Do We Really Want The Perfect Car? #blogpost

The perfect car is something which we have all tried to figure out at one time or another. What features should if have? Who should make it? Is there any cars which have already been made which closely resemble this perfect car? And once we’ve rationalized what this perfect car is, what would we be willing to do to get our greedy little trump hands on it? Many of us have thought a lot about just how we’d get behind the wheel of our perfect car. But I’ve been thinking, do we really want the perfect car?

Well before I can accurately address the idea of owning the perfect car, I think we should look into what exactly makes the perfect car. Now, each and everyone of us is going to carry our own basket of needs which we would hope to have satisfied by this car. And the basket will likely consist of both subjective and objective qualities. Now, I can’t really measure how good a car looks or sounds or tastes. These are all interpreted differently by different people. Yet things such as braking distance, horsepower, and interior space are all measurable and when altered. Leaving us with a quantifiable change when some force has acted on the vehicle. The combinations of subjective and objective qualities of a vehicle all have potentially “perfect” status, depending on what the car is meant for.

So, why do we all want the perfect car? Is it merely innate hedonist desires clamoring for the next hit of a perfectly satisfying experience? I don’t think so. If we were, we’d most likely all be driving in 1200 horsepower 59 broughams with a full bar and a stripper pole. I feel that there are a few different reasons which may ring more true for some than others.

First off, I feel that inside of all of us is a drive to be the best we can be in some respect. Be it intelligence, humanitarian actions, or athletics there is something which we all strive to excel at. And for many car enthusiasts I think that we have this feeling for cars. We want the best car, that drives the best way and makes you feel the best when you look at it. We may not care about the world around us so long that we can drive our perfect car. People do extensive research crunching numbers, reading reviews, learning anything they can about a car before even scheduling a test drive just to know they aren’t wasting their time on something which is going to be less than the best. Now I can’t say that I feel much of this personably but I do know people who fit this mold quite well. I feel like this is a very unfortunate way to be into cars, but for some, perfection, is all that matters.

The next kind of reasoning to find the perfect car is due to the competitiveness which everyone has felt at one point or another. I don’t think anyone who’s main goal is to simply be better than the rest has chosen a tool which is inadequate for the job. When someone hones their skills at something to the point their tool is holding them back from getting better, an upgrade is in order. So for some people when driving is their craft, actual racecar drivers, their tool has to be perfect for them to best perform. And even for non racecar drivers, they may still want the perfect tool in hope that it will help improve their skills and be a reliable tool when they try to build their skills to be the best there is. Basically, competition can be and is a massive motivator for people to hunt for perfection.

Lastly, there is the drive for perfection which is based on events in our lives. The individual situations which we hold the most value in can sway our thoughts and convince ourselves that a particular item is far superior to any and all competition. Some of us may have convinced ourselves that the perfect car is a 67 mustang in a metallic grey because the new Gone in 60 Seconds was what got us into cars. Perhaps a mid 60s Fury because that was the car they rode around in when their grandparents came to town. Any number of cars could receive the perfect status based solely on it standing out more prominently in our lives. Some of us have just one and others maybe multiple. I know the car I would almost call perfect, and it is 100% because of this type of situation.

Yet all of these situations imply that the car which is in question for you is the absolute perfect car. It has everything you could want of it. Nothing is going to stop your need for it, except for one thing. The cost of perfection is not something which is easily surmounted by those of us without a well stuffed wallet. For example, if a new car comes to market and is perfectly tailorable to make it as great as the factory can make it for you, it’s not going to be cheap. If this is a car like that of a Porsche where intricate customization options are readily available, the price can skyrocket past it’s already high price. Perhaps your idea of a perfect car isn’t something new but instead has had time to drop in price since hitting the used market. Well if a car is actually perfect, people aren’t going to be selling them for pennies on the dollar. Rather, they will hold onto them with the same intensity which we have for trying to find one, and while everyone has their price, it’s not going to be cheap.

Now for the real question of this topic, would we really want the perfect car? The answer I would expect from most people is, “Of Course”! Yet I don’t believe this is the answer we as car enthusiasts would come up with if we all though deeply about this.

In the world, there are two types of owners of cars. Those who modify them, and those who don’t. Let’s start with the people who don’t modify cars. The vast majority of cars in the world are driven by people who don’t find any enjoyment in driving the way we do. This is completely normal and acceptable as they are the reason we have sportscars, F-types don’t pay the bills. As a result, you will never find them browsing forums looking for ways to eek out more power or signing up for driving schools to learn to control cars at the limit. To them, that is just a waste of time and money when the car already works as it should. Also included in this group is the small group of car enthusiasts who don’t want to modify their car. These people just want the car like it was from the factory.

The other group is the more typical side of car culture, the enthusiasts who choose to modify cars. Changing the way the car looks, drives, operates and more are all available to the enthusiast who chooses to modify cars. And these changes we make aren’t simply seen as changes, but rather improvements which come to a benefit of the car and ourselves. All of us have that “ideal” look or setup for the cars we drive, and we are striving to reach that point with the car.

How does the topic of perfect cars relate to these two groups, well it’s rather simple. The majority which chooses to spend their money everywhere but altering their car should be on the hunt for the absolute perfect car. They are not going to have any urges to change the brakes, reduce drag, or increase the rigidity of the car. No they want their car to function exactly as it was intended and suit their lifestyle. People who modify their cars however, is a completely different story.

Let’s assume someone who likes to modify cars somehow managed to get their hands on the perfect car. They love every single aspect of the car and can’t find anything which they would want to change. But that internal desire to change the car would still be there. As a result they would find themselves browsing the internet looking for anything which could be done to make the car any better. The results would be disappointing at best, with a perfect car, there are not going to be people changing things about it with he same intensity they would for a new, imperfect car. So the majority of the modifications which could be done would just be Chinese universal fit parts like canards and stick on chrome. And for the most part these aren’t going to improve the car, but instead make them quantifiably worse. Creating things like drag, extra weight, or reduced comfort. None of which, gets your fizzy bits fizzing.

The last of the major issues I find comes with owning a perfect car is what happens when it comes time for a new car. Now if someone owns the perfect car for them, the change is not going to be a change simply because they are looking for something different, but more likely it is gong to be a change of necessity. Let’s assume that we have the owner of a perfect two door sportscar. This person loves this car to the moon and back, but has a wife, and a baby on the way. This person is also not going to force his wife to schlep a baby around in a car seat exclusively in her car until the child is old enough to climb into the sportscar on their own. So, this person must now find a new car to better suit the dad role. The challenge for them is incredible because they are tasked with finding a car which is by all means even more perfect than their previous car because he has to enjoy it for himself while also being able to fit a car seat in the back and have it be perfect for his family. And more often than not, the man would have to settle for something less than perfect because it is going to accomplish his needs before it satisfies his wants.

So what should we as enthusiasts be looking for in cars? Well, to put it briefly, and imperfect car. A car at its core is simply a mode of transport and most cars even in their most dilapidated state is still pretty competent at doing so. So by simply finding a car which drives, you have free reign to take the car and mold it to suit your needs. Or if you already have a functioning car, and you want to waste your money, buy a car that doesn’t run. This is the mistake I’ve gotten into with the midget, but it has let my mind run wild with ideas on what I can do now that it looks like I’m going to be able to have the car with me here very soon. Find mods you want to do or want to try and do them. The car isn’t perfect, so you aren’t ruining it by trying something.

But what if the car you get turns out to be almost perfect on its own? Well I have some experience with that with my current daily driver. I got the Lincoln because I was in need of a car after the Volvo went up in a cloud of smoke. We weren’t about to go through what the Volvo had put us through so instead of hoping to get a deal on something for $1500 dollars. $4000 was spent and the Lincoln was ours. And boy did this Lincoln turn out to be an incredible car. I think I already have a post up about why I love the Lincoln so much. But a brief summary is that it has been incredibly reliable, hasn’t left me stranded, and doesn’t leave me smelling like gas and oil when I get done driving it. None of which the Volvo did. Yet the car is far from perfect, it gets horrendous city mileage, there are a fair share of rattles which can drive a sane person mad…..and shopping centers have left the car with more paint damage than it’s even worth worrying about anymore. But I do love that car, and it gets the odd mod here and there when time and budget allows. New wheels and tires in about a month, likely some upgraded rotors a little down the line from there, and maybe I’ll get around to replacing the blown out sub. Point is I love that car for what it is, it doesn’t need to be perfect for me to love it.

Now it’s time for you all to let me know what you all think of my topic! Do you agree that having a car you like is better than constantly waiting for a perfect one? Do you think I’m being ridiculous for saying I accept less than perfection from my car? Let me know because I’d love to discuss it in the comments!