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Phillip Hong
21 March, 2007 |
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Year after year, we at Phil Liz and Lucy bring to you the cream of the auto
show crop; that is, the content that we cream usually has nothing to do with
the actual event and it was made in personal jest basically.
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This year followed a tumultuous period, both for the domestic car industry
as well as the environment. The Federal Government over in Ottawa spoke of
"Clean Air" and the hot air that followed only made profit margins worse at
the Big 3 automakers (General Motors, Ford and Chrysler).
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People were flocking over to the Japanese, believing in that increasingly
stereotypical principle that their autos were stingy on the gas. We can
clearly see that trend, as it has eaten into our family as well, as my
family now owns a Toyota SUV. That we apparently won't drive.
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Given that the Phil Liz and Lucy family has relatives that depend on the
auto industry on their livelihoods, this year's visit to the Autoshow was
more of a crusade to help spread the word out; that the Big 3 has
fuel-efficient cars of their own as well.
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This year was also a first for Brandon: This year, he finally (kind of)
owns a car of his own. And to celebrate the occasion and prove my
stinginess, Brandon drove us to the subway station on our way to the Metro
Toronto Convention Centre yet again.
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Mike is a lucky person, because every single year at this time, he has the
edge because of his residence within the City.
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So it came as a surprise when Brandon and I arrived at Union Station only
to have him call us and announce that he won't be there for another hour.
So Brandon headed to the bank machine.
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After Mike arrived, we then walked in that long, long procession from Union
Station to the South Building of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. It
made me want to tear up because of all... those... steps...
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It probably didn't help to be driven in a black Mercedes-Benz; the most
common car seen in a funeral procession.
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Before our venture this year, we each chose a car from the Big Three to
research on... and quickly forgot what to research with. So our plans
changed to reflect the vague conversation we usually do every single year.
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Facts such as "One of Ford's trucks are delicately copied in a Mazda" were
suddenly blurted out in the heat of the moment, and for a moment we felt
like children, where whenever Brandon and I sat in a model and checked out
its interior, Mike would lock all the doors and try to prevent us from
bolting from our seats.
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Thankfully, and somewhat immaturely, the doors could be opened from the
inside out, no matter what you did to the car. But we enjoyed Mike's company.
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It's unfortunate, however, that during this whole day, Brandon had either
lost his cell phone, or someone stole his cell phone from him. It was
obviously under unusual circumstances, as we all stayed together, and no
one noticed anything falling out and such. However, within the month's
end, Brandon picked up a new cell phone, at cost.
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This year was filled with glory, glamour, and glorious glowing
glee-glowers. Fortunately, the day ended without any of us injured.
Or felt upon.
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