This reply is a bit behind, but it's the first chance I've had to sit
down and collect my thoughts.
The cars that Americans drive are an amazing reflection of the
lifestyle that "we" (that's the generic, stereotypical we, and doesn't
actually fit well for the readers of this list) strive for. The
desirable cars are an attempt to carry our home environment with us,
and isolate us from the world outside - they're a comfortable cocoon, a
living room couch on wheels. No outside stimulus (not even the feel of
the road!) should reach us to cause us concern.
The cars that we on this list drive, however, are just the opposite -
they invite, nay force us to be in tune with the outside world and with
the cars. When I drive Sarah, I'm not in a little bubble moving down
the road. Rather, all my senses are engaged: Listening and smelling for
things that are different about the way she's behaving that are
portents of failures. Listening and watching the traffic around me,
looking for the other guy who can't see me or is about to cut me off.
Wondering if that smell is a new exhaust leak or if there's an asphalt
truck ahead. And so on.
As such, I am much more in tune with the world around me, and much happier.
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