While walking through the grocery story parking lot today, I saw a car pulling into a space, and thought, "Wow. Pretty nice looking Camry."
Getting closer, I could see the logos and nameplates on the rear end. Turns out it was what we used to call an "entry-level" Mercedes-Benz.
The question (assuming that I'm the focus group): Should Toyota designers be happy? Should MB designers be sad? Or is it probably just a good thing that I can no longer identify make and model like I could when I was sixteen?
On the other hand, one of the early warning signs of impending geezerhood is making statements like "all cars look alike nowadays."
7 comments:
I would be saddened if I was the owner of a lower end Benz which someone mistook for a Camry.
Yes! That's another way of stating my point. No diss to the Camry people, but if you have a Mercedes, part of what you're paying for is something beyond "reliable transportation." Which, to be fair, is what Camrys are all about.
Okay, that's one vote in.
Thanks, Sornie.
If you run the AC in a MB, it's useless, but if you run it in a Camry, you could chill beer. So, in some ways, the Camry is the MB of Toyota. Does that make any sense? As for the design of cars, I swear they all get together and swap designs because they are all pretty close, except for Hummers, etc.
Good point, Mary. I drive a VW, which is absolutely fabulous as a driving machine, but I think when fiddling with the creature comfort controls that the German engineers are always a little dismissive of the concept of living-room-on-wheels. Mostly, that's a good thing, from my point of view -- I only run the A/C about once every two summers (I'd rather sweat, and be sanctimonious about how I'm not the one killing the planet here) -- and cupholders annoy me on general principle.
I think the Japanese designers have long been better attuned to what most Americans want in a car, however.
I think cars look a lot alike today, in part, because they're all using the same basic software for cutting down on the car's aerodynamic profile, to optimize for gas mileage.
I feel less like a geezer since I came up with this thought.
And you're right about the Hummer, too. For all of its evil, there's no doubt that that's a distinctive motor vehicle. If it didn't suck on MPG, I'd like it a lot better. I remember in the opening of The Fan, when we see Snipes for the first time, and he's rolling into San Francisco in his black-on-black Hummer, and man, it's totally bad-ass.
Oh, yeah. One last thing responding to PM:
>> The Camry is the MB of Toyota. Does that make any sense?
Yes, it does. But, mang, those Solaris people be hating life now.
If you know the Toyota line, I mean.
((Why must I geek out on every topic?)) ;^)
You can easily tell the difference between Toyota and Benz. The Benz is the one that is the more poorly made.
Disclaimer #1: My knowledge on this topic is derived exclusively from watching Top Gear.
Disclaimer #2: I drive a Focus.
One final disclaimer you might have added: You were reeling from Dick Cheney having visited your country, and it's entirely possible that his warped sense of reality is infectious.
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