On Expensive Cars with Bad Drivers
As I was driving west across Kansas during one of my cross country drives, I watched with amazement as a man driving a rusting maroon (maybe it once had been red) sports car zipped back and forth from lane to lane, passing this car and that, but never cutting anyone off. I’d rarely seen someone drive so skillfully.
Such a guy deserves a better car, I thought.
This man came to mind today as I was blocked behind a Bentley lumbering through West Hollywood. Why would someone spend so much money on a car, I wondered, and drive so slowly. This wasn’t the first time I had seen someone with such a nice car drive with such little respect for those on the road and with such apparently little enjoyment of the “art.”
I’ve been snuck behind slow-moving Mercedes in Laurel Canyon and seen sports cars slowing traffic on Santa Monica Boulevard.
Here in LA where cars are status symbols, as soon as you earn enough to afford a BMW or Mercedes or Lexus, you buy one even if it doesn’t serve your needs any better than a VW or Honda. I knew a single mother who lived in a studio apartment with her son, but drove a BMV. I’ve had other friends and acquaintances live in similarly humble surroundings, but drive luxury cars.
And there’s there are the (apparently) apocryphal anecdotes which many an Angelon has heard of people who pay more each month for their car payment than their rent. The stories may not be true, but they illustrate a point about this town. Some people believe you are what you drive.
In the movie Swingers, Jon Favreau greets some women at a Hollywood party and one responds to his friendly approach by asking what he drives.
So, it is status. I just guess I’ll never get why people would spend so much on something that’s only for show. Maybe it’s in showing off where they derive their enjoyment. Still, it is kind of strange to see someone in a car designed for speed and agility, driving like they’re off to the church social in Granny’s Oldsmobile.
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Minor point…
“Late model” refers to a new car, so when you say the guy was driving a late model sports car but deserves a better car given how skillfully he was driving, I think you meant something else. 
Aside from that, I think this sadly holds true throughout the country, but may perhaps be worse in LA. Cheers.
Comment by CR — May 8, 2009 @ 7:39 pm - May 8, 2009
[...] On Expensive Cars with Bad Drivers [...]
Pingback by GayPatriot » No Political Gain for Democrats in DADT Repeal — May 8, 2009 @ 7:44 pm - May 8, 2009
oops, will fix, CR
Comment by GayPatriotWest — May 8, 2009 @ 7:49 pm - May 8, 2009
Given the non-zero chance of being on the receiving end of a road-rage confrontation in LA, it amazes me that people try to make targets of themselves.
In my neck of the woods, north of San Diego, people seem fairly well behaved but I am amazed at the number of high-end vehicle-drivers I see clogging the inside lane on I-5.
Oblivious, rude, or stupid.
Comment by SoCalRobert — May 8, 2009 @ 9:24 pm - May 8, 2009
On the amusing side of this phenom are the folks who buy great big Surburbans and then slow to a crawl going over modest speed bumps in mall parking lots.
Comment by JM Hanes — May 8, 2009 @ 10:30 pm - May 8, 2009
How about folks in Suburbans or muddin’ trucks parked in the handicapped spaces?
Comment by ThatGayConservative — May 9, 2009 @ 4:21 am - May 9, 2009
#4 – “Oblivious, rude, or stupid.”
Funny, when I heard that phrase I immediately thought of some of our liberal commentators here. (Hello, Levi.)
Regards,
Peter H.
Comment by Peter Hughes — May 9, 2009 @ 11:45 am - May 9, 2009
As a former car junkie (an interest that has waned now that I’m driving a station wagon solely to accommodate a 130-pound dog), I still shake my head in frustration when I see someone with a 300+ hp, six-figure price tag car driving 50 mph on the highway. If you’re going to buy a machine like that, at least know how to drive it. Otherwise, you just look like a fool who spent too much money on a car.
Comment by CR — May 9, 2009 @ 1:49 pm - May 9, 2009
Using a turn signal appears to be a dying courtesy these days. It’s been my observation that the more someone pays for a vehicle, the less likely they are to use a turn signal.
If you notice the cars that double-park in WeHo streets, park in red zones or park in the bike lane on Sta. Monica Blvd, they’re usually the more expensive cars on the market.
Could there be an element of narcissistic behavior and a sense of entitlement that adds to this behavior?
(Car related: Are Obama bumper stickers standard equipment on the Toytoa Prius?)
Comment by Rik — May 9, 2009 @ 3:26 pm - May 9, 2009
Speaking of cars, a buddy of mine got one of those Smart Cars. Got to check it out last weekend. It’s cute, but I don’t think I would buy one.
Call me crazy, but I like something substantial rather than a Spam can on wheels.
Comment by ThatGayConservative — May 9, 2009 @ 3:28 pm - May 9, 2009
Did they have Obama stickers on their car??
Comment by Bruce (GayPatriot) — May 10, 2009 @ 4:18 pm - May 10, 2009
“If you notice the cars that double-park in WeHo streets, park in red zones or park in the bike lane on Sta. Monica Blvd, they’re usually the more expensive cars on the market.”
It must be those rude inconsiderate rich Republicans. After all, WeHo and Santa Monica are home to so many of them.
(that pop you heard was my tongue breaking loose from my cheek).
How about Toyota Pious drivers, going54.73425 MPH in the fast lane, paying more attention to the economy meter on the dashboard than what lane they are in or how much traffic they are blocking?
Comment by the friendly grizzly — May 11, 2009 @ 11:41 pm - May 11, 2009