When driving goes back to the basics instead of the #'s

I must admit, it wasn't really until yesterday that it finally sank in that cars are than just speed, tuning and times, it wasn't really until I sat in the back of an Acura RL that it hit me like a ton of bricks the basics of driving, as I've been so preoccupied with how to make it faster and N/A vs Forced Induction and Stick vs Auto.

Lets go back to how this all began though, 'cause even though what I said before could make sense, it doesn't make as much sense than if you know the whole story.

Anyway, my sisters RDX went in for maitenance yesterday, so for a loaner car, they got a Brand Spankin' New RL (Could be '09, but still brand new, not even 100 miles on the Odometer), White with Grey interior, and since I was chillin' with my friend, we sat in the back, 1st thing I noticed was it was ROOMY, even though my dad had the seat back as he drove, and it was comfy too, I had to wake my friend from time to time as he fell asleep in the back, and then since it was raining, the AWD was active, which my Dad not only noticed, but LOVED.

What made me realize that cars can be cars and not Speed Demons was my Dad's love for the car, basically reminding him of the Legend he had in 1990 (The car he took my sister home in when she was born) and while driving it, you could tell he was enjoying it, not caring about how fast it could reach 100 or 130 or w/e or how many cogs the gear box had, but just enjoying it and even my mom, whose all about the brand, liked the car too (she's pushing me to look at the ZDX, she's impressed with it), and then, in a subtle but natural way, I realized that there's more to life than speed, which might be obvious to most of you, but you gotta remember that I'm a young adult (21) who can get pretty much most cars that people my age only wish they could be driving (More in line of Sports Coupes and Convertibles, unless it's kids from my town, then I'm in the same boat as them).

Besides the ride to the local Japanese restuarant (Ichiban for all the Jersey Folks), earlier today (and after I post this) I was driving the Boxster to school to register for my next class and since it was finally a nice day, I had the Top down, and while I normally speed down the roads, my Radar was on the fritz do to the cops driving around and waiting on the side, so I just cruised, which I realized was really just as enjoyable as speeding considering it the conditions were right (Sunny, nice weather, good music, ect.).

After that, I just was looking at Car reviews for various cars I'd normally never consider (RL for starters :P) and just reflected on things, thinking about how preoccupied alot of people can be about speed or MPG, when really forgetting that it's not all about the #'s and just about the drive and the overall feel of the car ('Cause as brutal as an Elise can be, it's not gonna be the most comfortable ride, or as efficent as a Insight can be, it's biblically terrible overall according to Jeremy Clarkson), hence why cars such as the LaCross or various Lexus' or even Acura's still sell in this market, despite all the other cars that offer more (and usually cost more), why some people go with Lincolins over BMW's when they can easily perfer both.

Now of course, all the people who know this already don't need to read this all, and probably see that I finally came to see the wisdom of the elders, but this is more for the Kids and Speed Demons who have yet to realize that there's more to driving than how fast you can do a 1/4 or how fast the lap times are. Don't get me wrong, those still matter to me, but now, next time I see someone (Whether a kid, an Adult or Elder) driving a RL instead of a G37, I won't ask why, but just nod

-p-