I know that a lot of South Africans use cars as a symbol of status.
After pulling ourselves out of the ditch in 1994 we’ve all got a lot to prove, to let everyone know what role we played in the struggle.
When you drive a car in Ballito, for example, it’s a chance for everyone to see how successful we have been anonymously.
There’s a reason that car wash joints are so busy here, and it’s not because Mrs Jones wants to preserve the integrity of her paintwork.
One thing I don’t understand about this is the person that takes over 700,000 of their hard earned rands, gives it to a grinning sales bloke in a suit and tie, and drives off in a Golf.
But it’s a fast Golf, you might say. Or it’s a luxurious Golf. It doesn’t matter.
I can’t conceive of the mind of a person that says, ‘I’ve got a really fast car and the best thing about it is it looks like a Golf’.
It’s a bit like saying ‘I’ve got a great wife and the best thing about her is she looks like a prison warden’.
If you’ve got over R700,000 to spend on a car and all you get in return is a 5-door hatchback, that means you’ve turned down a second-hand BMW M3, Honda S2000, Audi S3 (technically still a Golf but with the VW badge knocked off and ‘Audi’ written on with a permanent marker) and even a second-hand Porsche.
All of which are arguably faster than the Golf and have a little bit of character, apart from the Audi.
I understand the Golf comes with its weight in extras and luxuries, but how much of them do we really use?
Is this the same person who buys an iPhone worth over R20,000, and uses it purely to make a call now and then?
I’m not by any means saying the Golf is a bad car, in fact its sales figures and popularity are a testament to the car’s reliability and practicality.
However it doesn’t appear to have a soul, or sense of charisma.
But buying a car today because it is well-priced or well-equipped, rather than fun or exciting, is a bit like marrying someone because they’re easy to wipe down when they get old.
You wouldn’t buy a house somewhere because it is cheap, you usually look for a view, a big garden or a patio as a reason to want to live there.
It is a shame we don’t see cars the same way.
I do understand the plight of someone who merely wants to get to work and back in the sumptuous comfort and peace of mind one gets from a banal yet well-built car, but considering the amount of time we spend behind the wheel these days, it can’t hurt to at least consider driving something a bit more soulful.
Then again, a ‘soulful’ car can be just another way of saying ‘breakdown incoming, ETA unknown’.
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