A couple of days back, I had spoken about my hunt for a car.
Well, it seems that I have found one and will soon be driving it (provided the bank likes my application that is).
And as usual, I have been reflecting on the decision. I ended up spending twice the amount I had budgeted, but I did get a great deal on a nearly new vehicle. Part of my convincing myself routine involved an analysis of the prices of 3-year old cars of the same make, and ending up calculating that I will spend much lesser than I would have with any other make (resale value etc.).
Well now that the deed is done (almost), I might as well get back to the rest of my life, three days of which were mercilessly snatched away from me by Dubizzle and other pre-owned car websites.
And as usual, this got me thinking about other related things as well. What makes a person think of a car as an extension of himself? Or for that matter everything we use? Somehow, we develop a taste towards certain brands, identifying with them, thinking of them as similar to us in thought and action.
That is why some people like the Sport option in Mitsubishi Lancers, although that vehicle will never see anything close to a legitimate race in it’s life. Or even get the license to dream about it.
But seriously, are we really exercising our free will when we reach out to purchase these brands? Or are we making decisions based on carefully-crafted subtle messages that the brands sent out to their audiences? Did we select the brands, or did the brands select us?
In the case of cars, like any other luxury, advertisers focus on the not-so-necessary information for the common man (cylinder capacity, valves, transmission, torque etc.) and conveniently leave out the stuff that matters (ride quality, depreciation, cost of service etc.). We end up taking pride in these statistics and paying for the stuff that they leave out…
And the best car in the world cannot guarantee you a wonderful journey. Or even a decent one. It can assure you a good ride, but not a beautiful journey. Such journeys are dependent on the weather, and the company. Unfortunately, we humans have been focusing on the inanimate, while choking the weather and alienating the company.
For instance, have you noticed how your friends circle becomes smaller and smaller as the years pass by? Ideally, it should move in the opposite direction isn’t it? Maybe we failed to notice while we added hundreds of friends on Facebook…
Nevertheless, back to the car. Lots of work to do to apply (beg) to the bank (sethji) to give me a loan (with a extract a pound of flesh clause) for a car (four wheels) that is a great deal (you spent double of what you wanted, you dolt!).
See you tomorrow!