CMS: New Car Smell

I’m going to go ahead and post because we need a place to go OFF-TOPIC. And I can be the Queen of that.

It’s not the smell itself that is appealing about new car smell so much as what it represents. Novelty. Even if it’s previously owned, it’s still new to me. I don’t know how the seats flip up, where the nose ends (the garage door cringes when it sees me coming) or that the turn signal activates the rear window wipers.

It’s the same with the TV, the stereo, the new washer and dryer. All the doodads and levers are in different places, do things the old appliances didn’t. Like work. Maybe that’s why so many people upgrade as often as they do. It’s nice to have reliability and efficiency.

I remember how thrilled I was when my new laptop came in a couple of years ago. I unpacked it with quivering hands, afraid to scratch the new shiny lid. It turned on quickly, warmed up in a heartbeat and actually downloaded graphics. I was thrilled.

I’ve filled it with video clips, photographs, music, a novel and a half. It chugs a bit now. The modem is glitchy and the adapter arbitrarily disconnects from the wall whether the battery is juiced up or not. The new laptop smell is long gone.

I’ve had the car less than a week and I’m already noticing how less than perfect it is. It no longer feels like I’m driving on clouds. I’ve gotten used to it. The dashboard has been decoded. The novelty is wearing off.

Thank goodness. Now I can relax and enjoy the little quirks. I know there will be plenty for me to navigate. Like the laptop before it, the car and I can bond, learn what is our optimum speed and comfort level. I’ll figure out how long the rear is on the thing. And then the fun will start (you know Scope’s hair just turned white). Because once you know the boundaries you can push them to the limit. You know the consequences.

I coax every last second out of the laptop battery before I recharge it. (I back everything up. I’m a calculated risk-taker.) It’s the best way to maximize the life of the battery.

Novelty can be fun, but I am happiest with familiarity. It doesn’t breed contempt but rather increases comfort.

Discuss.

140 comments January 10th, 2007