acekraut11@aol.com wrote:
> Michael and List:
>
> I think that most people would put many of us into the anal-retentive
category for owning these cars. Clearly our choice of what to drive differs
from most people on the road today. I believe each person brings a different
perspective to this "hobby". To me the nice thing about this list is that I
can hear so many different perspectives. I listen often to what is "correct"
for our cars with great interest, though I often choose a different course for
my own car. I really enjoy it when Jonmac takes the time to relate the view
from someone who was there, especially since that view is unavailable to most
of us. Maybe all of us should be more understanding of whatever part of LBC
ownership drives each of us. If all of us shared the same goals and
perspective this list would truly be boring. I like the diversity this list
offers. I also suspect that anal-retentiveness is not limited by geographical
boundaries.
>
>
>
Okay, eventually there will be no one in the hobby/sport/diversion
except the anal-retentives. :)
Membership is declining _because_ of this anal-rententiveness which
benefits, mostly, the people who have the most money to hire people to
do the things they cannot do themselves and whose only object is to
produce a perfect example of something that was not perfect when it left
the assembly line.
If I seem obstreperous in this regard, it is only because of the
implicit elitism in this absurd quest for perfection which can only be
obtained by spending more money than anyone else. That's the trailer
queen syndrome. What Jonmac is suggesting is that the moving events
required to compete in VTR concours are a joke. They only prove that
the car actually runs. I admit that that's a remarkable difference
compared with the rules for other marques, but, it's still a joke, and
still favors the people who have much money and never drive their cars
on a regular basis for fear of damaging their investment.
This list isn't supported by VTR, as far as I know, so I don't think it
can be associated with VTR, except by general interest in the marque.
VTR has sought to cut off essential information on its own web site in a
futile attempt to increase membership. This list has not done the same,
which is why I feel free to snicker at this VTR silliness. This list
aids, largely, people who drive their cars. The VTR, for concours
purposes, indulges people who do not drive their cars regularly.
That's not a popular view, but, still, it's the truth.
This obsession with infinitely-parsed detail is a sign of cultural
decay, not of healthy interest in what the cars were originally designed
to do--be driven with regularity, modified if desired, and appreciated
for what they are, or what they once were. This ridiculous notion of
artificial value and import restricts, rather than encourages, the
expansion of ownership and use--and the presumed ultimate goal of
preservation. That's the intention of the anal-retentives--to create an
ever more restrictive club, the price of admission to which is more
money than anyone else.
That's a prescription for self-destruction.
Cheers.
--
Michael D. Porter
Roswell, NM
Never let anyone drive you crazy when you know it's within walking
distance....
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