You can tell them by the car they drive

I'm pretty good at spotting whether a man or a woman will be behind the wheel, just by looking at the type of car. A new Nissan Altima Coupe is usually driven by a woman aged 35-55. On this example, you can tell by the license plate - a pink plate promoting the type of cancer that only strikes women.

I hate the fact that these stereotypes are usually true. I'd much rather drive a Nissan Altima Coupe than a Ford F-350 diesel 4x4. And a Mazda Miata than a Toyota Tundra long-bed.

Finally, to further prove my point about predictable car demographics, if you go to any JoAnn Fabrics store, you will find at least one 4-8 year old Cadillac in the parking lot.

Point A to Point B

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon last week, driving down University Boulevard.

I was going to the university to get some books for a paper I'm working on. (I'm in a master's degree program - a lot of added work on my plate, even though I'm just taking one class.)

So in front of me I see a new Porsche 911 convertible humming along. Slowly. $103,000. Then I think of how the chariot I'm driving is worth approximately 1/103 as much.

Three miles later, we both got to the intersection where I turned at roughly the same time. In fact, I arrived about a minute earlier. The function of both cars was achieved. Transportation.

That's the point, isn't it?

By the way, I say this not as a self-righteous thing (like how much better I am because I drive a humble car) - but rather I want to remind myself and you that the thing we already have may do the job just fine! We don't necessarily need the new, fast, shiny thing that we want so much.

Photo courtesy of the Porsche USA website.