Car guy?

I know

What’s up friends,

I haven’t decided on how frequent I’ll post here, so for now I’ll just do it when I want to. We’ve been cruising along this week, trying to “enjoy” summer. I think it’s going ok. I have my AC/Heat install for the studio scheduled for Monday, so I had to go to Home Depot yesterday and buy weird electrical stuff I’ve never bought (or seen?) before, among other errands. Toddler meltdown city.

(I sent this to the guy who’s doing the install, hoping for guidance. He did not respond. It was the 4th of July, but I’ve also been told he sings for a punk band and skates so I feel like it was hit or miss for a reply.)

I barely watch movies anymore because the small humans in my house are against me, BUT last night we strangely had time to, so we watched “Perfect Days”. Absolutely loved it - it calmed some low level dread about the ways I spend most of my time. A really beautiful film about enjoying normal everyday bleh.

Taking place in Tokyo, it also was loaded with cool shots of dope Japanese cars and houses and vibes. This will become the motivation for writing this. The main character drives a rad van around and listens to old cassette tapes he likes. Just look how cool his room is:

I previously owned a HONDA CRV. You are familiar yes? Only the greatest vehicle ever made by humans, a feat of engineering and normalness. I loved it for how much I did not care about it, did not ever need to fix it, did not ever wash it. My wife and I had nearly the same exact car. Two silver HONDA CRV’s, her’s a 2016 and mine a 2012 (but mine had the sunroof). I recently re-entered the car search because I wanted to stop renting trucks for the home projects we were doing, but I didn’t necessarily want to get rid of my prized HONDA CRV. I don’t like new cars? Do you feel me on this, resonate with it? I don’t want my car to look like a spaceship? Why did the vibe die? Here is the interior of a 2024 Subaru:

Here is the interior of like a 99 or whatever GOAT CRV:

Am I the only one? I love the weird storage, the ugly plastic, the shifter thing in a crazy spot, no iPad monster. I don’t know what it is exactly, but when I see a normal ass car from like 1985-2007 I get oddly excited. Maybe it’s the limitations, lack of helpful tech, maybe it’s the weirdo features that tried to win over “outdoorsy” people? Like the FOLD OUT TABLE that used to come stock in CRV’s. Imagine busting out a rad lil table at the hang.

Or the Pontiac Aztek center console COOLER. My brother had this car. C’mon!

The Honda Element fold up seats ??!! (I also am a huge fan of non-cloth flooring. Why would the floor of a car ever be cloth? We wear shoes dummies.)

My first car was a 1999 Subaru Outback that my dad paid $1600 for from a neighbor. It had a cassette player in it, which I used to listen to De La Soul and Patsy Cline tapes. I drove it to Nashville when I moved here. It had a “The Chariot. So Easy A Caveman Could Do It” sticker on it (Long Live). That car died tragically (that story later), so maybe that’s why I want my cars to be uncool?

I ultimately did sell my CRV and bought the biggest red truck you have ever seen in your life. I haven’t told anybody this because I do not want to help your friend move their bed. I didn’t exactly want to buy the biggest red truck, but it was the price I needed it to be, therefore I pay the exact same amount per month as I did the CRV. I also convinced the dealership to pay off my CRV, and give me $3000 more than they offered for it. I’m slightly embarrassed by the biggest red truck, but I think that’s good - more men need to be a little embarrassed about their trucks.

The day after I bought the monster, I drove it basically to Kentucky to buy the plywood floors for the studio. Purchase justified. CRV missed. Idk. My kid likes it.

////Justin