C&P from JM Baraza:
You are right, this is a nascent motoring country; I discovered that the hard way the day Car Clinic came to life. Some of the correspondence is shocking, particularly that channelled directly to me, bypassing the editor’s sieve.
The ignorance out there is unbelievable. Worse yet is the stubbornness and insistence on being wrong: people are steadfast in their refusal to adjust their mindsets to a more intelligent level, which is why there is no end to questions circling around availability of spares or resale values. I repeat: if you do not drive a McLaren F1, then these two facets of everyday motoring should be of no concern to you.
I once tried tough love but unfortunately, the inquisitor had used their initials rather than their full name. It later transpired that it was a lady and she was not shy about making her displeasure at my cartoonish, non-responses known. She actually recommended that my contract be summarily terminated and the services of a saner contributor be engaged. Well, seven years later and… I’ve learnt to tame my feedback somewhat.
Going back to the basics would be a good idea but that would be retrogression. Much as Car Clinic might prove the opposite, I don’t like revisiting topics I have already covered. We have grown with the times; remedial lessons might cost you now.
The only addition I can make to the discussion on body styles is the sheer foolishness of German automakers (they really are under attack today) in making cars that defy description, then proceed to brand them in oxymoronic ways.
Case in point is “a four-door coupé”. What on earth is that supposed to be? European autojournos express it best: it is a four-door version of a two-door version of a four-door car. It hurts the brain just thinking about it, but apparently, not many people think that hard, which is why these vehicles get buyers, the same cadre of buyer that will buy a Landcruiser to go to the kiosk with or try to cross a river in a 900cc compact saloon car.
Attempts at “bringing decency” to the column (I get your drift) were met with hostility. Remember the reader who rubbished my car reviews (specifically the Isuzu DMAX review in Namibia, which was my first test to come complete with self-shot video available on my website) and instead suggested strongly that I stick to ridiculing people’s automotive problems since that is a more entertaining angle? This is the kind of thing I have to deal with.
This, and the assumption that I am a mechanic with a laptop and a VPN connection to the Nation Media Group. I repeat: I am not a mechanic; I compare and analyse functional vehicles.
If your car is malfunctioning, we could skip the public embarrassment of you falling victim to my poison pen and just take your car to the garage, which you still will at the end of the day.
The return to two full pages was not as easy as it looks. There really were difficulties at the beginning of the year, difficulties I am not at liberty to openly discuss, but can we at least be thankful that normal extended service has resumed?
Cheers and see you next week, when I discuss resale values and spare parts. Again.
