Cars

Enthusiasm for the automobile is a happy disease. When attempting to explain the passion for all things automotive to the non-enthusiast, a sudden realization of the futility of the effort becomes apparent in rapid fashion. It is impossible to fully relate the emotion associated with the audible low frequency rumble of V-8 pleasure, or the impulse to grin stupidly while experiencing wide open throttle on a car that has been made for it. It is a desire so deep that one cannot resist the urge to not only drive the vehicle, but to touch it, listen to it, feel it, and smell it, using all of the senses in order to understand its nature. It is an obsession that grows at a rate proportional to its size. It starts with the aesthetics of the automobile, admiring fine lines and subtle tones hidden within layers of pigmented epoxy. Then it grows to encompass all things mechanical. What lies under a textured sand-cast aluminum intake manifold is a solvable mystery. Soon it envelops all characteristics of automotive design. Vehicle dynamics, machining tolerance, ABS plastic or fiberglass, unsprung weight. Such is the vocabulary of the automotive enthusiast.

The evolved auto enthusiast will see beyond carburetors into the complexities of direct injection, variable compression ratios, and even hybrid drivetrains. The internal combustion engine is a thing of beauty, something to be respected and loved for its celebrated history. Affording man the ability to travel for long distances in less time, the automobile has delivered freedom. This is something that should not only be honored, but preserved. However, the new enthusiast must be equally fascinated with efficiency as well as power. The V8 rumble should never die, but there are other motors to tune that might not burn gasoline... perhaps they will burn nothing at all. If there is an effort to make travel more efficient, then let it proceed without restraint, but special consideration should be taken such that the essential being of the automobile is not destroyed. It should represent the freedom to move, to deliver action at will, and to provide a driver with not only convenience but pleasure. Driving should be fun. Let there be no substitute that does not meet these requirements.