That thing that makes you smile

[KiddX]

what is it about your 1g that makes you love it? what is that one thing that makes you smile everytime you think about your car? whenever i look at my car, just sitting there, polite, quiet, proud. i smile and my heart warms, and i too feel proud. its as if my car and i are friends, partners, family. people may tell me that its just a car, that it's just a big piece of metal. but thats not true is it? my car has a soul and a personality. it communicates to me when its tired, and it lets me know when it needs to be driven, really driven. every bump i hit, i feel, and not in the normal sense, i mean i feel its pain when i shallow out or hit a curb. sometimes, like tonight, i just need to go for a drive. i went up into the mountains, and parked. we sat there together in the dark, overlooking the lights of the city, it was surreal. my relationship with my car is the exact same as the relationship between the character from initial d and his eight-six, or nicholas cage and elenor in "gone in 60 seconds". i have cried when someone has harmed my car, just like he has. when i was without it for 6 months, when my engine blew, i was depressed all the time. as soon as i got back in it and floored it for the first time, i was grinning ear to ear. my gf saw me as i pulled out of the driveway, and she said i was glowing.

so what is it? what makes you grin when you look at your car? what is it that makes you proud of what it is?

[Marc93lx]

My car is an extension of myself. I often just stand there and marvle at it's beauty. It's a beauty that only a fellow 1st gen owner can appreciate. Im just proud knowing it's mine, and that I payed for it myself. It's my life blood -- I love my 1st gen. I've only had two loves in my life, and the other one left me. My baby isn't going anywhere. But, she will soon be gaining a sibling in the form of a boosted 323. Somehow I think the new addition will gain most of the attention and love.

[goldstar]

Re: That thing that makes you smile

Wow! Is your girl friend ever jealous of your 1g? This is the most beautiful, sensitive, heartfelt and poetic expression of a man's love for his machine that I've ever read. Your words brought tears to my eyes. I can understand why you were compelled to pour your heart out through your ode to your beloved 1g. I especially appreciated the sensitivity, delicacy and depth of your feelings exhibited in two of your immortal lines,

"under the hood, youve got the stuffs
that makes punkass 3rd gens, eat your dust"

I only wish that I could feel the same way about my car as you do about yours. God knows, I've tried. Although I'm really glad I bought the Protege and I essentially enjoy everything about driving it and working on it, to me it's just a machine. I find the body aesthetically pleasing but under that skin I recognize there lies an inorganic, inanimate object with no feelings or soul, incapable of reciprocating any feelings I might have for it.

Futhermore, I recognize that given a serious enough accident, my car would very happily mangle and crush me, given half a chance, regardless of how many times I had changed its oil or waxed its flanks. Now I realize that my inability to 'love' my car may represent some serious lack on my part. Maybe there is some kind of, "gasp", commitment phobia that exists in the psyches of certain males such as myself that prohibit us from forming an intimate bond with our cars. In fact, I believe there is a whole branch of psychological literature that deals with this topic, known clinically as Mechano-Love.

In any case, whenever I feel ever so slightly inclined to personalize my feelings towards my 3g, I remember the sad, cautionary tale of a man who designed, built and used a machine that he obviously loved. Yet, when given the chance, this very same machine turned around, bit him on the ass and totally betrayed him. I'm sure most of you know to whom I'm referring-the infamous Man from Moline.

There once was a man from Moline
Who invented a f**king machine
It would convert or convex
And f**k either sex
And it knocked up his darling wife Jean

[darkangel]

i know i have a pro, but that's just it. it became a part of me. an extention like mentioned above. i feel every crevas of the road now when i drive, and every shift is like an extra muscle in my body kicking in. the sound, and the exiliration of every curve on a backroad. yeah, my car is an extention of me, and also its own entity. it has a soul, and a heart. more importantly, the more i drive, the more it seems to sense me. its like plugging into my own world everytime i start it. don't think your weird for thinking this, cause its not true at all. your car is a reflextion of your personality, and in itself, it becomes alive. i know that i felt this w/ everyone of my cars. in my z24, i felt untouchable behind the tint of the windows, and its black color. i will always believe that the car loved me back cause of all the attention and appreciation for it. my car and i were known around where i live and hang as a forced to be reckon w/. by style and individuality. my last hoorah after a memorable year of new friendships and racing, my car saved my life. i roled it for times on the driver side and the roof never caved in were i was at. it was totally weird!! it was like there was a roll cage around me. she saved me, and ill never forget it. no one could change my thoughts about it. it was her last hoorah for her owner. i totally feel you guys!! the pro is my new baby now, and so is my new MR2. she's jealous, trust me, but im gonna keep her cause i know no one will take car of like i do. to all of you who believe in these ideals, don't get swayed, cause they do have a spirit. and you know cause you tap into everytime you drive, now you just know what it is that you feel. your car's spirit. peace

[bruce95fmla]

Well my 323 has my heart because it is a hatch, A pretty little sleeper that noone would ever think could be so terrible when rowled up. It has smooth shapes from the rounded headlights to the rounded hatch and the sound of the exhaust is just so sweet. To the comfy and grabby mx3 seats that hold you in place and refuse to let you go and the Pilot steering wheel that keeps your hands constantly massaging the steering wheel. hmm the thoughts of reving this little hatch to 7000 and shifting to replicate your every past movement.

My 2nd gen really has my heart, why because it is really different. It is the Bastard child of the Mazda's. The one that everyone seems to think isn't worth much. But yet it always comes through and surprises everyone. From it's nimble handleing on just plain ol 13 inch rims to the BP swap and turned it into a howling prowler. Soon to be revamped with new wheels to match the aggressive front end, custom plate mount and side skirts. Then the dose of boost that will have all the masses prodding over what the heck this little quick red thing is at the track...

yup I love my cars.

[midnightblue97]

going by the title of the thread, I thought you were talking about fellatio.

[MazdaRacer]

it was a warm overcast day, the wheel rolled ever so slowly towards the painted line on the asphalt. The exhaust tip shakes with anticipation as it expells the gases of a high reving engine itching to have clutch engagement. The pedal raises, the tires melt into the track, the rear end squats and the clutch hits the flywheel.......IT'S ON!!!!

the best thing i like about my car... is the feeling i get when i sinch down the harness, wrap my fingers around the steering wheel, rev the engine and drop the clutch...i enter the _Protege Zone_

It's a zen feeling i've never gotten from any other vehicle, it just knows whats up and does what it does best...being a Protege....

[1990DX]

i love driving either early in the morning or just before it gets dark on wet roads and dark blue skies. you know, when the street lights reflect all the way down the street? reminds me of gran turismo every time. i kind of grew up with GT. about the protege...i like the way the car feels when its at speed, stable but nimble, and its not scary or nerve racking to push it to its limits unlike other cars i have driven a bp and 5 speed will make me like the car even more.

[91ProtegeLX]

I love my car because around here no one else has one. Im the loner, just me and my car. I love the feel of it. To me, its the Ugly Duckling of the car scene here in Denver. It dosent bring me attention, or fame, or money. It just makes me happy when I look at it or drive it. It's a work of progress, and every time I finish a mod on it, it has given me a sense of accomplishment better than any other car ive owned. It's not an rx7, or a supra, or a civic, its not what you see everyday, and thats what makes me smile. Its not the best looking car, and thats what makes me smile.