KELSEY MAYS
Living Editor
Years ago, I read an article about investing good money into one’s bed. The writer reasoned that if we spend one-third of our lives sleeping, we ought to get the absolute most we can out of that time.
There is a lot of truth to that. A comfortable bed helps one fall asleep quickly and wake up rested. It’s an investment that pays off in daily increments.
Such is the case with cars. If the average Los Angeles commute is one hour each way, a college graduate will spend more than two-and-a-half years before retirement behind the wheel, just to work and back. Add to that any errands, road trips or additional driving you might want to do, and it’s clear a sizeable chunk of life will be spent in the driver’s seat.
That’s a lot of time to write off as unworthy of an investment. But imagine if the same 10 or 15 percent of your waking hours were spent playing tennis or golf. A high-quality racket or set of clubs would be a small price to pay compared to the daily experience of using them.
Of course, a vehicle is astronomically more expensive than a tennis racket or nine-iron, but it’s the same concept. Too much is at stake, in time and money, to throw one’s hands up in the air and pick a vehicle based on a whim.
Mind you, I have no problem with folks who have a utilitarian view of transportation. Considering that most vehicles depreciate and accrue defects over time, it’s no wonder many buyers simply stick to basic, no-frills models.
But even then, there are good and bad choices. The disparity is less than it was a decade or two ago, as cars these days are generally well-built, but a marked difference still exists between the winners and losers in each segment.
There is nothing wrong with deciding to buy a $15,000 car instead of a $50,000 one. There is everything wrong with deciding because one professes not to care about cars, to avoid any prior research and make an uneducated choice.
The investment concept also applies to automotive enthusiasm. Back to the sports analogy: If you had to spend two or more hours a day playing a sport, you would invest not just in proper equipment but also in lessons and training. You would learn different techniques and read all sorts of related literature to optimize those hours. Doing anything less would waste such precious field time.
You get my drift, I’m sure.
The call toward automotive enthusiasm comes not just because we car nuts want more junkies to swell our ranks, but because considering what Americans invest behind the wheel, it’s a smart choice to at least take a passing interest in the steel shells that surround us.
We called this section Point A to Point B, and I think it’s safe to say we’ve reached the latter. I graduate in a few weeks, and so if this feature continues into the spring, it will be under someone else’s hand.
At the beginning, I urged automotive enthusiasts to always be true to their, er, enthusiasm. I called on you never to stop those engines, to always relish the open road and winding lane.
Today, I hope in some small way or another I’ve helped a few of you to do just that.
11-17-2005
