“You know, we should probably check out a Buick.”
I had no idea my dad was capable of speaking such nonsense. He wasn’t even kidding.
My parents were in the process of shopping for a new car, and my dad, a lifelong proponent of foreign cars and skeptic of American cars, uttered those fateful and surprising words.
At 60 years old, my dad was just doing what many 60-year-olds do. Thankfully my mom is still 59 and hasn’t crossed over into the age of Buicks just yet. She prevented the purchase and influenced a choice that conveys a considerably younger persona.
The make of car we drive tells our friends, family and fellow road-goers a lot about our personality. Driving a Buick, despite the company’s best marketing efforts, tells the world that you’re of retirement age and spend your days planning for the 4pm dinner buffet.
“But I hear they are really good,” my dad said.
“Yeah, Dad, they are fine, but you’re not a Buick guy,” I said.
“I’m not driving a Buick. They are for big fat old people,” said my mom, with slightly less tact.
Buick, as far as it’s come in quality, is still seen by many as a car brand for people who have thrown in the towel on life.
Mom talked some sense into Dad and instead of the Buick they settled on a new Subaru Legacy, a car that screams youth, adventure and passion for outdoor living. That’s a car that better fits my parents’ personalities.
“Don’t be the stereotype” is a mantra I like to say to myself every time I look around while sitting in traffic and see a red-eyed hippie in dreads driving a rustic Volvo wagon, a slouched dude in a chromed-out land yacht listening to pounding bass or an older man driving a Buick.
For some reason, when it comes to our cars, we love to be the stereotype. Cars are physical representations of our personalities, and what we choose to drive tells the world around us who we choose to be.
What car best fits your personality?
-tgriffith
Garbage article. I’m under 30 and objectively speaking, Buick is hands down a nicer car than a Subaru. You say don’t drive the stereotype. I say don’t drive in denial. Buying a car to try to look younger is pathetic. This is America, buy what you want with your own money but for the love of god can we elevate our culture a bit and stop purchasing things with other people’s opinion of us in mind? Can we get out of that vanity? Can we stop looking at cars with this self-image obsession?
What he said. ?