Saturday, April 15, 2006
Divine Revelations of the Automobile World
8th April 2005
My sister has been wanting to buy a car and has decided to test drive cars this Sunday. A week ago, she asked if I would like to go along and I enthusiastically agreed.
Last Saturday, having somehow wrangled dinner from S and J-displaying my talents, once again, as a self-proclaimed light bulb- our dinner conversation wandered to my sister's search for a good car to buy. J suggested she take someone well versed in the purchase of cars along. He then very kindly offered to accompany her. It struck me as a very sensible idea indeed- to take someone along who could add value to her evaluation and negotiation. If it were me, all I'd do would be to stand there awestruck and go "wah, jie ah, the car so new, so shiny ah... and £2500 only. Good buy, good buy". I there and then decided to relinquish my front seat position to J. He would be an ideal person for the job- practical, frugal, streetwise and pleasant. On top of that J's Dad, being a driving instructor, would have grounded him in the fundamentals of what makes up a good car. For some reason that night, (perhaps it was the look of sheer ignorance painted across my face) he felt obliged to enlighten me. And at this point, I could sense his dilemma. How do you summarise the diverse requirements of a good car over one dinner? Worse yet, how do you summarise the diverse requirements of a good car to an automobile ignoramus?
The tension in his face was apparent as he contemplated the limited possibilities. He must have finally hit the right one because he looked up, smiled, and announced: " the most important thing in a car is-- the ENGINE."
In the face of such divine revelation, I knew that only sheer reverence would suffice lest one be condemned blasphemous. Mustering my most awestruck expression, I looked to the ground and murmured, "Yes, of course, of course."
My sister has been wanting to buy a car and has decided to test drive cars this Sunday. A week ago, she asked if I would like to go along and I enthusiastically agreed.
Last Saturday, having somehow wrangled dinner from S and J-displaying my talents, once again, as a self-proclaimed light bulb- our dinner conversation wandered to my sister's search for a good car to buy. J suggested she take someone well versed in the purchase of cars along. He then very kindly offered to accompany her. It struck me as a very sensible idea indeed- to take someone along who could add value to her evaluation and negotiation. If it were me, all I'd do would be to stand there awestruck and go "wah, jie ah, the car so new, so shiny ah... and £2500 only. Good buy, good buy". I there and then decided to relinquish my front seat position to J. He would be an ideal person for the job- practical, frugal, streetwise and pleasant. On top of that J's Dad, being a driving instructor, would have grounded him in the fundamentals of what makes up a good car. For some reason that night, (perhaps it was the look of sheer ignorance painted across my face) he felt obliged to enlighten me. And at this point, I could sense his dilemma. How do you summarise the diverse requirements of a good car over one dinner? Worse yet, how do you summarise the diverse requirements of a good car to an automobile ignoramus?
The tension in his face was apparent as he contemplated the limited possibilities. He must have finally hit the right one because he looked up, smiled, and announced: " the most important thing in a car is-- the ENGINE."
In the face of such divine revelation, I knew that only sheer reverence would suffice lest one be condemned blasphemous. Mustering my most awestruck expression, I looked to the ground and murmured, "Yes, of course, of course."
# posted by H : 4:02 AM
