Is Your Car Considered Part of the Family?
Here’s a question/survey that I guarantee would have higher numbers if they asked people in Detroit and Michigan. Is Your Car Considered Part of the Family? Hell yeah! Is your…
ROYAL OAK, MI – AUGUST 17: (CAR FEATURE 1 of 5) More than a million and a half car enthusiasts line a 16 mile stretch of Woodward Avenue between Detroit and Pontiac, Michigan to watch approximately 30,000 classic and antique cars cruise by during the 8th Annual Woodward Dream Cruise August 17, 2002 in Royal Oak, Michigan. The Cruise is the world’s largest one day auto event. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
Here's a question/survey that I guarantee would have higher numbers if they asked people in Detroit and Michigan. Is Your Car Considered Part of the Family? Hell yeah!
Is your car considered part of the family? How many people said YES
51% Americans say they think of their car as "part of the family." (again, it'd be much higher if they asked us here in Detroit)
The poll also found 53% of us would hang onto our current car FOREVER if that was an option. But the #1 reason isn't emotional, it's financial (unless it's the family truckster, am I right Clark?)
80% of us are trying to keep our current car going as long as possible, because we don't want to spend the money on a new one. Here are five more reasons we don't want to replace it . . .
1. It's fairly reliable. 58% agreed.
2. It gets pretty good gas mileage, 45%.
3. There's just no way I could afford a new car right now, 28%.
4. Fond memories, like a road trip or family vacations, 24%.
5. You just have an emotional attachment to your car, 22%.
That said, most of us WOULDN'T go with the same car if we had to buy right now. Only a third said they'd buy the same make and model in a newer year.
Is YOUR car considered part of the family?
In my family (no surprise) the answer is a resounding yes. This goes back to my very first car, a white 1974 Vega with a steel sleeved 4 cylinder and electric fuel pump that kicked on when I was low on gas. Her name was Ethyl (don't know why, it just was) and she was my baby. Over the years we've had cars, vans, SUV's and they're always part of the family. We pat them on the hood after a successful road trip, get sad when they get damaged or need repairs (really sad for the repair part...lol). Bottom line - it's the most American thing we can do is love our family car. Just like my friend Ken Lingenfelter loves his car collection in Brighton.
Top Five Movie Cars People Want To Drive
When you're watching a movie with a great car in it - doesn't your mind start talking to you saying "oh I'd love to drive that". I'm with you - so here's my list of Top Five Movie Cars I'd like to drive.
The Ford Mustang GT 390 from "Bullitt"
The greatest chase scene in movie history? I think so. But I'm also partial to Steve McQueen movies - knowing he's a legit driver who gets how to drive this car - and the sounds of shifting that 390 up and down the hills in San Francisco...pure beauty.
The iconic Bullitt Mustang
Pontiac Trans Am from "Smokey And The Bandit"
Who hasn't wanted to drive this bad boy while being chased by the authorities? The deep sound of that V8 when Burt Reynolds kicked it into gear (and you got to cruise around with Sally Fields as well).
The Pontiac Firebird Trans Am from Burt Reynold's film "Smokey and the Bandit" is seen in front of Burt Reynold's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on September 6, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.
Aston Martin DB5 - Goldfinger
Sean Connery in this car? As cool as it gets - who didn't want a car with a smoke screen?
MAASTRICHT, NETHERLANDS - JANUARY 11: A detailed view of the 1964 Aston Martin DB5 James Bond movie car during the 25th edition of InterClassics Maastricht held at MECC Halls on January 11, 2018 in Maastricht, Netherlands. Exhibitors and participants will be showing classic cars, engines, restoration equipment and supplies, new and used accessories, interiors, maintenance materials, literature, models, objects of art with the theme "classic race cars" plus club stands and museum representation. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
Back To The Future DeLorean
"You built a time machine out of a Delorean?" - Iconic line from Back To The Future...and such a wonderful car (my neighbor had a Delorean when I was growing up - used to clean it with a steel wool brush)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 21: The "Back To The Future" DeLorean DMC-12 seen at the "Back To The Future" New York special anniversary screening at AMC Loews Lincoln Square on October 21, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"
Okay - Ferris talked Cameron into taking the Ferrari...but c'mon, who wouldn't take this bad boy for a spin?
LOS ANGELES - JUNE 11: The movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", written and directed by John Hughes. Seen here from left, a red 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder convertible sportscar and a 1934 MG PA convertible. Initial theatrical release June 11, 1986. Screen capture. Paramount Pictures. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)
