Photography by J.A. Ackley
Let’s face it. Not everybody is going to like you–or your beloved car. It’s a sad fact of life that some of us struggle to come to grips with. If you’re one of those people (and admittedly I am one of them), then I ask you this: Why should it matter?
This crossed my mind when I encountered two seemingly opposite ends of the car culture spectrum within one metro area on the same day. You had the Smoky Mountain F-Body Fest and the Knoxville Drive Electric Festival. One side wanted to rev their engines loudly and burn up as many tires and as much fuel as possible. The other side wanted you to hear much more of their conversation and talk about how they never have to fill up a gas tank again.
Let’s start with the F-bodies. Camaros and Firebirds are as American as baseball, which made Smokies Stadium the perfect backdrop. They’re the darlings of Hollywood, with starring roles in Smokey and the Bandit, Knight Rider and Transformers. Yet F-bodies don’t always command respect. Perhaps, it’s the strong personalities these cars attract. Case in point, the Macho T/A, a car with an apropos name for what some perceive owners of these cars to be.
One soft-spoken caretaker brought a 1984 Chevrolet Camaro Z28. He had bought it earlier in the year and was proud of the ride that he had refurbished himself. Rightfully so, it was a beauty.
Back in the day, Car and Driver named the Z28 as the best-handling car in the U.S. But what about what’s under the hood? Chevrolet rated the V8 for 150 horsepower. The event had a chassis dyno on the premises that this owner took advantage of. Max power: 68 horses–far less than to be expected when taking into account driveline horsepower loss. He wasn’t surprised, though–and he didn’t seem to care. He loved his Z28 and he was happy.
Thirty minutes away, the Knoxville Drive Electric Festival brought proud owners of EVs to the grounds of Pellissippi State Community College. Oddly enough, you had just as many cars sporting American flags there as at F-Body Fest, although for different reasons. Here, a Tesla is an American-made vehicle that uses American-made power. A Korean War-era vet reminded me of that as he displayed his Tesla Model 3 Performance. He may have been 87 years old, but he was clearly up on today’s world.
It was another Tesla aficionado that caught my attention, though.
The festival offers test drives of various EVs. While brands like Cadillac, Ford and Mercedes-Benz had dealerships facilitating these rides, the Teslas were furnished by the owners of those vehicles. That included a Cybertruck.
The Cybertruck’s owner bought it specifically as a work truck for an RV park. The caretaker who brought the truck absolutely loves it, and it was by far the most popular vehicle to test. While I took it for a spin, the handler acknowledged that the truck was a lightning rod for strong opinions, especially on social media. He said after naysayers drive one and learn about it, they often have a change of heart or develop at least a healthy dose of respect for it.
Personally, the Cybertruck left me disappointed. I’m one of the few who love its design, which gives me nostalgic vibes of a 1990s video game. But Tesla needs to perfect the rear-wheel steering that felt a bit too strong at higher speeds, which the handler of the truck admitted was one of its cons. Perhaps a software update will fix that, but the sight lines of the vehicle aren’t the best, either, which no bit of coding can fix.
Nevertheless, I exited the Cybertruck with a new appreciation. Definitely not for the truck, but for those who enthusiastically drive them. As with the Z28 owner, the Cybertruck handler knew its shortcomings equally as well as its strengths, yet still enjoyed the vehicle. How could I hate them? You have to love the love, even if you don’t understand it. Then again, what do I know? I’ve always had an interest in Plymouth Prowlers. Don’t judge. I’m sure some make fun of your car interests, too, but that’s okay. If that car brings you joy, don’t let anyone ruin that for you.
Happiness can be a hard thing to come by these days.
I really, really want to like the Cybertruck, but I just can't.
It's one of the main vehicles I point to when someone asks "Why can't the production car look like the concept?"
Other than that, I try to be as empathetic as I can towards people's tastes. (I find that learning a bit of context can help, too.)
My sons and I passed a PT Cruiser a couple of days ago. It was a bright metallic green and probably had every chrome bit that AutoZone sells stuck to it. Chrome wheels. Audi badge on the grill. It was absolutely atrocious.
But if the owner loves it, I love it for him.
Most garish cars have a body dysmorphia condition owner.... they just project into what they own vs themselves.
So, no. I'll just judge them in silence.
Colin Wood said:I really, really want to like the Cybertruck, but I just can't.
It's one of the main vehicles I point to when someone asks "Why can't the production car look like the concept?"
Other than that, I try to be as empathetic as I can towards people's tastes. (I find that learning a bit of context can help, too.)
I like bold style, but admittedly, form that doesn't follow function doesn't always work. It is a fun conversation piece, though, and apparently easy to wrap :-)
But my Rio does have sexy hips.
Displaying 1-5 of 5 commentsView all comments on the GRM forums
You'll need to log in to post.
