>Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 07:47:37 -0500
>From: "Feldman, Jack (Jack)" <jack@lucent.com>
>Subject: RE: Can there ever be an MG again?
>Interesting that you use the term "collective" in terms of auto building.
>You hit what I was saying right on the head. I didn't want to use the term
>"collective unconscious," it isn't appropriate for the list. However, once
>the folks that did it are gone, the common bond between man and man, and
>man and machine are gone. Starting over with a fresh page doesn't do it.
I think you are absolutely correct in your well written views of our
connection to our cars. As a newbie to this list, I have been lurking for a
while, but I'm sure you'll see me here from time to time.
The problem IMHO, is not only with the car makers, but with the general public
and the demands they are making for the mass market. As much as we all hate
to admit it, we are a very small minority, and we just don't carry the weight
to ask a manufacturer to make a car to our specs.
If the general public were more "car aware," if they knew more about their
cars, if they would take the time to learn, (Heck, I wish most of them would
just learn how to DRIVE!), we would see a completely different type of vehicle
on the road today.
Instead, most of them view a car as a means to get from one place to another,
and it's not very convenient of you have to gap the points and change the oil.
There are many engines in new cars that don't need service for 100,000 miles!
That only leaves washing it for us enthusiasts!
The safety nazis have taken the rest of the fun out of the cars, and I can't
really say that it is a bad thing, considering the way most people drive. If
the world (actually the U.S.A., sorry!) was full of auto enthusiasts who all
knew how to control a four wheel drift through a sweeper, we wouldn't need the
extra weight of 5 MPH bumpers and air bags. If we have elected the officials
who made those laws, then we are saying that we want the government to protect
us from ourselves. (Don't even get me started on emissions!)
So, we can't change what is done. We CAN change the next generation of
drivers to be better drivers. We should encourage the younger drivers to get
involved in organizations like SCCA and other sports car clubs. Even NHRA and
NASCAR if that is where their interest is. It gets them familiar with their
car, and could have a major effect on automobile design years in the future.
Just my 2 cents worth!
Allen Hefner
(Still looking for an MG Midget!)
Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start up again?
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