Today I am taking a vacation from politics and theology.
I have recently stumbled upon a delightful show on BBC
America called Top Gear. The show is a cross between Myth Busters and the Keystone Kops. The word
that seems best to describe the three co-hosts is jovial, and their antics with
automobiles would be called irregular if one was being kind. Nonetheless, it is
a hoot. Watching the show I regularly end up with pain at the base of my skull
from continuous, tear-inducing laughter.
(Is that normal, or just me?)
One segment of the show involves brief product reviews of
automobiles and related paraphernalia. In keeping with the general irreverent mood,
one can expect something more entertaining than what Consumer’s Report might
offer to say the least. For example, a recent comparison between the Porsche
Boxter and Mercedes Benz SLK55 AMG involved racing through an abandoned village
in which members of the British Army were prepared to “ambush” the fleeing
driver. Naturally, rather than live ammunition modern electronic “bullets”
registered hits on the driver’s vest a la Laser tag. If memory serves, the Benz
won by allowing the driver to escape with fewer hits.
This is decidedly not the way most people would choose to test a high priced, high powered open touring car, but that is precisely why Top Gear keeps me coming back. It is my escape into laughter. Yet a recent episode did foster a flight of introspection (no surprise to those who know me.) They test drove the new Bentley Continental GT and compared it to the latest model from Ferrari. Not surprisingly, the Italian job felt like a race car made street worthy – barely street worthy. The Continental, on the other hand, came off like a delicious luxury sedan made race worthy – very worthy. To be wrapped in elegant leather and surrounded by fine wood and polished metal while being propelled down the road at incredible speeds is a dream of mine.
I once spent several hours with an American attempt at the luxury sport sedan (emphasis on sport.) I put a little over 100 miles on a Chrysler 300 SRT-8. With a mere 425 horse power, the Chrysler certainly doesn’t compare directly with the 616 British ponies in the Bentley. Nor did the distinctly American leather seats but plastic everything else show like the burled walnut and polished aluminum from the factory in Crewe. There is something to be said for the hand-built car; it makes an impression. But when I mashed the accelerator in the 300 and heard the subtle, yet purposeful roar and felt my back pressed into the leather as I rocketed to 60 in just 4.6 seconds, I felt the same rush I imagine the Bentley would provide. In fact, had a Bentley been racing alongside, I would have beaten it to 60 by three tenths of a second. (The Bentley carries a full ton more luxury in its curb weight.)
The sticker price on the Chrysler I drove was just over forty; the Bentley would be more than four times that. Given my reduced circumstances and slim prospects for the future, I will never have to decide whether to buy the Bentley or the Chrysler (although a good used 300 might come to live with me someday; that or its country cousin the Dodge Magnum SRT-8.) The point I am finally getting to is that I have lately begun to realize the true value of St. Paul’s remark about being content in whatever state one finds oneself. The 257,000 mile ’99 Durango I currently own is rough and rusty, but it has started and conveyed me to and fro in warmth and safety in the sub freezing snowy weather we have been enduring lately. Neither the Bentley nor the Chrysler would do any more than that. Bentley drivers may laugh at that idea. I laugh at Top Gear and motor on in contentment.
This is decidedly not the way most people would choose to test a high priced, high powered open touring car, but that is precisely why Top Gear keeps me coming back. It is my escape into laughter. Yet a recent episode did foster a flight of introspection (no surprise to those who know me.) They test drove the new Bentley Continental GT and compared it to the latest model from Ferrari. Not surprisingly, the Italian job felt like a race car made street worthy – barely street worthy. The Continental, on the other hand, came off like a delicious luxury sedan made race worthy – very worthy. To be wrapped in elegant leather and surrounded by fine wood and polished metal while being propelled down the road at incredible speeds is a dream of mine.
I once spent several hours with an American attempt at the luxury sport sedan (emphasis on sport.) I put a little over 100 miles on a Chrysler 300 SRT-8. With a mere 425 horse power, the Chrysler certainly doesn’t compare directly with the 616 British ponies in the Bentley. Nor did the distinctly American leather seats but plastic everything else show like the burled walnut and polished aluminum from the factory in Crewe. There is something to be said for the hand-built car; it makes an impression. But when I mashed the accelerator in the 300 and heard the subtle, yet purposeful roar and felt my back pressed into the leather as I rocketed to 60 in just 4.6 seconds, I felt the same rush I imagine the Bentley would provide. In fact, had a Bentley been racing alongside, I would have beaten it to 60 by three tenths of a second. (The Bentley carries a full ton more luxury in its curb weight.)
The sticker price on the Chrysler I drove was just over forty; the Bentley would be more than four times that. Given my reduced circumstances and slim prospects for the future, I will never have to decide whether to buy the Bentley or the Chrysler (although a good used 300 might come to live with me someday; that or its country cousin the Dodge Magnum SRT-8.) The point I am finally getting to is that I have lately begun to realize the true value of St. Paul’s remark about being content in whatever state one finds oneself. The 257,000 mile ’99 Durango I currently own is rough and rusty, but it has started and conveyed me to and fro in warmth and safety in the sub freezing snowy weather we have been enduring lately. Neither the Bentley nor the Chrysler would do any more than that. Bentley drivers may laugh at that idea. I laugh at Top Gear and motor on in contentment.
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