"Car Scene" magazines are the opiate of the masses

I first posted this rant to AusRotary and it was worth reposting here.

If you'd only read the "Car Scene" magazines, you'd think that the only 4-cylinder or rotary cars worth having were RX-3s, 3rd Generation RX-7s, Cordias, Lancers and EVOs, Silvias and 1600s and WRXs, all of which are fine as far as cars go.

You'd be ignorant of the multitude of 4-cylinder cars from all eras that are otherwise interesting, good or plain great. This is not a problem if you happen to like "weird" things like Peugeots and Renaults or even find 1st Generation RX-7s to be more interesting than the cars in my incomplete list.

The problem comes when the particular style of cars that the magazines feature are viewed as the only way for those cars to be -- if you read the magazines, you aren't exposed to appreciating "lesser" versions of those cars (particularly the older "sik" cars like RX-3s and 1600s) that may be used for some other purpose than stroking a "small business owners" ego. The main reason for this is the "BiggerBetterFasterMore" (ha! 90s pop reference!) ethos that these magazines promote: Your RX-3 isn't worthy unless it's 13bT with 19" rims tucked into minitubs, pleated leather interior and a pointless cage; your 1600 is of no interest unless it has FJ20T (or SR20DET), is dumped into the tarmac (and therefore ruining it's handling) and has the requisite leather and cage.

"Car scene" magazines are more about fashion than cars. They are more about self-expression than cars. (I will repeat that because it is the crux of my argument here: They are more about self-expression than cars.) They have conditioned their readers to think that there is a finite set of worthwhile (ie fashionable) cars and that those cars are only worthwhile when they approach the apogee of the current fashion. Anything less than the current fashion is no good until it is "finished" and anything that deviates from the current fashion is ignored, or treated with confusion or even contempt.

My problem, as ever with grumpy rants, is not with the owners of these cars or with the cars themselves (I like French cars, I'm aware that I have different taste) but with society.

Oh, and in case you missed it the first time: it's a rant; it's highly opinionated and full of errors, assumptions and generalisations by design!