The Spozo Maravilloso declared that today, rain or shine, he was going to test drive a Mazda 5. So we all piled into our car and adventured into downtown Oakland. I knew it was all part of his plot to convince me that we need a new car, but I actually liked this car (in theory) and I was looking forward to meeting it in person.
Earlier in our marriage, I did something that made the SM very happy. I worked for GM in one of their call centers. Now, the fact that I had a job in general made him happy but he was, in general, exceptionally pleased with the results of that summer. In particular, the fact that now I actually had opinions about how cars looked and could now join with him in lamenting the lack of innovative design available from most manufacturers.
Yes, the SM loves his cars. But not Porsches or Corvettes or really any other traditional guy cars to like - he likes to obsess over family sedans and minivans. And alternative energy cars - his new love is the Tesla roadster (a sporty car - I don't understand his rules, but he has them and adheres to them strictly).
The only lasting evil of my GM experience: I call all things with wheels "vehicles" which drives (ha,ha) him absolutely batty. Why, he has yet to explain adequately.
Back to our experience today: We loved the sliding doors on both sides. I liked the fold-down seats in the back. I liked the hatchback. Minuses: the "sport" version (read: no bells and whistles) only comes with one interior color option: black. It's like they want every particle of dirt to show so you can feel like you're "sporty". Even if you're not. I guess having kids would make me "sporty" because it would look dirty all the time.
And they barely come in manual. Apparently, you have to special order it.
Darn.
Which makes my dream of buying one used (with all the gizmos how I want them) to be an even more impossible dream.
We confused the Dude by taking it for a whirl. Before we buckled in, he was saying, "Daddy, I like this car. We buy it now?" While we got lost, "I'm so much taller! I like our new car." And once he realized it wasn't ours and it wasn't going to be ours, "I'm hungry."
What a pragmatist. At least there's one in the family.
4 comments:
Vehicle is an ugly word. It's like a portmanteau of venal and testicle. I hate how it has invaded our language - I tried to warn people ten years ago that SUV is a trojan horse, that inside that innocuous V there was a piggish monster, but no one listened. Now we all have to listen to it being yammered around in conversation, dragging us all down with its corpulent syllabic excess.
HorninF's current "company car" is a big truck and when that ends, he's asking that the next one be a Mazda 5. But I haven't seen one in person.
.
Those Teslas are pretty awesome.
But somehow I seem to lack the requisite cash.
Patience, Theric.
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