We are on the brink of a new world order. The ways that the eventual new reality will settle into being is happening on all sorts of fronts. With that, we’re seeing some of the worst traits of our collective psyche rise to the surface. Greed as a steamroller to protect our collective fragile egos manifests in multiple ways in the United States. One place where it isn’t analyzed in an above board fashion are the choices buyers are making when selecting new motor vehicles.
The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) opened its doors to the public this week. By the looks of the new products on offer, you’d think it was 1996 all over again. Large, hulking trucks and SUVs with silhouettes that cast shadows over what we considered gargantuan 20 years ago paraded forth against dark, slightly apocalyptic set designs. Continue reading “Dynamic Divergence: The New #Road Order”
Dynamic Divergence: Seeing The U.S.A. Through Chevrolet
The Wonder Years is now on Netflix. So of course, when left to my own devices with a Netflix account (I don’t have one personally) of course I’m going to indulge in repetition of comforts. Front and Center, 3 episodes in, is the Arnold family’s 1963 Chevrolet Impala Sport Sedan, Green with a White top, as they swoop back silently, in middle class white grief, back from Winne Cooper’s brother’s funeral.
It reminded me of a quote I’m paraphrasing about 1960’s Middle Class station that Oprah made once. The determining entrance point for all middle class families that had “arrived” in some sense was purchasing a Chevrolet Impala. Once upon a time, the true marker of comfort meant the largest, most luxurious Chevrolet. Between 1960 and 1965 that number went from just under half a million to more than a Million. Year after year, a sextet of tail lamps meant equal if not more than a six figure salary does today.
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Dynamic Divergence: The Village Of The Damned Prius Owner
Out of the blue, my longest term old friend asked for advice in regards to buying a “new” car. She’s moving on from her 2003 Honda Accord. An urban dwelling badass that has worked on both sides of the tech and non-profit divide, she’s looking to reward herself with a new ride, to spoil herself with the latest and greatest of luxuries. She’s also expecting her first child.
Both of us, in our Mid 30’s, were born into California car culture. We were blessed with rolling not-so-relics from the 1950’s and 60’s splicing through our upbringings as malaise machines were in retreat, giving way to modern masterpieces of the 1990s and Y2K years.
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Dynamic Divergence: Falcons On Film And A Requiem For Dystopian Hipster America
Once upon a time, on a website far far away but not really, when I was 30-ish years old, I declared the Ford Falcon the vintage chariot fancied the most by a certain demographic. Interestingly, at the same time I made such a grandiose generalization about my own respective urban peer group, I took up another anachronistic way of expression; Film Photography.
As we slide to a close of 2016, I reckon with the term hipster, and all things twee, including resurrecting the most basic of FordMoCo products from more than a half century ago. Trends come, trends go, however does the Falcon still have a fighting chance to continue to fly as it approaches 60 years old?
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Dynamic Drive 