A Lifetime of Driving Cars

[speeder]

This is something that I think about quite a bit. Unless I live long enough to spend considerable time as a non-driver, (doubt it), I will have spent a pretty significant percentage of my waking life behind the wheel of a car. Sometimes a light truck. I've always liked driving and have had a few driving jobs when younger including cab driver, (~200 miles a day/night in the city), and messenger in L.A.

Being the kind of guy whose mind wonders frequently, including while driving, I sometimes think how strange it is to spend your life behind the wheel of a car. Don't get me wrong; I love it, but in the entire history of the human race it's an activity that has only existed for the last 100 years or so. Since the dawn of man, people have either had to walk or ride around on the back of some beast if they wanted to get somewhere. I guess that stage coaches and trains have been around a little longer than cars.

I live in Los Angeles, a place where most people drive quite a bit. Many people consider this a negative aspect of the city, that you need a car to really get around. I think that in many cases it is an unfair rap, there are plenty of other places in the U.S. where people rack-up the miles in their vehicles. Any suburb or exurb comes to mind, not to mention rural locations where you have to drive 10 miles for a loaf of bread or a box of cereal. At any rate, there are people who abhor driving and would consider the necessity of driving a major deterrent to living in a given place.

I am not one of those people. I consider it a major deterrent if a city is particularly car-unfriendly or worse, impractical or impossible to own one. I have lived in NYC for a time, (the most stereotypically home of the car-hater, Woody Allen being the arch type). While I consider it a very exiting place and enjoy visiting, I am a died-in-the-wool Los Angeleno who considers the ability to drive a nice car on a sunny day with the windows down and a large dog aboard almost a birthright. Or a small dog, for that matter. Maybe other human passengers. Hell, alone with music playing loud.

The world is definitely divided into people who like cars and those who do not. I know many of the latter, including in my immediate family. People who consider it a major plus to live in a place where one does not need a car at all. I completely understand that car ownership can be an expensive, sometimes frustrating experience for the average person. What I do not understand is how anyone could not like having their own small personal vessel full of their essential belongings, heated and air conditioned and ready to go wherever they point it with the turn of a key. I watch a lot of old movies and just cannot even imagine the transition from being out in the cold to inside of your own heated car for the average person in the early 20th century.

I love cars, apart from my appreciation, (OK, obsession), with really great cars. I love travelling around the city with all of my essential "stuff", sometimes I do not make it home for 12 hours or more. It's like a giant lady's purse, I have everything I might reasonably ever need in my car. I have a particular fondness for Mercedes Benz cars because of their safety, including the fact that the trunks lock like a bank vault. No one will ever pry open a Benz trunk. You'd have to cut the end of the car off with a cordless Sawzall. I carry valuable "stuff", like my laptop with my life on it and sometimes cash. I feel like it's unbelievably safe in my Benz trunk. The car is an older model that was last stolen in Somalia in 2004.

Anywhoo...just thinking about people who put more than 20k miles a year on a car. Some people put a LOT more. Thinking about the guy in the Guinness book who is closing in on 3 million miles on his Volvo. But even @ 20k a year, that's a really significant amount of your waking life behind the wheel. Especially if it's crawling on a rush hour freeway everyday. Which negates everything I've written about liking driving, BTW. That's a horrible way to spend your life. I don't know how people do this, crawling along trying not to get into a rear-ender for half your life. Unpleasant and stressful to say the least.

I have no regrets about spending so much of my life driving. I have other regrets about the way I've misused my time on earth, but not that one. My list of favorite activities on earth includes driving, listening to music, eating good food and having sex. Someday I will try to do all 4 at once, which will probably lead to an interesting news story and obituary.

Am I the only weirdo who ever thinks about stuff like this?

[motion]

Really nice presentation of your thoughts, Denis. It really is interesting, that driving a car has altered our existence so radically, and people are so polarized by the activity. I drive around 30K miles a year, with most of those being I-15 between Montana and California. I absolutely love the open road, and love to watch the world go by. I'm so thankful I'm here out West, not in the eastern half, where people don't have a view to enjoy.

[svandamme]

i used to do 60K miles a year... now it's more like 25K miles , and actually trying to reduce by working from home when possible..

Those 60K a year it wasn't even a decent car to do it with like i have now (renault megane , non turbo diesel now BMW)... Still like to drive, but the work related drives tend to cause much aggravation which in turn causes some pretty nasty driving habits. This and the high cost of fuel these days (to my boss) makes me want to get it down a couple thousand miles more.. being stuck in T-jams ain't really driving anyway..

[speeder]

Thank you, Richard. We are alike, both westerners at heart. I love the American west in ways that I have a hard time putting to words, luckily some others have done it better.

Stijn, what is your job that requires you to drive so far around Europe? Apologies if you've told me before, my bad memory.

[Seahawk]

Unfortunately, I have had pretty much the same calculus arrive unannounced: I have over 4000 flight hours as a pilot, probably a 2000 or so in commercial planes and what, 15 to 20 thousand plus hours in a car?

The average hours worked in a year is 2000: Do the math.

Over three work years in the air. Joeaska, many more.

[nostatic]

Fluffers need to get around...

Being born and raised in SoCal, the car is more than just transportation. It is thoroughly ingrained into who/what/where you are. I don't think the same gestalt exists in the rest of the country. This place was/is defined by the automobile.

As a kid I did everything but live in my car. Eat, drink, sleep, sex, adventure - the car was the vehicle and sometimes destination. I've lost track of the number of meals I've eaten while driving. Things to do, places to go, people to see and the car is in some sense "home."

[Hugh R]

20,000 miles/year at say 40mph average (generous in LA) = 500 hours/year in a car.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Nice thoughts Dennis, and very well collected. There are few things that I enjoy more than the open road and a nice car. Nothing can top the freedom of hop in, twist the key, and travel anywhere you want to go.

[WIL84911]

I enjoyed driving around LA recently. I should have moved long ago.

[tevake]

Nicely written Dennis,
Inspires me to try to share a little of my driving enjoyment.

I just got home from my Sunday early morning drive in my S C. I try to get out around six or earlier so as to have the road to myself for a little while. Some of you know that the road here on the north shore of Kauai offer some beautiful scenery and some twisty areas that can be a lot of fun when empty.
The route from my house starts out with some narrow twisting sections along the coast heading from the end of the road east toward Hanalei, especially nice when not following folks driving it for the first time and creaping along to take in all of the sights. This section is a momentum run for me in the morning as the engine is just getting warmed up. Then thru some townish areas for a few miles and on past the little town of Kilauea. To get to the highlight of the drive, a three mile section of the old highway that was bypassed when the new roadway was built because the terrain is too undulating and twisting for a modern road. So lots of climbing ,dropping with a few low speed switchbacks, some sweepers, and very little traffic to contend with. In short, just right to top off a fun morning go out. I usually cruise thru on the way out to have a look at the road conditions. Then turn around and zip back thru a bit more sportingly to enjoy if fully.

Today's pleasure never came to pass as the road was covered with leaf and branch debree from resent roadside trimming. It was so bad that I didn't even go back thru for the return run. Just headed back somewhat disapointed on the main highway.
A little let down as I went thru Hanalei there was a backpacker heading out of town hitch hiking towards the end of the road and the trail on the Na Pali coast. I like to help hikers get out to the trail early so they can enjoy getting on with their hike.

I usually get a little vicarious thrill from them, the excitement of heading out for a big adventure. This back packer was walking along with their thumb out and their back to me as I approached. I could see that this was a girl as slowed up to pull over
Then as she came to the car to check if this was a ride she was interested in. She turned out to be a pretty girl, even with all that long sleaved, kacki panced , hiking booted outfit on. She turned out to be a very sweet mountain girl from Durango Colorado. We had a nice chat on the drive. What a treat she said to get to ride to the trail head in a Porsche. What a treat I thought as she got out and I noticed the swimsuit model figure under all that gear.

Some years ago I would now be out on the trail to adventure with my new friend, instead of here back home with my family, typing this post to my friends at Pelican
All in all it turned out to be a good drive today.:-)

Cheers Richard

[oldE]

Speeder,

I used to have a lot of time thinking the same thoughts.
For a while the dairy had me on the road, doing client calls and I would spend ~12 hours /week behind the wheel. Not too bad, when I was getting mileage for using my own wheels (Audi Quattro and the 924s), but later, they provided the wheels (Olds Achieva and Chev Venture vans with the hands-free cel phone) and that almost killed it for me.

Eight years ago, I left that behind and, after a few years, I find I enjoy driving again. I have driven the Rocky Mountains a few times and enjoy the roads and the vistas, but, being a Maritimer, find the scenery changes so often here that one has to get out frequently and admire the ever-changing view. Maybe too it is because I'm a few years older and value that more.

I'll still pop in 9 hour days behind the wheel of my TDi Jetta and I find the pure enjoyment of the curves of a long-appreciated road is still there.

Best
Les

[Dottore]

Nice post Denis. Your four favourite activities are very similar to mine.

[speeder]

I guess my point, however muddled, is that every other thing we do from eating/sleeping/walking/talking/shtupping and taking a good dump is as old as the hills. This is a whole new activity that I do more than most anything else. Will there ever be another entirely new activity added to the human experience that nearly everyone does for a significant portion of their time?

I highly doubt it. But who could have predicted the Internet, so you never know.

[Schrup]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Denis. I drive less than 10K miles a year. My commute has been less than four miles for the last dozen years. The prior 10 years I spent 2-4 hours daily getting to jobs all over the state.

Driving is a double edged sword to me, modern life is difficult without it, but it has it's risks & expense. I'm planning to retire in about 20 years & hope to give up driving shortly thereafter. I live within walking distance of anything I need. I fear old folks that have no business behind the wheel. IMO, you should have to turn in your license when you turn 70.

[azasadny]

I drive about 20k a year and I think about driving and how important it is to me all of the time...especially when I'm driving!

[notfarnow]

I drive about 30-35k miles/year... mostly right in town. I probably spend 3-4 hours a day in my car. I promised myself that this year I would buy something that I ENJOY driving, so those hours will be better spent.

Agree with you on MBs, they are fantastic. I will miss my e300d!

[svandamme]

Originally Posted by speeder

Stijn, what is your job that requires you to drive so far around Europe? Apologies if you've told me before, my bad memory.

That's just the commute i used to do, 140 km one way Ypres-Brussels.
And in those days i used to party in a lot of clubs that weren't close to home..

Now it's more like 85 km one way commute..And occasionally a customer visit in Holland.
I work in IT

[look 171]

Growing up here in LA, I use to hear older folks (in their 30's) who like to get on the fwy and take a drive just to relax. Hell, many of them have driven across the country one time or another. I got that bug early and did all the driving for the next 28 years. I am still not sick of it yet except for the traffic jams when I am in a hurry in town. Do I still like driving in Socal or driving in general? Heck yeah. Just went to Yellowstone last summer and Vancouver before that. Now, I talk to people my age, they can't stand driving, not even a road trip to the national parks. They rather not go if they have to drive over 3 hours. I find the younger generation are less willing to drive anywhere. OK, I generalize here a bit,but it has been my experience with that crowd. What's taken the enjoyment out of driving for these younger people? I just don't get it?

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by Schrup

IMO, you should have to turn in your license when you turn 70.

Tell us that when you're 69, okay?

I do have to admit that the last couple of decades, (I'm 68 now), driving hasn't given the pleasure it gave when the state population was 1/3 what it is now. Too much traffic, less space to enjoy a nice car in.

Another factor is that the political power structure doesn't like the automobile. They put less money into roads despite the gas tax in Oregon being in the nation's top 10. Example...City of Portland just announced it will forgo road repairs (potholes) for the next 5 years to place the funding into other projects and light rail.

[Bill Douglas]

Sometimes my girlfriend asks "What did you do today?" I say "I dunno, just drove around." She thinks I'm some sort of half wit who just, umm, drives around, but I'm always doing something. Off to buy a new tool or building/plumbing/electrical materials, taking the dog for an adventure walk somewhere, checking out the surf (although I may not have the surfboard with me), or checking the weather around the bays hehe.

I see a car as a work of art, and I understand and appreciate it.