From A to B: Tales of Modern Motoring

[Mincey]

I hope I haven't posted this before - it's a hoot. 
 

 

[Spacewagon52]

i can't actually believe that this was a BBC documentary! 

Thinking back - I did know someone very similar to these guys. He was obsessed with image and that was reflected in the car he drove. 

They all seem very shallow. But in the early 90's I suppose that is what people thought.

The best line was from a Personel Manager,  "Company cars are not a game ...... they are a disease!"

I wonder what the people in the film would think now?

[Mincey]

2 hours ago, Spacewagon52 said:

The best line was from a Personel Manager,  "Company cars are not a game ...... they are a disease!"

 

That was brilliant wasn't it - I bet being in charge of company fleets is a nightmare at times. Most of the time probably!

[Mr Vlad]

What a superb video. Showing just what Snobs sales guys were. Oh the 90's. Fabulous times.

[Boomer54]

Was that the 90's ? I thought it was 70's. The first guy was talking about, amongst other things, Morris Marina. That was my first company car in about '75 I think. Utter crap bucket. When I hit a post that jumped out at me it was a relief to get a car swap.

Frankly, it took me right back and it was so on the money as I remember it. The constant bickering over car allocation and how it basically told the story of where you were on the greasy totem pole.

It certainly was of those status symbols right up there with where you lived, what sort of house you had. I don't think much as changed, we are very much a society based up on the material.

Not me of course ,that's why I drive a SC430 so I won't be noticed !

[Mr Vlad]

Video done in 1993 Stephen. 

[Boomer54]

5 hours ago, Mr Vlad said:

Video done in 1993 Stephen. 

Almost 20 years on then, but it did not sound like anything had changed.

[Linas.P]

16 minutes ago, Boomer54 said:

Almost 20 years on then, but it did not sound like anything had changed.

If my math is right, then it would make it 30... 

I found this satire quite funny and truthful... things that everyone thinks about once in a while, but never tells them out loud. But worry not - nowadays people don't get company cars at all, so enjoy your bicycles and annual train ticket loan! Remember trying get MB E350e back in 2018 when I was told the company car scheme was "discontinued". 

[Boomer54]

1 hour ago, Linas.P said:

If my math is right, then it would make it 30... 

I found this satire quite funny and truthful... things that everyone thinks about once in a while, but never tells them out loud. But worry not - nowadays people don't get company cars at all, so enjoy your bicycles and annual train ticket loan! Remember trying get MB E350e back in 2018 when I was told the company car scheme was "discontinued". 

"20" from my experiences in the '70's. "30" for you whippersnappers.

Anyway, I suppose it was a step up from having to throw a saddle on those Velociraptors.

[Ala Larj]

A sad indictment of modern society!

[Spacewagon52]

8 hours ago, Ala Larj said:

A sad indictment of modern society!

I imagine that attitudes have changed. Am I being naive? Or possibly just looking at life now in my 60's, where priorites have changed. Things that were very important when I was young, do not seem to bother or interest me that much.

I now appreciate I have turned into my Dad!

[Boomer54]

14 minutes ago, Spacewagon52 said:

I imagine that attitudes have changed. Am I being naive? Or possibly just looking at life now in my 60's, where priorites have changed. Things that were very important when I was young, do not seem to bother or interest me that much.

I now appreciate I have turned into my Dad!

David, I don't think attitudes have changed at all in terms of materialism. Indeed, just take a quick look around you to confirm that. Your attitude to certain things has changed as indeed have mine and that I think is very much an ageing thing and to be expected.

Materialism and the attitude to acquiring things is quite consistent with Maslows pyramid of needs although I think it is reasonable to question the suggested order in which those needs arise and whether that is the same for everyone. I doubt it.

[Spacewagon52]

I had a quick refresher on Maslow. Interestingly his Safety Needs (second most important), encompass employment, resources and property. I wonder if it can be argued that materialism is an extension of feeling secure?

Unfortunately many people get into difficulties because they do not prioritise the most important aspects of their life. For example, your home rent/mortgage should be your first priority, then food and heating.

[Linas.P]

2 hours ago, Spacewagon52 said:

I imagine that attitudes have changed. Am I being naive? Or possibly just looking at life now in my 60's, where priorites have changed. Things that were very important when I was young, do not seem to bother or interest me that much.

I now appreciate I have turned into my Dad!

No I doubt it, except now all the cars can be leased individually, so you can no longer tell who is the boss just by looking at the car, there are no longer ladder or restrictions. The removal of E200 badge is funny thought, because that is still so relevant... except nowadays you can have "debagging" as option from dealer. Just look around - all E-Class Mercs are either E220d or E200, so like 30 years ago people are getting cheapest version of most expensive car they can afford.

As well as I mentioned company car schemes are mostly dead nowadays, especially if you are in bigger city now the new virtue is to wear lycra to the office and look like homeless, having nice car not only doesn't work positively to your image, but will actually get you penalised and considered snob and out of touch. Even knowing the cars, models and their options would be disadvantage to admit, it is just so unfashionable nowadays.

So nothing has changed just symbols are different and to be fair more ridiculous. It can at least be rationally explained why having better car could be seen as achievement, not so much with modern equivalents.

[Cotswold Pete]

I can remember watching this when it was originally on TV, and given at the the time I had just given up 14 years of company car ownership it was like an echo of my past.

The badge envy was amazing and even I was under the spell once I had got to have an 'i' on the end of that badge.

Then one of my mates rocks up in an LS 400 Mk1 as his company car, now that was a differnet league, I can still remember that drive through the Peak District.

[Spock66]

I do think things have changed in a number of different ways:

• Changes in working practice esp post covid mean that reps travelling up and down the motorway all day long is now much less prevalent, MS Teams and emails has become the working norm
• Changes in company car tax mean the company car is no longer the perk it used to be
• If people want a 'decent' car (whatever that means) they just lease it so it's not the status symbol it used to be
• Very few people wear suits and ties to work these days
• Workforce is slowly becoming more diverse

[Linas.P]

The change happened long before covid, face to face meetings really started disappearing 20 years ago, but I agree with the rest of the points. 

[Boomer54]

5 hours ago, Spacewagon52 said:

I had a quick refresher on Maslow. Interestingly his Safety Needs (second most important), encompass employment, resources and property. I wonder if it can be argued that materialism is an extension of feeling secure?

Unfortunately many people get into difficulties because they do not prioritise the most important aspects of their life. For example, your home rent/mortgage should be your first priority, then food and heating.

I suspect one of the biggest issues is some people cannot differentiate between a Need and a Want. That's a very good stating point and it is certainly one I hammered away with my daughter as part of her financial education.

[Spacewagon52]

18 minutes ago, Boomer54 said:

I suspect one of the biggest issues is some people cannot differentiate between a Need and a Want. That's a very good stating point and it is certainly one I hammered away with my daughter as part of her financial education.

We are definitely on the same page regarding finance! Both my grown up children are, thankfully, sensible with money. I remember, many years ago, a colleague getting married and buying everything new after getting a mortgage for his house. He visited our home and could not believe that we had my old single bed with scatter cushions for a sofa. 

We were just not prepared to get into any more debt than the mortgage - interest rates were 16% in 1981! Nearly everyone has to borrow at some point in their lives but it is not a good habit to get into. Sadly, many people WANT NOW - they are not prepared to wait.