Tennis and cars represent the sweet spots in my life and here is my journey incorporating the two.


Thursday, January 7, 2010

Blame It on the La-La-La-La-La-La-LaCrosse

If the old GM is dead, then someone might want to share that information with my great-aunt Zelma, or as we call her, Sister. While I can't tell you her exact age, I can tell you she is older than her sister, my grandmother, who just celebrated her 80th birthday. Regardless, in her mind, age must only be a number because at 80+ years of age she has declared she is going to get her license (for the 1st time) and she is going to buy herself a "brand new" Buick. Look out world, and I do mean look out world! Be on the lookout for an octogenarian 1st time driver in a shiny, new Buick.

I'm almost certain Sister can't name a single Buick model, past or present, I'm sure in her mind there are still images of some Buick Electra 225 she held in high esteem, that represented success.




The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette thought at least one Buick model was "unmistakably modern and sure to challenge the stereotypes of consumers who still think a Buick is a dull car for the geriatric set," and I'm sure that is what Buick intended. Well, that image won't change if America catches a glimpse of Sister in the driver's seat of any Buick currently available.

Just wait 'til she gets a load of the new Buick lineup. Hmmm… Maybe she was paying attention when I picked her up in the new 2010 Buick LaCrosse GM let me demo for a week. I'm sure the combination of her ride with me and her agitation with her current source of transportation, my bossy, control-freak grandmother in her old Ford Taurus, is what drove her to seek a new Buick as a means of asserting her independence, and even a little one-upmanship.




In said case, I should apologize to both GM and Buick. I'm sorry. Truly, I am. I had no idea her ride with me in that LaCrosse would contribute to feeding a storm that was brooding. Obviously, that one ride in the new 2010 LaCrosse evoked old memories and made her remember why she used to love a Buick. I know I'm apologizing, but I should also say we (all of pre-retirement age family members) have absolutely zero belief that Sister will ever pass the driver's examination. Therefore, she'll have no need to purchase your shiny, new Buick. So Buick executives, you can breathe a sigh of relief, you don't have to worry about negative media images of any of your new awarding winning Buicks' being splattered across news channels in the form of a crumpled heap of metal. It ain't gonna happen, but if it did, then you might want to blame it on the LaCrosse.

SweetSpot

2 comments:

joanofalltrades said...

Oh no.....will the streets be safe if she passes? Neither one of my grandmothers ever had a license and if they decided to get one now, I'd be terrified. Before my grandfather died, he swore up and down he was going to get a license. He kept asking me for a manual to study from. I don't think he could even see the manual. Needless to say, he never took the test, but I guess we can still let old folks dream.

Craig said...

I too love cars and your blog!