Slow Car Movement - A Pure Driving Experience

From today's New York Times:

In contrast to exotics that pamper, the Spyker is all about the drive and the driver. And that's exactly how Matthew Robinson - owner of Spyker No. 138 - likes it.

"I began to realize that less is more," said Mr. Robinson, a transplanted Englishman who is chief technology officer for American Express. "I was drawn to the pure driving experience."

This is should be a prime directive of The Slow Car Movement. With it's purchase by Spyker, I would love to see some of these values returned to my favorite tarnished brand, Saab.

More Slow Car Movement

I'm still trying to more precisely define The Slow Car Movement, and should note it's not entirely about slow cars, or even driving slow. It's about taking the experience of driving seriously, and with appreciation of being connected with a method of transport that allows such freedom, exploration, safety and exhilaration.

Disciples of The Slow Car Movement drive for pleasure, though they also take pleasure in driving for necessity. When driving becomes a chore, you're not really driving.

Refining Slow Car Movement

Being part of The Slow Car Movement means having a deliberate and real relationship with your car. Bonus points of you perform your maintenance, change the oil, or at least wash and wax in your driveway. My urban living hinders much of this, unless I can get adopted by a family in San Mateo. That said, I do check my car's oil and other fluids, perform a visual check before long trips, including tire pressure, with the aid of a mechanical gauge. Doing so gives me great satisfaction, and a sense of connectivity with my car.

Like the Slow Food Movement, we hope to get drivers to start thinking more about the act of driving, what it means, how to be more connected, and hopefully gain more value while doing so. Driving is a luxury, and while not the best for the world, if done in moderation, seems no worse than any other human vices.

Being connected while driving in a pure sense means being free of the technological aids to which we may have become accustomed. Stability control, while nice, would be less necessary on cars of light weight and power. The driver should provide stability control! Do you want a device that prevents you from falling while walking?

Drivers that pay attention don't need technology that adds weight and complexity to a car. These systems take away the immediate feel and fun of driving. If you can't take the time to pay attention to the road, your car, and your surroundings, then you shouldn't be driving.

Inspiration behind the Slow Car Movement

My inspiration for a Slow Car Movement initially came from an article I read in Road & Track magazine in the 80s. Jackie Stewart (cooler than me or you) was a paid consultant for Ford Motor Company, and the article was about how driving as smoothly as possible was a skill to be appreciated and mastered.

Essentially, smooth driving according to Sir Stewart meant pretending you had an egg between your foot and the accelerator pedal, and anticipating the movement and flow of traffic ahead of you. You could exceed the speed limit, but not at the expense of those driving around you. Success meant not having to make any sudden deceleration, acceleration or lane changes, and getting to your destination composed and collected.

This was a novel concept for me, though my teenage self didn't apply it when driving. My goal was to drive as fast as reasonably possible, and damned if anyone got in my way. I thought because I drove a European Car, they were meant to be driven fast! A continuous stream of speeding tickets and ever-increasing fines and insurance costs began to change my mind.

When I moved from Georgia to New York City, I left my car (then a 1990 Acura Integra) with my parents, and embraced public transit and walking for 5 years. After moving to the Bay Area (Alameda), and trying for 6 months to exist without a car, dissapointed in the futility of mass transit for my commute to the Richmond district of San Francisco, I purchased the car I own now, a 2000 Saab 9-3 coupe.

This car, even in it's base form, was as fast as any high-performance car I might have lusted after in 1984, with a top speed of over 140mph and 0-60 of 7 seconds. This was the fastest car I'd ever owned, my previous Saabs being quite underpowered by comparison. I wasn't tempted to get the higher-performance SE, nor the Viggen.


This notion of underpowered cars was first introduced to me by my boss (David Wolfe) at the Saab Garage in which I worked as Parts Manager and apprentice mechanic. He raced cars for fun, and during my tenure there, he drove a 2 cylinder Panhard in SCCA events. I thought, "This was a 'race' car? It wasn't fast!" However, I learned that even slow cars, when driven with skill, could be fast on the racetrack.

So, many years later, I'm living in Northern California, at the tail end of Internet Boom #1, and I'm surrounded by rich adults in high-performance Porsches, BMW M3s, Range Rover Sports, AMG Mercedes G-wagons, and such. Owning and driving cars like these seemed cool, but wasteful. I understood driving something well-engineered, solid and stable, but driving these cars around the Bay area seemed like wearing mountain climbing or Scuba gear to a cocktail party. When were they able to really exploit even 50% of their car's performance while driving to Blowfish Sushi?


Thinking of these things, I was reminded of a day when I was asked to return a customer car to their home after repairs were completed. Her car was an early 70s bright red Saab 95, with a Ford V4, and 4-speed column shift. It was slow! However, the entire drive was a blast! I had so much fun learning to master a column change transmission, while working within the limits of 65 horsepower on Atlanta highways. I was getting close to 100% from that Saab.

Slow seemed more fun, and with so much more style than fast. Who is cooler, the sweaty guy rushing around frantically to get where needs to go, or the composed guy walking with poise and grace, on time, and going with the flow on the sidewalk? Driving smoothly from point A to point B, unfrazzled, without sudden lane changes, rapid acceleration, tail-gating or raised tempers is driving with style.

Driving a car should be a luxurious pleasure, to be appreciated with time dedicated to it's preparation, the journey, the stops in-between, and it's completion.

In another post, I'll try and elaborate further on what the Slow Car Movement and driving with style means to me.

Pacific Northwest Travels

I took a solo road trip to Seattle at the end of September, hoping to enjoy the the Pacific Northwest scenery before Summer shut it's doors. Strangely, it's the first time my car has really left the state of California, unless you count Reno, which I don't. I felt bad that she's lived her life in the gilded cage of California. Cars need road trips out of state, and apparently, so did I.

It was two 8-hour days from San Francisco to Seattle, with an overnight in Crescent City, CA. My relationship with "Linnea" has grown. Seeing her again each morning was like having a trusty dog, or horse. Crazy, but true. After a beautiful urban weekend in Seattle (thanks Emily), I was excited to drive again, and see more new things.

From Seattle, I took three leisurely days on my return, stopping with more frequency. I drove to Olympia, then crossed west to get back on 101. After a few wet and misty hours on the coast, I drove east on Route 26, enjoying a fabulous Peruvian meal in downtown Portland (thank you Lana).

Waking early the next day, and after a few hours south on I-5, I turned west for the Oregon Coast, and roadside crab cocktails, fried oysters, and Pinot Gris along the route. Once In California, I stayed overnight deep in the Redwood Forest at Patrick Creek Lodge and the next day meandered off and on The Redwood Highway with much happiness until familiar territory got me motivated to return to San Francisco.


Yes, I took photos, both in-car and out. The scenery was beautiful. The roads were new, twisty, challenging and fun! I didn't drive very fast, but took much pleasure in spirited driving, and being both humbled and enlightened with the joys of traveling, and a perfectly-suited car.

Cars and Trucks of Buenos Aires and Uruguay

Among other things I enjoyed while on vacation in South America, I was also happy about seeing all the different cars on the streets of Buenos Aires and Colonia de Sacramento, Uruguay. In Buenos Aires, I noted many French cars, both old and new, but maybe because I really like them they were more noticeable.

This Peugeot 404 is completely charming. Apart from cleaning and repainting the steel wheels, I wouldn't change anything about it.


Another Peugeot I think, though I can't recall the model number. I saw a lot of these, some with the spare tire mounted on top of the trunk lid. These seem like very masculine cars to me, like a 70's Ford Capri.


Most buses in Buenos Aires appear to be customized by their drivers, with chrome wheels, bumper adornment, additional lights, and interior curtains. This red one is a great example.


I'd read that Colonia de Sacramento had many classic cars on the streets, like Cuba, but it wasn't as populated as I hoped. However, this Citroen runabout looks like a blast to drive, particularly bouncing around the cobblestone streets, laden with supplies for a beach week-end. Superb.

The full set of BA/Uruguay vehicle photos can be seen at on my MobileMe gallery.

Small cars with style: Mazda 3 5-door

This car is number 2 on my list of cars I would consider if forced to buy a new car right now. I've really liked it since it first arrived in 2005, and am excited to see how the next model develops. Based on the European Ford Focus, it features European handling, and mostly understated styling, though it looks it best from the rear, like most cars I like.

In Europe, you can get it without the roof spoiler, which improves it's appearance, ad I'm not a fan of add-on spoilers.

Wish it had more wheel options, though.

Small cars with style: Golf GTi

I've been mentally assembling a list of stylish small cars that I notice in San Francisco. Lately I really like the 5-door Volkswagen Golf GTi, particularly in bright red. The 3-door version looks ungainly at the C-pillar, but with 5 doors everything is most attractive. I also like the contrasting black trim, very 1985.

Gas prices still aren't high enough

Anyone that has known for more than a few years has known of my desire for US gas prices to match those in Europe. It's the only way to get people to change their habits, other than Fascism.

As a teenager in Georgia, I used to work at a convenience store, and one of my jobs was to change the prices on the sign in the parking lot, a thankless task. It bothered me that in 1984, it was cheaper to buy a gallon of gas over a gallon of milk.

While I'm sorry for those people that aren't wealthy and must use their car for a living, in the USA we've had unnaturally low gas prices for too long. They should have been $4.00 plus many years ago, then this wouldn't be so painful.

As gas prices have increased in the SF Bay area, I've secretly cheered them on. It strangely makes me happy to pay so much, as it's what I wanted all along.

$5.00 plus for a gallon of gas, please.

Reference New York Times article

Small Cars with Style

I've been thinking for some time that eventually, people will value small cars in the same way they value small phone, music player, cameras, etc. Europe has long had luxury in their smaller cars, but they still fall in a price segment below their larger siblings. The New York Times today had an article that touched on this.

I'm visualizing a time when people buy cars more for style than performance, because a car's performance becomes less of a differentiator when your prime concern is comfortably and economically getting from point A to B. Realistically, the difference between cars like the Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa, and Honda Fit come down to style and features, not performance, because the general quality perception of all these makes is fairly even.

People will want more and more car customization, like we've been seeing with BMW's Mini, Fiat's new 500 and to a degree, Volvo's C30.