Thursday, February 05, 2004
A Case Study: The Car
....but first a few random tidbits:
I've come to the conclusion that I'm an impatient person
My co-op at NASA is going well, it's been interesting and fun, but I'm still not convinced that this is what I want to do with my life
From the outside, Case is a really boring place....it's a shame all my friends are stuck there
See the post below! Tickets go on sale Saturday
As many of you know, I recently purchased a brand new 2004 MINI Cooper...MSRP $22,859. This is not a car that my parents are buying for me, it is actually my car, not to mention my first car. I'm paying for everything myself, and I'm pretty proud of that. Now basically what I want to do with this post is give some reasoning and justification behind why I chose to put so much into the car. On a broader level, however, the point is to give a little bit of insight into who I am, what's important to me, and what makes me tick. With that said, let's get it on.....
Uniqueness
I could have easily gotten any number of used, or even new cars that would have been a lot cheaper, but there was really nothing else that was as unique or exciting as the MINI. The fact is, most cars are either really common or really boring or both. The MINI stands out, however. There are only about 65,000 of them in the whole country. When you consider how many hundreds of millions of cars are on the road, that's really not that much. Volkswagen sold over 90,000 New Beetles in the first year alone. I like the MINI because it's distinctive and uncommon. I don't want to be just like everybody else, I would rather stand out.
Aesthetics
The simple fact is, aesthetics matter to me. Not only in car selection, but in most things in life. In the grocery store the other day I was appreciating the lattice crust on an apple pie. I really enjoyed my art history classes, and I think that they helped me gain an appreciation for beauty. I am a big fan of beauty; in cars, in nature, and yes, even in apple pie. With the MINI, the distinctive design also plays into it's uniqueness. I think the car has an aggressive, yet approachable look to it. The front end is playful and "cute". The high curved fenders on the bonnet are reminiscent of classic cars and at the same time help to offset the relative boxy-ness of the car as a whole. I especially like how the roof and belt lines converge slightly towards the rear of the vehicle. It draws the eye back, giving the impression of speed. I also like the slightly bulging rear fenders, which gives the rear end a muscular look and again helps the car from being too boxy. The wide stance of the car also helps to give it a more aggressive look. Finally, I like the chrome grill and accents, as well as the color contrasting roof. I love my car :-D
Class
The MINI is a classy car, and the silver and black color combination helps enhance this image further. It's a European car made by BMW, and it's been highly praised in numerous automotive publications. I've always liked the thought of being classy and important. I've always wanted to be one of those people who has good taste and enjoys the finer things in life. While the MINI isn't a luxury car, in my opinion it's still much more upper crust than, say, a Neon. The MINI isn't for everyone, but people who can respect it have good taste in my opinion.
Freedom
Because the financial burden is all on me, it definitely makes me appreciate it more. Though it may seem that it would take away from my freedom, it is actually a big step towards growing up and becoming more independent.
So in conclusion, I appreciate beauty and the finer things in life, and I would like to be important and stand out on my own merits. I guess this is kind of the image of a "good" or respected person that I've always had, and something that I aspire to be. I hope to have shown how coming from this background has influenced my car buying decision and offered you a bit of insight on who I am to myself.
Did that make any sense at all?
I've come to the conclusion that I'm an impatient person
My co-op at NASA is going well, it's been interesting and fun, but I'm still not convinced that this is what I want to do with my life
From the outside, Case is a really boring place....it's a shame all my friends are stuck there
See the post below! Tickets go on sale Saturday
As many of you know, I recently purchased a brand new 2004 MINI Cooper...MSRP $22,859. This is not a car that my parents are buying for me, it is actually my car, not to mention my first car. I'm paying for everything myself, and I'm pretty proud of that. Now basically what I want to do with this post is give some reasoning and justification behind why I chose to put so much into the car. On a broader level, however, the point is to give a little bit of insight into who I am, what's important to me, and what makes me tick. With that said, let's get it on.....
Uniqueness
I could have easily gotten any number of used, or even new cars that would have been a lot cheaper, but there was really nothing else that was as unique or exciting as the MINI. The fact is, most cars are either really common or really boring or both. The MINI stands out, however. There are only about 65,000 of them in the whole country. When you consider how many hundreds of millions of cars are on the road, that's really not that much. Volkswagen sold over 90,000 New Beetles in the first year alone. I like the MINI because it's distinctive and uncommon. I don't want to be just like everybody else, I would rather stand out.
Aesthetics
The simple fact is, aesthetics matter to me. Not only in car selection, but in most things in life. In the grocery store the other day I was appreciating the lattice crust on an apple pie. I really enjoyed my art history classes, and I think that they helped me gain an appreciation for beauty. I am a big fan of beauty; in cars, in nature, and yes, even in apple pie. With the MINI, the distinctive design also plays into it's uniqueness. I think the car has an aggressive, yet approachable look to it. The front end is playful and "cute". The high curved fenders on the bonnet are reminiscent of classic cars and at the same time help to offset the relative boxy-ness of the car as a whole. I especially like how the roof and belt lines converge slightly towards the rear of the vehicle. It draws the eye back, giving the impression of speed. I also like the slightly bulging rear fenders, which gives the rear end a muscular look and again helps the car from being too boxy. The wide stance of the car also helps to give it a more aggressive look. Finally, I like the chrome grill and accents, as well as the color contrasting roof. I love my car :-D
Class
The MINI is a classy car, and the silver and black color combination helps enhance this image further. It's a European car made by BMW, and it's been highly praised in numerous automotive publications. I've always liked the thought of being classy and important. I've always wanted to be one of those people who has good taste and enjoys the finer things in life. While the MINI isn't a luxury car, in my opinion it's still much more upper crust than, say, a Neon. The MINI isn't for everyone, but people who can respect it have good taste in my opinion.
Freedom
Because the financial burden is all on me, it definitely makes me appreciate it more. Though it may seem that it would take away from my freedom, it is actually a big step towards growing up and becoming more independent.
So in conclusion, I appreciate beauty and the finer things in life, and I would like to be important and stand out on my own merits. I guess this is kind of the image of a "good" or respected person that I've always had, and something that I aspire to be. I hope to have shown how coming from this background has influenced my car buying decision and offered you a bit of insight on who I am to myself.
Did that make any sense at all?
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