Piston Slap: A Primer of Automotive Anthropomorphism?
by
Sajeev Mehta
Mister Steve writes:Sajeev:There seems to be a trend, at least among the younger crop of auto writers, to anthropomorphize an automobile based on its looks. It seems like you can barely get through a review of a new car without mention of automotive anthropomorphism: “angry eyes” or “ugly mouth” to describe styling. Definitely not how I recall descriptions from the likes of David E. Davis, Jr. or Chubby Chedder.My theory for this is that they’re the generation that grew up during the Cars movie franchise. Seeing as I’m one of the “olds” who grew up when this wasn’t a thing, I could be wrong.
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To me, most cars do have a face, and even those that don't still tend to have a personality regardless. Even relatively bland cars still have something of a look to them. It might not necessarily be pleasant, but its there. I don't see anything wrong with this. And those with a passion for automobiles do tend to personify their cars to a certain extent. I don't mean you name your prized BMW "Sam" or "Charlie", that's rather immature IMO. But when you get attached to it, it does seem to become part of the family. Again, I don't see anything wrong with this. I'm sure that, given a choice, any of us would choose to sacrifice our most beloved vehicle to save a human life. So, its not like we value a machine above flesh and blood, but that doesn't mean we don't care about, or even love, our vehicle(s). I deeply regret getting rid of some of my cars in the past, although some were most definitely not by choice. They became a friend, a trustworthy companion that was/were there for me. They shared the good times, the bad times, and the mundane times, they made life a little better because they were a part of it. But, its not like I sit and cry if I think about them being crushed or whatever. In the end, they were just machines that had no real soul. That doesn't mean they meant nothing, they just made an impression on me that I do miss. I feel more emotion about the death of someone I read about in a news story that I didn't even know. So, what I'm saying is, even if we do personify our cars and think of them as a friend or loved-one, that has its limits. At least, for me.
I remember reading about the E46 when it was launched, the designer (possibly Bangle?) saying that the front of the car was a face, the headlights were the eyes. If that was bangle, where did it all go wrong? The current breed of crossover SUVs with multiple stacked headlights just look jarring, like a person with 2 pairs of eyes. I grew up, the face of a car was headlight eyes, grille nose, and licenseplate mouth (works better with long european license plates, or a state with front plates). Though the last gen Mazda 3 had that silly smiley emoji mouth.