their Televisions with love and care. Slowly wiping away the dust and enjoying the beautifully sculpted shape. Partly because TVs are just flat, thin rectangles these days, and partly because you only ever clean a TV when its too dirty to read the score on your favourite game.
This being a car blog, you can probably see where this is going. Also you've probably read the title. And I'm sure you're thinking that not everyone actually cares about their cars. For every person I know who knows what every button does on their car, I'm sure there are thousands who don't know where their transmission fluid goes without checking the manual. But cars have always been a different breed of machines. You have a relationship with your car. It is not just another appliance, its an interactive machine. Perhaps the biggest difference I find is that a car is an extremely complex machine to operate, with very shallow tolerances. Think about it. If you make a phone call and leave your dishes in the 'washer for a couple of minutes longer, there will be no difference. Make a phone call when you're driving, and you might very well only live for a few minutes longer.
The automobile has been designed from the start as a tool for knowledgeable people to operate. You don't just jump into any car any time and drive off. Driving is an art that needs learning and practice. By contrast, your TV at home took exactly 30 seconds to figure out completely. Because of this, cars are made to interact back with people. The effort needed to drive a car reduces a lot - mentally, atleast - if the car is responsive and communicative. Try dictating a novel to a person whom you cannot see, hear or interact with in any way. After a while, you'll have no idea if he is keeping up with you or snapchatting with his crush. On the other hand if he was sitting on the same table with you, you can track exactly what he is doing and how he is responding to you. The same goes for the car. A car controlled by, say for instance, an electric joystick might appear to be relaxing and effortless to drive. In reality however, it would be terrifying in many scenarios. Sure you would get used to it over time and the system would be very accurate. But driving on low traction surfaces, emergency manoeuvres, street racing (do try at home, not on the streets), and so on would be extremely difficult without getting a feel for what the car is doing. The way good mechanical steering systems work, even a minuscule change in the amount of grip a tire has, whether loaded or unloaded, can be felt through the wheel. There is a perceptible difference when the car goes into understeer or oversteer, and you feel it coming before it actually kills you. Or makes you look like a noob.
And that exactly is the reason why there are so many people who swear by their cars, who will happily spend days, weeks, even months working on them. There is a bond you form with your car. Everyone does it, whether consciously or unconsciously. In a parking lot, I can spot my car even if there is another car of the same make, model and even colour right next to it. I know exactly where all the scratches and dents on my car are, I know exactly how worn the clutch plate is and exactly how much tread is left on my tyres. I have no idea how much soap powder is in my washing machine. Once you start getting intimate with your car, you will never feel the same way about it again. For those new to car reviews, you may wonder why journos are forever complaining about the "lack of character" in cars that appear to be perfect otherwise. You may wonder why TopGear insists that Alfa Romeos are the most petrol-head-y car. They are usually rusty, definitely broken in some manner, and is in every theoretical way inferior to your neighbour's Civic. But to own an Alfa Romeo - if only to go through the journey of pain, disappointment, relief, joy - and to discover what it feels like when on that one sunny day, the roads are empty and the temperature is just right, and you and your car drive down a road you've travelled on a hundred times before. But this time around it doesn't remain a commute. Its much more special than that. It becomes a journey.
But my point is you don't wake up early on a Sunday morning to toast a special bread. You don't spend your holidays enjoying your alarm clock. And when your phone goes blank, you simply throw it away and get a better one. Unless you have warranty. In which case you lose the invoice and then throw it away. But that's what sets cars apart. You will never hear of a man who spent his weekends fixing a dishwasher, but a car? There are thousands of men who will happily do that. You will never see anyone cleaning their Televisions with love and care. Slowly wiping away the dust and enjoying the beautifully sculpted shape. Partly because TVs are just flat, thin rectangles these days, and partly because you only ever clean a TV when its too dirty to read the score on your favourite game.
This being a car blog, you can probably see where this is going. Also you've probably read the title. And I'm sure you're thinking that not everyone actually cares about their cars. For every person I know who knows what every button does on their car, I'm sure there are thousands who don't know where their transmission fluid goes without checking the manual. But cars have always been a different breed of machines. You have a relationship with your car. It is not just another appliance, its an interactive machine. Perhaps the biggest difference I find is that a car is an extremely complex machine to operate, with very shallow tolerances. Think about it. If you make a phone call and leave your dishes in the 'washer for a couple of minutes longer, there will be no difference. Make a phone call when you're driving, and you might very well only live for a few minutes longer.
The automobile has been designed from the start as a tool for knowledgeable people to operate. You don't just jump into any car any time and drive off. Driving is an art that needs learning and practice. By contrast, your TV at home took exactly 30 seconds to figure out completely. Because of this, cars are made to interact back with people. The effort needed to drive a car reduces a lot - mentally, atleast - if the car is responsive and communicative. Try dictating a novel to a person whom you cannot see, hear or interact with in any way. After a while, you'll have no idea if he is keeping up with you or snapchatting with his crush. On the other hand if he was sitting on the same table with you, you can track exactly what he is doing and how he is responding to you. The same goes for the car. A car controlled by, say for instance, an electric joystick might appear to be relaxing and effortless to drive. In reality however, it would be terrifying in many scenarios. Sure you would get used to it over time and the system would be very accurate. But driving on low traction surfaces, emergency manoeuvres, street racing (do try at home, not on the streets), and so on would be extremely difficult without getting a feel for what the car is doing. The way good mechanical steering systems work, even a minuscule change in the amount of grip a tire has, whether loaded or unloaded, can be felt through the wheel. There is a perceptible difference when the car goes into understeer or oversteer, and you feel it coming before it actually kills you. Or makes you look like a noob.
And that exactly is the reason why there are so many people who swear by their cars, who will happily spend days, weeks, even months working on them. There is a bond you form with your car. Everyone does it, whether consciously or unconsciously. In a parking lot, I can spot my car even if there is another car of the same make, model and even colour right next to it. I know exactly where all the scratches and dents on my car are, I know exactly how worn the clutch plate is and exactly how much tread is left on my tyres. I have no idea how much soap powder is in my washing machine. Once you start getting intimate with your car, you will never feel the same way about it again. For those new to car reviews, you may wonder why journos are forever complaining about the "lack of character" in cars that appear to be perfect otherwise. You may wonder why TopGear insists that Alfa Romeos are the most petrol-head-y car. They are usually rusty, definitely broken in some manner, and is in every theoretical way inferior to your neighbour's Civic. But to own an Alfa Romeo - if only to go through the journey of pain, disappointment, relief, joy - and to discover what it feels like when on that one sunny day, the roads are empty and the temperature is just right, and you and your car drive down a road you've travelled on a hundred times before. But this time around it doesn't remain a commute. Its much more special than that. It becomes a journey.
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