Jordan and I just got a new (used) car, so we donated our beloved, beat-up Saturn to the Washington Animal Rescue League. (I hope they can make good use of the $3 they get for it…) I wanted to memorialize Eddie (that’s the Saturn’s name – derived from its very first license plates) here on Creative DC – in particular, to document its bumper sticker glory:
Eddie the Car, 1997-2009
I first wrote about Eddie last year, in a post that lovingly listed each of his bumper stickers – from “9/11 (”does not equal” sign) Iraq” to “What Would Buffy Do?” Several of you wrote in then to share your thoughts on what our cars do, or don’t, say about us as people. Now that we’re driving a (wait for it) Saab – one that’s in such nice condition, I hesitate to slather it with bumper stickers – have we given up our lingering claim to hippie-dom? Or is a car just a car? What say you?
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Well I am kinda a car guy so a car is never just a car. On a side note watch Top Gear on BBC and you may start understand that better. ;) Really what you are experiencing is the transition to ‘automotive appreciation’. Saturn’s got no lines, speed, style or character – its pure utility. Most older, beat up cars get their character from their scars and stickers – the memories. Your Saab has got lines, performance, and style you can appreciate, so naturally why mess with it.
1) You DO need to watch Top Gear. I have heard it described as not, fundamentally, a show about cars – it’s a show about male relationships – but it will help you understand why people care.
2) Funny that you’re killing off oyur individual Saturn just as GM kills off the brand as a whole. (not to mention Saab.)
3) Humorous bumper stickers are fine, but I find political bumper stickers inherently obnoxious and vain – they indicate a strong belief that people care what you think and should be subjected to same, and for a distressing number of folks I think they click the self-righteousness endorphin release that should only get clicked when you actually DO something.
In the past, I have tattooed a car, but haven’t ever really been too much a bumper sticker person, beyond local flavor or organization affiliation. (It’s fun to spot someone from another region w/ a similar org decal. It’s like a secret handshake.) The tattooed car was one that was way older than me, so I felt it was adding to its “character.” These days, though, I’m as concerned about resale/trade-in value as anything. I got more than my car was worth in my recent trade-in. I have to think appearance had to play a part in that.
As for giving up your claim to hippie-dom: wtf? Since when does one’s outer accouterments define one’s ethic? Sure, your car says something about you – I’m still uneasy about what my new car projects – but so does everything else in your life. Does everything have to be a statement?
Great comments – so much to chew on! Here goes:
Rugg: very eloquent! –and well put. Scars and stickers – that’s what I’m used to identifying with in a car. I don’t advertise my beliefs with my appearance – no tattoos, witty one-liner tshirts, etc – so I guess over the years, starting with my first beat-up station wagon, I’ve taken to channeling all that through my car instead.
Murchie (I love it that you boys go by your last names): I actually feel the opposite – I’d rather people advertise their beliefs than their jokes. I feel like I’m practicing my right to free speech, much as I am here on my blog. I’m really particular about my choices – for example, as much as I hated Bush, I didn’t get one of those stickers like “A village in Texas called, their idiot is missing”… I did get a “WTF 04″ sticker that looked like one of the pro-W stickers, b/c I thought it was good satire, and captured my feelings/frustration at the time. I got “9/11 (does not equal) Iraq” because I felt so frustrated at how many people were equating the two, and that sticker succinctly articulated something I was passionate about. And yeah, I had “short people rock” and “What would Buffy do” as shout-outs to my stature and TV heroines, respectively, but honestly I felt kind of stupid about having them. Who cares that I’m short? (Other than Jordan, b/c it makes me one step farther away from that leggy redhead he thought he’d end up with… sorry, TMI…)
Letty (first names, woo!): I see what you’re saying but maybe the whole resale value thing is part of why I’m proud of how mucked up our Saturn got. Screw how much effort we exert at procuring and maintaining the perfection of market goods. Let’s put stickers on them and paint them and make them our own, not just generic mass-produced items from the marketplace. I think that’s why I like buying things from Etsy so much – I prefer spending money on something a person took the time to make. The personal touch. But of course, you’re right, driving a clean car doesn’t make me any less of a hippie, it just does less to broadcast my hippie-dom to the world…just like looking at me, I don’t think you’d have a clue what I care about or stand for…though I did buy a tshirt in Chicago that says “meditate” in glitter letters – that’s the only piece of clothing I can remember buying that advertises something about me…