A Question of Vehicular Change
Photograph by freeparking(cc)
The smell is all newness and potential, grand adventures and long drives. The last congratulatory handshakes from the sales person have passed, my name has been signed to a servitude of paying-off a loan and the keys have been handed over. There is a sense of familiarity in sitting behind the wheel. It feels and drives like my last beloved little car, the one that I have left behind at the dealership. Memories and emotion flow out of me as I drive my pre-owned car off the lot and make it a part of my daily life.
I find myself mourning my old car and feel like I have taken a cherished pet to the animal shelter. I do not know what will happen to it, but I hope for the best. I also know that this is pure silliness on my part - the car had over 175,000 miles on it, was thirteen years old, over-heated in city traffic, needed some extensive repair work and had peeling paint….and yet, I remember the joy of taking it home that first, rainy day. It took me across the the world, or at least it felt like it at times (across the States several times). At other times, it felt like the only friend I had.
Perhaps you are like my partner and wonder about how I have anthropomorphized that vehicle. And yes, perhaps I should be more evolved and not feel the pangs of loss (I do have a beautiful, close-to new car) for a material object, but alas, even years of psychology courses seem to be failing me at the moment. Maybe this falls into the whole “change is hard” category.
I have chosen to share this with you, needing to remember this (so maybe I will not become quite so attached the next time), needing to remember the spirit of my vehicle and show my gratitude towards it for keeping me safe and being as reliable as it was for so long. I hope you will understand.
So today’s question relates to this - do you think of your vehicles as objects of transportation or is there something more to them, something almost intangible that gives them something like an artificial intelligence?
