Conspicuous Consumption

OK, soapbox time! As mentioned in my last post, I had booked a car with Hertz before leaving home, so I would have a convenient way of getting around Eugene, and more importantly, a means to get on down to Creswell to meet up with another new friend, Mark Murphy. I had booked a nice, modest little Ford Focus. Perfectly adequate for my needs, and not too intimidating to drive around a strange city.

Well, the nice man at Hertz did have a Focus on the lot, but I wasn’t allowed it, seeing as how it was due for an oil change. So, like he was doing me the biggest favour in the world, the very nice gentleman upgraded me to a Nissan Titan at No Extra Cost! Well, a Nissan Titan is a rip snorting 5.6l V-8 double cab ute. What a freaking monster! Its taller than I am, and generally bigger than Texas.

What pushes my buttons, is the fact that this seems reflective of a general attitude hereabouts. Haven’t you people heard about Peak Oil & Global Warming? Detroit needs to get with reality – we can’t go on like this forever.

Oh, and before I get castigated as a hypocrite for wanting a V-8 ‘vette, remember the Corvette is a Small Car despite its engine capacity, and in my case will only be a weekend warrior. To add to that, my other cunning plan is to be running a zero emissions vehicle in the very near future, so I figure my net impact will be on the positive side of the ledger in the end.

Oh, and a final shot, before I step back into holiday mode: Is it true that there is an inverse correlation between the size of a man’s vehicle and the size of his manhood? This small car owner thinks so!