Guilt trip
Posted by Michael Harvey at 12:00PM on Monday 08 January, 2007 9 Comments
Guilt. It's not a word I've heard uttered at a motor show before but there it was, slap bang in the centre of the first big set-piece presentation of the show.
Right there, in among the autocue-stumbling chief execs at the multimedia, multi-stage, all-singing, all-dancing Ford Blue Oval Show.
And show it is, for nothing happens here at the Detroit motor show without, um, a show. Americans (and I'm about to generalise and patronise here, but hey, it's the web) just don't get stuff without a show.
Anyhow, back to guilt. The exact words were uttered by Peter Horbury, the Brit who made Volvos Volvos again before being shipped off to make Fords Fords again. And Lincolns (which you should know about). And Mercurys (which you need not).
The Lincoln MKR concept is a big coupe thing with a big nose and no arse. And an interior made from recycled wood and old mohair jumpers, A "guilt-free interior", in the words of Horbury, who's clearly enjoying life in America.
Ahhhh. "Guilt". No, Peter. Not guilt. Guilt stays outside. Guilt should never have got past the security. Never got a credential, even. Now you've let it in, you need to get your heavies to throw it out again.
It's not a word that should ever be uttered in the context of cars (unless it's adjacent to "Hummer", "Cayenne Turbo S", or "Audi Q7 V12 TDi"). We - that's you, me and everyone else back up the tunnel responsible for delivering cars to us - must never admit to feeling guilty about what we do.
Guilt, or rather its denial, is essential to us enjoying Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Aston Vantage Roadsters, Mustang GT500s, Vipers, Z06s and Z4 M-Coupes on low friction co-efficient roads.
There's no rational, intellectual or moral, justification for any of those cars. Every one is a guilty pleasure. Like expensive clothes or shoes. Or food. Or good wine, for heaven's sake. Books you buy because they look lovely. You get the picture, yes?
And that's, of course, why we share this passion for cars. But a passion qualified by guilt? Forget it. So no more guilt, eh? The bar that puts drivers of Hummers, Cayennes and Q7s are morally reprehensible drops every day, and there is very little we can do with it.
Folks who don't get cars will continue to swallow the rhetoric of the likes of Livingstone and those new agencies (including, it must be said, often the BBC) who accept the shallow propaganda of those peddling half-arsed 'solutions' to the carbon problem without question.
So let's not make it any harder for ourselves. By the time the next motor show rolls around, let's make sure 'guilt' has been shown the door.
Advertiser links
9 Comments for "Guilt trip"
POST A COMMENT USING THE FORM BELOW
Comments are now closed for the blog archives.
Fantastic point. You speak the word of the people. Fantastic blog...keep em comin.
I agree. You should never feel guilty about cars (good cars anyway). Quite often its one of those things when you don't quite know why you love it so much, even though it costs more than you earn in 3 years. It will also empty your wallet every time you visit the petrol station, but you are compelled to have it at all costs, sodding the consequences (which also leaves no room whatsoever for guilt).
Anyway, I didn't see many worried faces at the MPH Motor Show in October (well maybe only one - and that was James May in the shopping trolley!). Cars are a pleasure, but not a guilty one. Enjoy them while you can, before the government bans their use completely!
Never feel guilty for cars, enjoy them to the max. You can feel guilty for making me feel jealous however! Ohhh how i envy you guys! :(
You may very well feel a degree of guilt but what you have overlooked is the likes of me (Barry poor man).
We may drive around in our Honda's and the likes of feeling the biting pressure to get a eco friendly lawnmower, that comes in 2colours that you Don't have to pay for. But what really brightens our day is, say on a trip to london nursing the rust bucket to the next garage to top up a litre of oil for her drink problem, is seeing a supercar roar by with the sun gleaming off it and the heavily oiled lady inside looking... well... lovely. The problem with us less afluent folks is jelously. We may grimace with envy, we may swear in the confinds of the cabin but it warms our petrol pumps in our hearts to see some well crafted supercar go by.
Given the choice I'd let the world die and shrivel for one day with the Bugatti Veyron and a big stash of cash for fuel.
Our society thrives in making ordinary individuals feel guilty. Be it a colonial past, wealth inequalities, or global warming... our governments and a bunch of do-gooder NGOs enjoy making the ordinary individual feel guilty. As you rightly said, people with this mindset should be shown the door! Lack of guilt, however, should not justify lazy American car manufacturers refusing to improve engine performance and fuel efficiencies just because they're... well, lazy.
Guilt? The only guilty pang I have is knowing that driving around in my Aston Micra, I am denying myself the joy of being one of those beautiful people in a Lamborgini, bringing joy & goodwill to the hearts of those who see it roar past...
When cars first came they simply took you from A to B. Nobody was guilty about that as it was much better than horse and cart. Nowadays it seems with 'global warming' and gasoline getting expensive, people are feeling guilty about the cars that they own as they go for smaller, better to the environment cars. Personally I think this is RUBBISH! The car is meant to be for pleasure and thrill seeking! Thats why the Lotus Exige is hugely popular as well as the supercars of today. I would love the opportunity of going at speed while using the tank of fuel. A Ferrari to drive, well maybe, a Bugatti Veyron, totally!!
there are many things for the human race to feel guilty about, third world poverty, pensioners dying of hypothermia, the fact that in 2007 our goverments still solve problems by going to war and killing thousands of young people, cars do not enter this equation despite what the beardies may think. cars including supercars are not the source of all evil lets encourage the loonies to find something worthwhile to concentrate on and leave cars alone, those of us who are enthusiasts are not related to the devil whatever the green club may think. top blogg looking forward to many more.