issue 09 / volume 41

opinions // 19

The five things my crappy first car taught me

» A story of passion and heartbreak

Chandler Walter
Distribution Manager

here’s something

unforgettable about a
first car. I'll always remember
that first drive home from
Pitt Meadows in my newly
purchased 1991 Honda Prelude.
It was sitting so low to the
ground I could practically feel
the hole in the muffler.

T learnt a lot in the year-and-
a-half of owning, insuring, and
maintaining a hunk of metal
that had spent three years more
than me on this planet, and it
helped grow me into a better
person, ina lot of ways.

Responsibility: You don’t
have a first car until you havea
first car. Your mom’s minivan
that she lets you drive on the
weekends doesn’t count.

A $2,000 time bomb of rust
and faulty brake lights in the
hands of a 17-year old boy is a lot

to handle: making appointments :

at the shop, checking the
fluids, paying the monthly
insurance, and not committing
manslaughter every time you
(idiotically) check your phone
while behind the wheel.

It makes you realize the sheer :

weight of being the primary
caregiver of a thing that—if it
was anything like mine—needed

: a lot of care.

: Negotiations: You haggle

: with the guy from Craigslist

: youre buying the car from, you
: haggle with the bad-smelling

: ex-trucker who wants to charge
: you $50 for a door handle you

: salvaged out of his scrap yard,

: and you're always skeptical of

: the unfamiliar auto shop owner
: who says you “probably need a

: new timing belt.”

: Granted, the used-auto

: industry is not the greatest

: example of humanity, but

: having a car that needs work

: gives you your first idea of how
: some people out there in the

: world really will take all that

: they can get.

Resourcefulness: Windshield

wipers won't wipe the
windshield completely?
Hockey tape the lever.

: Can't pay for a tow? Get your

: buddies to push you back to

: your place from the shop.

: Headlight out? Tapea

: flashlight to the hood until you

: can get a new one.

: Dead battery? Go ask

: everyone you can find in the

: parking lot if they happen to

: have jumper cables.

A crappy first car puts you

: out of your comfort zone and

: makes you think on your feet at

: the absolute least opportune of

> times.

Sympathy: The other day I

picked up a pizza delivery guy
: who was walking on the side
: of the street with a jerry can. |

asked him if he needed a ride
: and he jumped right in.

rs :
No one ever picks anyone up

: like that anymore,” the middle-
aged man told me as | gave him

: a lift to the station. “I was waving
: and flashing my light like crazy,

: and I'd been walking for 20

 

. > ”
: minutes.

So why did I pick him up?

The goodness of my heart? Hell
: no. It’s because I had been there
: before, and I owed it to the

: universe.

Loss: I parted from my

Prelude in the cold winter of

: 2012. It simply stopped running,
: due to a broken timing belt (of
: course).

I elected to coast it down

the street to my driveway, and

Sings aa

Photo by en.academic.ru

; part it out from there. It tore

: my heart out, truly, but I knew

: each part taken would go on to

: give new life to another Prelude,
: that my first car would live on

: in many other crappy first cars

: to infuriate, befuddle, and teach
: other young drivers everything

: I learnt.

In loving memory,
Darth Luder

1991-2013

 

The cause of mass retailer extinction

» Why Target, Sony, and other retailers may be missing the market

 
 
  
 

Elliot Chan

.. Opinions Editor
* M opinions

#) @theotherpress.ca

Reneme Zellers? I do, and

that is why Target failed. The :

same everyday brands presented
in the same everyday fashion
with prices as high as any other
major retailer. Target’s failure is
no surprise to me.
I wanted to shop there,
I tried to shop there, and on
occasion, I have spent some
hard-earned money there;
nevertheless, I often found
myself at Wal-Mart, Superstore,
and Costco instead. There is
absolutely no reason to choose
Target over their competitors,
except perhaps that it was closer
to home. In my case, it was not.
Although Target’s demise
is clear, the retail closure
trend is a little scary. I hate
to see Sony stores go, but I
can’t remember the last time I
went into one. Heck, I’ve been

: into more Disney stores than

: Sony. Another retailer that has

: disappointed me is the flagship
: Chapters on Robson. I’m going

: to miss walking through the

: four-storey space, killing time

: before an appointment, and

: never actually buying anything.
: Pll miss that very much.

: It’s obvious why those

: stores are failing, and if your

: behaviour is anything like mine,
: you would not be surprised

: either. The thing is, people

: still want to shop and browse,

: they just might not commit to

: a purchase or wait in line at the
: checkout anymore. Unless you

: have a unique product or a loyal
: customer base, you are going

: to have trouble surviving in our
: tough economy. New and old

: retailers need to understand the
: game: if you are going to take up
: space, you'd better have value.

: Ask yourself this, what

: makes you go out to stores?

: Why are you choosing to buy

: something in person, instead of
: ordering it online? Why are you

: choosing that store instead of

: the others? The stores that are

: dying out are a part of natural

: selection. The power goes to the
: consumers. We're at a crossroad
: and we get to determine which

: companies succeed and which

: fail.

As for brands, they can no

: longer act so big and arrogant.

: Any giant can crumble now. In

: a matter of weeks, a retail giant

: like Target collapsed. Whatever

: company that is taking over that
: retail space had better have a

: plan.

Canadian economics is

a whole other ballpark and

: companies entering from the

: States must recognize the

: different culture. The next big

: brand to set foot in Vancouver

: is Nordstrom. I can’t wait to

: wander around their aisles,

: touch their fabric, acknowledge
: some of their employees, and

: then leave quietly out a random
: exit. Yes, I wish them luck—

: they’ll need it.