A Senior Who Switched to a Flying Spur

The other day, I was talking with a senior businessman I’ve known for over 10 years, and he said, “Oh yeah, I just got a new car.” When we first met, he was a big fan of the BMW 7 Series and had been driving one for years, but at some point, he test-drove a Tesla and said, “It was insanely fast,” so he switched to a Tesla.

Since he has such a varied car history, I thought, “Maybe he went back to BMW…” and asked what he bought.

I was driving a Benz until recently, but I switched to a big sedan, something like a Bentley, the Flying… something, Spur or something like that.

When I asked, “The Flying Spur?” he replied,

No, it’s the Flying… something, Spur or something like that.

I’m pretty sure he meant the Flying Spur… lol

*Image source: BENTLEY “Flying Spur”

He went on to say,

Bentley is great, but honestly, I preferred the Benz. It comes loaded with so many comfortable features and equipment right from the start. The Bentley cost about twice as much as the Benz, but it doesn’t have as many features. Well, it does have that stylish vibe of a car for British gentlemen, which is nice.

Wow… I’ve heard many stories about people buying cars, but this is the first time I’ve heard of someone buying a luxury car without even clearly remembering the model name.

Later, when I told my husband this story,

Yeah, that’s true. People who love cars and sports cars, like me and my friends, research everything thoroughly and are picky about what they buy. But most people out there don’t have such strong preferences when buying a car. “Fast,” “cool,” and “comfortable inside” are easy-to-understand features, and many people value those when choosing a car.

he said.

A Driving-Focused Car Life

Indeed, when my parents replaced their car or when my sister-in-law recently bought one, they didn’t research in great detail beforehand either, but they seemed to decide on the spot because they liked the design. (Not that I can talk, though…)

My husband, who is the closest to me, is a car enthusiast, and since I started this blog, I’ve met even more car lovers around me.

When buying a new car, they focus on specs and options, or they watch Car Sensor every day waiting for a model they like to appear… Every time I hear these stories, I think, “So that’s how most people are…” but this time I realized I’m actually among the minority.

Thinking about it, it makes perfect sense that Lexus LC or Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which are more comfortable and better equipped than the Panamera, sell well. And conversely, I can understand why people coming from Lexus or Mercedes-Benz feel dissatisfied with Porsche’s lack of comfort features.

In the past, I would have definitely prioritized “comfort features” and ease of use over driving performance.

But a few years ago, after learning a lot about cars from my husband (I was brainwashed lol), attending Porsche driving schools, driving manual cars, and making multiple solo trips to and from Fuji Speedway, I’ve come to believe that “trust in a car’s driving performance” is now the most important point for me.

Maybe in 10 years, I’ll say “comfort is the most important thing in a car after all,” but for now, I want to fully enjoy driving and live a car life that suits us.