Chet Parsons, Car Guy

It's been almost 25 years since I got my first car.  I've had over 20 cars since then, but I have two favorites.  The old Toyota 4Runner I have now is like the old family dog.  It's aging and it sort of lumbers along, but it's loyal and it's charming, and I can't bring myself to part with it.  As attached as I have become to the Toyota, though, my 1987 M3 will always be my absolute favorite, and it converted me into a full-on BMW M-car fan-boy. Since the introduction of the E92 M3, and maybe the E60 M5, fan-boys like me have cried and whined and moaned that M-cars aren't what they used to be.  Rants of BMW losing its way can be found all over the forums and enthusiast blogs, berating BMW for building overweight, overly complex, bloated machines to cater to the people who are actually buying them (gasp!) I'll admit that I hopped on the bandwagon.  I am a self-proclaimed automotive idealist, dreaming of pure drivers' cars with high-revving, nat...

I can't count how many times I have voluntarily and involuntarily watched that advertisement.  All those adorable computer generated hamsters rolling around in toasters and washing machines set to that infectious tune that drew us all in and bestowed pop culture credibility upon a little car from Korea. That clever bit of advertising used the images of toasters and washing machines to reference specific cars, but it reminded me of how often I referred to many less-than-entertaining automobiles as appliances.  I applied that term with a bit of condescension and even disdain.  I pondered the point of building a car or truck that had no real character or soul and who would care so little about these things that they would actually buy one.  Then I acquired two appliances of my own.    The first didn't strike me as an appliance until I had used it up and replaced it with another item just like it.  I'm on my fourth one now.  Just as my househo...