Know-it-all
Last weekend, I went and looked at some cars, because now I have the money to buy a new ride. I wanted to test drive a Corolla and a Civic.
My friend who used to sell cars told me that in 2001, Honda departed from its previous use of double-wishbone suspension and went to McPherson struts. That in and of itself isn't a big deal, but he says that the first model year with these new suspensions wasn't that great. They've improved since then, he says, but he still recommended going pre-2001.
At the Honda dealership, the salesman showed me a 2002 Civic that happened to be up on the lift with two wheels off. I don't know why I said it--I can't really think of how his answer would have been useful--but I found myself saying, "I hear that in 2001, Honda stopped using double-wishbone suspension and went to McPherson struts, and I've heard those later models have some problems. Do you know anything about that?"
I guess it would have been useful to hear the pitch if he had one, but instead, he looked somewhat puzzled and said, "I don't really know..." He glanced at the car and said, "Those look like wishbones to me."
I said, "Well, yes, there you've got the lower wishbones, but up on top"--I gestured to the coil--"you have your McPherson strut, with the coil surrounding the strut."
He told me he didn't know anything about that; he just sells them.
It was kind of empowering to know something the car salesman didn't know about cars. I'll admit it. I've been a dumb girl in a lot of situations, and anything having to do with cars is definitely something under which I've crumbled before.
But, really? I think I was just relishing being a know-it-all.
My friend who used to sell cars told me that in 2001, Honda departed from its previous use of double-wishbone suspension and went to McPherson struts. That in and of itself isn't a big deal, but he says that the first model year with these new suspensions wasn't that great. They've improved since then, he says, but he still recommended going pre-2001.
At the Honda dealership, the salesman showed me a 2002 Civic that happened to be up on the lift with two wheels off. I don't know why I said it--I can't really think of how his answer would have been useful--but I found myself saying, "I hear that in 2001, Honda stopped using double-wishbone suspension and went to McPherson struts, and I've heard those later models have some problems. Do you know anything about that?"
I guess it would have been useful to hear the pitch if he had one, but instead, he looked somewhat puzzled and said, "I don't really know..." He glanced at the car and said, "Those look like wishbones to me."
I said, "Well, yes, there you've got the lower wishbones, but up on top"--I gestured to the coil--"you have your McPherson strut, with the coil surrounding the strut."
He told me he didn't know anything about that; he just sells them.
It was kind of empowering to know something the car salesman didn't know about cars. I'll admit it. I've been a dumb girl in a lot of situations, and anything having to do with cars is definitely something under which I've crumbled before.
But, really? I think I was just relishing being a know-it-all.