Andrew Clark behind the wheel of his rented BMW 3 Series wagon in Italy.The Globe and Mail
Automobiles are everywhere but car people – those who have a passion for automobiles – are in the minority. Most people do not have strong feelings about cars. If they do, they are often negative. Cars are no longer glamorous symbols of freedom.
A car person can seem out of step with the zeitgeist. One may be conflicted, even embarrassed, by their affection for the automobile.
I never believed I suffered from this reticence. I’ve been loud and proud about my passion for automobiles and driving. Last week, however, I discovered that I was not immune. I’d been harbouring a little gearhead self-loathing, and I didn’t even know it.
The epiphany happened at the Hertz Gold Car rental booth in Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International Airport.
“Are you a Gold Member?” the attendant asked me.
“Yes,” I replied, thinking, of course I’m a Gold Member. The attendant could not find my reservation, which was odd because I’d checked in online a few days earlier.
“Oh,” she said. “You did make a reservation but not as a Gold Member. You will need to go over to the Hertz desk. But let me see if I can find a car here for you.” I thanked her profusely, apologizing that my Italian was not better.
In five minutes, she had an option, “I have a BMW,” she said. “A station wagon.” She gave me the price, and it was reasonable; more than I had intended to spend but not wild and I wouldn’t have to spend an hour wrangling at the “other Hertz” booth.
“I’ll take it.”
A BMW? I was elated.
That’s when it hit me – I’d originally booked a “midsize 4-5 door,” a “Ford Kuga or similar.” It hadn’t occurred to me to rent a BMW. When it came to renting a car, I always took the cheapest option. I would select “Manager’s Choice” or choose the most basic, boring automobile you would find. Only once had I allowed myself to rent a car that would actually be a pleasure to drive. In 2019, I’d rented a Mini Cooper Convertible for a single day from a Sixt premium car rental at my California hotel and spent the day driving north through Malibu.
Otherwise, it had been a self-inflicted string of nameless, joyless four-wheeled compromises. When I was in Italy, a country famous for driving, I’d rent a Jeep Renegade or a Volkswagen T-Roc, a small, front-wheel-drive SUV, Opel Corsa Crossland or a Fiat Panda Hybrid. All boring, bland drives.
That was my secret shame. That was how my gearhead self-loathing manifested itself. Renting a vehicle that you look forward to driving, that you find reasons to take out on the road, was an unthinkable extravagance, Paying extra to rent a real car, a car that would be a joy to drive and make the entire driving experience a pleasant one, was a waste of money. My passion for cars and driving was not worth indulging.
I’d save some money and sentence myself to (at best) weeks of driving purgatory and (at worst) driving humiliation and suffering.
Thanks to an error on my part, and some kindness from the Hertz booking attendant, I’d broken the cycle. I walked across the lot to find my car for the next few weeks: a six-cylinder BMW 3 Series Wagon (also known as a “Touring” in Europe). It had all-wheel drive and a maximum speed of 250 kilometres an hour (it’s always nice to know) and could go from zero to 100 km/h in 3.6 seconds. It was more expensive, the cost of a couple expensive meals.
I felt the difference as soon as I had the BMW on the A1 Highway driving north. Unlike my previous rentals, this had power, it ran smoothly and it handled exceptionally well. It was the “driving pleasure” that you hear about in car commercials.
As I drove, it hit me, why had I denied myself all those years?
Well, money of course. But why was money spent on a great car a waste? Why was it an unnecessary extravagance compared to, say, dining out on vacation instead of eating sandwiches in my hotel room?
There were years when there was no option of getting a car that could perform on the highway. I got what I could afford which was generally the least expensive option. I was young and broke. Now, why not splurge on something that matters to me – the cars and driving.
To those who aren’t car people this may read as the musings of a spoiled automobile nut. They may be right. If you are one, however, it may ring true. This may not be a sea-changing moment for me. There may be mid-sized economy options in my future. But there won’t be anymore “manager’s choice” of what’s left on the lot just to save a few hundred dollars. There may even be a few more decadent rentals (if you can call a BMW decadent) in the future. I’ll factor it into the cost of a vacation, like the cost of boarding a pet or checking luggage.
Of course, there is one other factor that may cause me to rent a regular sedan: traffic. There likely isn’t much point to pay the extra money if I know most of my driving will just be easing on and off the brake.
This is not one of those places. Once out of Rome, most of the driving has been on uncongested highways and rural roads. Where I’m staying, there has been little traffic and the BMW smoothly handles the hairpin bends, narrow switchbacks and blind crests common in the hilly Tuscany region. My booking mistake has magically made the driving as beautiful as the scenery.
From now on when I’m on vacation, I’ll skip the Bellini and Bresaola and take the BMW or similar.
