QOTD: Why Are People So Wrong?

It’s infuriating. Here I am, sipping a tall can of dodgy suds (I poured it into a glass for a modicum of elegance), and all around me people are buying vehicles I wouldn’t be caught dead in — and using their own hard-earned cash to do it, the buggers…

Corey Lewis is one of those culprits, so last weekend I got in the car, drove down to southern Ohio, and gave him a piece of my mind — if you catch my drift — for having the unmitigated gall to desire the wrong used cars. Let’s just say you won’t be seeing him in public for a while.

It never ends with these people!

If you haven’t guessed, I’m being facetious. Corey is just fine. He’s relaxing comfortably at home right now, free to pursue a life of religious fulfilment. No, what got me started on this tangent was a tweet from a very online automotive journalist who, in a fit of frustration, lamented that “consumers have no idea what they want, and don’t listen to us anyway.”

Perish the thought. After watching this journalist get a proper rebuke from people I respect, it was time for reflection. I couldn’t imagine taking offence at the thought of someone I’ve never met not taking to heart personal commentary about what I like and hold dear. We’re all animals, barely removed from the jungle, and emotion and familiarity rank high on the list of motivators for car shoppers.

My brother-in-law owns one and says it’s good. Jane in accounting is on her second [model name here], and she’s a lifer at this company so I’d know if anything went wrong. I know nothing about what’s on the market but I see these everywhere and it’s a name I trust. I feel an innate need to possess this object — I don’t know how to describe it, but just looking at it satisfies me on a deep, personal level, and owning it is something that must happen.

Etc, etc.

As TTAC’s managing editor stated during my subsequent bitchfest, most people read car reviews to validate pre-existing choices. Shit all over a new car, and (barring a catastrophic mechanical breakdown illustrated in said review) the reader whose heart is set on that exact vehicle will probably let emotion, their personal budget, and a basic list of needs rule the day. Probably in that order. Many readers, more than we’d like to admit, care not one whit for our (or anyone else’s) recommendations; they just want our approval.

Listen, I’m as upset as anyone about the continuing eradication of sensible, reasonably affordable sedans, but have your ever driven a popular crossover? There’s many reasons why a consumer would find such a vehicle desirable. Hell, I’ve found a few desirable, and they weren’t exactly a high-riding, musclebound sports car that gripped the pavement like an ill-fated boat passenger hanging onto a deck rail. They drove like a high-riding version of the sedans everyone drove in the 1990s/2000s. And guess how many of those cars OEMs sold.

Want to check sales stats for the 1995 Ford Taurus or 2002 Chevrolet Impala?

A great many crossovers do many normal things reasonably well, and they do so because the average consumer is looking out for his or her needs, his or her family, and isn’t a single twentysomething auto journo who’s regularly handed wheel time in supercars for free and can get pissy over rarified minutiae. The 35-year-old-Porsche-project-car-taking-up-the-garage-of-shared-house-because-there’s-a-press-car-in-the-driveway lifestyle is a cliché, but man is it prevalent. And good on you for doing what freedom, determination, and excess pocket money allows. Live that dream while you’re young.

There’s still good advice and on-point observations floating around out there. Just don’t expect voices emanating from this online monoculture to carry much weight with your average buyer.

If I had my way, I’d keep Lordstown Assembly open forever, just so the low end of car-buying humanity can have something to pick up for, say, $17k, and drive for three to five years. GM’s buffet of high-margin trucks and SUVs can fund the threadbare, one-shift-plus-downtime operation, and Mary Barra can spend a few less days at the beach. But GM can do whatever it wants, within the law, so unless the government takes over all mainstream automakers, we’re left exposed, buffeted by the whims of a buying public able to exercise free choice in what they drive. It’s the same Wild West that existed a century ago.

Goddamn it, Steph, you’re droning on like a Wright Cyclone engine on a mission over Germany! Yes, you’re right. I’ll stop now and formulate a question from this impromptu rant.

B&B — in which instances do you give car-buying advice, and where do you cut it off? If someone you know is enthusiastically in the market for something you view as mediocre, do you step up to pour vinegar all over their day? Or are there moments when you just clam up, sit back, and let your friend, coworker, neighbor, or in-law go ahead and do what makes them happy, knowing your words won’t move them to change their mind?

Sound off in the comments.

[Images: © 2018 Chris Tonn/TTAC, Steph Willems/TTAC]