Of the many ways that the Gulf coast of Florida differs from Marcellus, one that I found interesting was the variety of expensive automobiles on the road.
I have mentioned the many games our family created to keep my brother John and me entertained on trips. One that I still use, not as a game, but to help keep me alert as I drive – is a checklist of as many of the state license plates as we saw along the trip. I love looking at license plates to observe where people are from that are different from where I stand (or am driving).
As a teenager, I also used to be able to identify automobiles by different features: headlights, tail lights, type of “fin” and of course the obvious but now obsolete – hood ornament!
While staying in Florida, we were fortunate enough to have the use of the U.S. home of my international friend, Suzanne, from Sweden. The home is in Dunedin, a small town on the Gulf of Mexico surrounded by Clearwater on the south and east.
As we drove throughout the state to visit friends and to get to and from a cruise out of Fort Lauderdale, I have been using my powers of observation to look at cars.
What I found very interesting is the number of top luxury cars around here. It is a common occurrence to see a Porsche, a Maserati or a Jaguar. BMWs, Fiats and Mercedes Benz are as universal as Fords, Chevys and Toyotas. The ultimate luxury models of the last three makers are as prevalent as their compact models.
We weren’t even in the rich laden southern areas of Sarasota, Fort Myers or Naples. In those areas, people are probably suffering because of the cargo ship, Felicity Ace, that was burning many weeks ago. The cargo was carrying tens of thousands of luxury cars. Included on board were about 1100 Porsches and Bentleys.
After the burning of Felicity Ace, it listed and partially sank. It will be returned to land where salvage ships will inspect the remains. The total cargo was valued at more than $400M. Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi, and Lamborghini could see at least $155M in losses.
I haven’t seen (doesn’t mean not present) a Bentley around here, though I have seen them (plural) in Sarasota and Fort Myers. To put things in perspective, a Bentley is about three times the cost of a Porsche which is at least twice the cost of a Cadillac.
One day while driving around toward getting back to the house, I nearly soiled myself in the driver’s seat of our truck. I shouted to my passenger (!) – “Good Grief!”
“What?”
“Look at what is in front of us!” No response.
It was a Maserati!! I got so excited. The light changed, and the beautiful purr of high power in a small lovely package erupted. Ooooo! WOW! I said that I couldn’t imagine driving something worth $80,000 – $150,000 in high densely trafficked areas.
I have a difficult enough time with driving common cars at their current worth. Yet models like this Maserati are everywhere in western Florida.
The 2022 Maserati GranTurismo
While a really nice ride, the most popular car in Florida, according to worldpopulationreview.com, is the Toyota Corolla.
Just a couple of days before we left, I had dropped the main farmer off at the Clearwater marina for a day of fishing. As I was sitting at the stop light, I heard the familiar sound of the low throaty rumble of a race car engine in idle. I looked all around, and finally in the lower portion of the passenger’s side mirror I spied it. It was an open topped race car styled model of an Aston Martin.
I know the front-end symbol for Aston Martin because I had set up a rental car at the Amsterdam airport several years ago when we went to meet my German family. When we located the numbered area of our car – it was an Aston Martin!
I was petrified to drive it but soon adjusted. I think when I was able to cross 7 lanes of traffic upon exiting the airport ramp to be in the correct lane to drive into Germany – and made it without a crash – I felt safer. It was a terrific machine.
Yes, identifying automobiles is very different today. Today I have to look at grills or trunk symbols. Used to be that the fashion of the car was distinct enough to make it known. But now, so many models are similar enough so the manufacturer doesn’t stand out.
Maybe that is the plan, but I miss having a Ford look different from a General Motors car – let alone be identifiable from a foreign model.
Now that I think of it, maybe it also stems from my general dislike of uniforms – especially school uniforms. Those may have been a great idea for moms to keep squabbles down as children dress for school in the morning, but I enjoyed wearing something new or different – still do!
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