Thursday, 08 July 2004
Driven to Perform - SPECTATOR - THE COMMENTARY
By Maggie Yau, Guest Contributor
Editor's Note: Over the past year The Commentary has covered a number of events and shows in and around the Vancouver area, including numerous automobile shows. For the recent Driven to Perform event held in Vancouver recently, Maggie Yau attended for The Commentary, and she files this, a guest piece recounting her thoughts.
Vrooooooooooooom! Loud music blaring and engines gunning were among the noises coming out of BC Place Stadium when it hosted the Driven to Perform event, 26 June 2004. Previously known as Import Showoff Canada, Driven to Perform is attended by many car enthusiasts who are eager to check out the spectacular vehicles on display. After entering the building, we stood in awe as we surveyed the many stunning cars in the stadium. Fortunately for us, we had a friend, Jamie Nguyen, whose car was on display at the show and who acted as our guide. We saw modified cars ranging from Mr. Bean's ancient Mini to classy Lamborghinis. Many of the car owners who had their cars on display spent countless dollars making their cars the best there is, hoping to win a sweet prize at the end of the show. The prizes that were up for grabs range from "Best Modified Car" to "Best Engine." All the spectators that went to the show couldn't stop snapping pictures of the many brilliant cars around them.
Because manufacturers of every brand of car have a limited variety of colours, many car owners at the show had their cars spray painted a more unique colour. For example, there was a Honda CRX on display that was hot pink, which caught the attention of many females. Also, there was a black Mitsubishi Eclipse decorated with the Japanese cartoon, Hello Kitty! There was something for everyone's taste, ranging from toy car races for kids to lingerie shows for adults.
But is there a perfect car out there? The answer is 'no.' Indeed, the more money you put into a car, the better the car is going to be. However, there is no definite amount of money you can put into to making it 'The Complete One,' because there will always be something to add to make the car better. A car is just like a computer; there is something that you can always do to make it run smoother and faster.
There was one car that was fairly unique which caught our attention; it was a Honda Civic. What's special about this car is the fact that it is a Type R with automatic transmission and a GSR engine. This car is rare and only available by import from Japan.
Seeing all these car owners put so much money into their cars makes one wonder if they are aware that the money can be better spent in other ways. Indeed, it is just a hobby. To put in so much effort into their cars, owners do not seem to realise that they are just contributing to a machine that is creating an infinite amount of pollution in the environment. The ozone layer gets weaker and weaker everyday because of all the pollution that the industrial sector is producing. With so many cars on the road, it is just adding to the ozone's weakening. Why not use the money spent on cars more wisely and invest it into ideas that will help improve the environment? What does it matter what a car looks like, as long as it gets you to your destination? It's great that people can find something to put their time and effort into, but in satisfying themselves, are they not being selfish? They are only looking out for their own best interests, but do they care what happens to the environment? Do they care how the environment affects human beings?
The car show was definitely an interesting event as we got to see the effort and money car owners put into make theirs the 'The Best.' We would like to thank The Commentary for sending us to the car show, as it was surely a very good experience. Hopefully, I will be writing a review again for this event next year!
Maggie Yau is a student, and "never felt so sweet to be a newbie at a car show . . ."