Dad’s Porsche: The “Good” Life
What makes a car “good?” I can tell you what makes a car “great,” because they are empirical. Factors like performance, rarity, exclusivity, and luxury are the hallmarks of “great” cars. The Ferrari F40 is a great car. The McLaren F1? Great. A Rolls-Royce Phantom? Great (even when it’s used). It’s kind of like my kids and their drawings. There’s always a sense from them that “this dragon could be better,” or “this volcano is not done yet.” Greatness is a function of standards. A car is great by intent of engineering.
It seems to me that a car is “good” by accident of use. The 30-year old Honda Civic that you bought new and that got your kid safely to/from college was “a good car.” The Buick LeSabre that you bought from your uncle after saving up from your summer job just so you had some wheels to get you around during the week was “a good car.” The used station wagon that you brought your babies home from the hospital in for the first time was “a good car.” Performance, rarity, and luxury be damned. It worked when we needed it to, to do what we needed it to do.
I wonder if we strive for greatness when what we really need or desire is actually goodness. Where does the relentless pursuit of greatness lead us? Ever higher, faster, and bigger (at least when it comes to cars). Fundamentally, it must be a place of discontentment. What is the fastest today will invariably be superseded on some future tomorrow. The path of greatness is riddled with potholes, detours, and dead ends. That is as true of cars as it is in life.
So, why then do people obsess over (objectively worse) old cars? Why does a 993-series 911 sell at auction for nearly as much as a brand new (and much more powerful) 992? Because the 993s are good. In fact, in any generation, the 911 is rarely the fastest, most expensive, or most luxurious vehicle in its class. But put all of its capabilities together and you have a really good car for the money, regardless of the metrics.
Greatness must reject circumstances in pursuit of its ends. Goodness embraces them. Goodness is more like a sunset cruise down a coastal highway. It isn’t about better or worse. It isn’t about speed. It’s about the moment and the car. A good life is about the moments and the memories.
The dragons will get better with practice.
