1999-2009 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
[Main 95 Bulletin Board | BBFAQ |
Prev by Date | Next by Date | Post Followup ]
Member Login / Signup - Members see fewer ads. - Latest Member Gallery Photos
Why I drive a Saab Posted by NP [Email] (#244) [Profile/Gallery] (more from NP) on Mon, 6 Mar 2006 00:24:32 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
So I live in Iowa, not exactly a Mecca of noncomformity. The regional ad campaign for Chevrolet for the last few years has been a forceful, gravely voice proclaiming "Iowans drive Chevy." It's the kind of ad that always turned me off to Chevrolets (yeah, that's a real American-sounding name), but I was thinking about it the other day and I realized why I hated it so much. The marketing is trying to appeal to people who need to feel like they're on the bandwagon.
But why would you want to do what everyone else does? "I better get a Chevy, or I'm a traitor to Iowa and American as a whole." It's the same sort of mentality that leads people to think, "Well, everyone else has a Camry, so I can't go wrong with one of those." I swear 70% of the college students in my city drive Grand Ams or Grand Prixs or old Luminas. How the heck do they find their cars in the commuter lot? Why do these people act like their Pontiacs are cool when everyone else at the stoplight is driving one, too.
I like the idea that maybe 8 other people in the city have the same model as me, and 0 have exactly the same car as me. And it's a great car--I don't need to compromise to be an individual. Some girl I knew wanted to trade in her Olds Intrigue for a used Alero. I asked her, "Out of all of the cars in the world, why have you decided on that one?" Her response: "It's a two-door." Someone else I knew traded in her old Stratus for a new Stratus R/T "because that trim line had a spoiler." I feel like so many people buy cars without having really thought about why they're buying THAT car (myself included when I bought my first car).
I smile when I see another Saab--there's someone who knows what they want. Saabs aren't for everyone, and that's the point. I guess I can take comfort that I'm enough of an Iowan because of the...you know...GM thing.
posted by 172.169.12...
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.