Following on John's comments that we are distasteful because some of us always talk about others being rich or not, especially with reference on the 'enhancements' done to their cars, I gave the subject a bit of thought.
As a group of new car owners, I can understand the desire to personalise the cars as well as adding enhancements that will milk more juice out of the 1ZZ-FE engine. However, availability of options, limited resources, family commitments and spousal objections amongst other variable factors have retarded the pace at which we would have like to proceed with our cars. As such, the group often 'encourage' each other when we are pondering over plausible options and hence, the peer pressure can sometimes be quite 'poisonous'. Also, the admiration and peer endorsement usually translate into compliments such as "good MOD", "Unique", "Fierce" and sometimes, "Rich sia!!". This phenomenon is actually not exclusive to our group. A look at all the car forums will clearly show the same trend.
So is "Rich sia!!" distasteful? I think it depends on the context. To the uninitiated, it might even seem sacarstic. But the bunch of guys just meant it to be a complimentary justification on an unnecessary (well the stock car drives right?) expenditure for your personal enjoyment. I wouldn't think too much about it.
However, something else came up during the discussion with Thomas, Justin, John and myself. Are we "too fast, too furious" with our modifications? Are we too "poisonous"? I do know of people who find it difficult to join our gatherings because all we ever talk about is car modifications, accessories etc. Some are simply not able to keep up in terms of the pace at which some of the guys are at it as they rush to do everything while the ten year clock on the COE ticks away. Whilst others simply find us boring after a while, especially when all they wanted to do to their car has been done and they prefer to Keep It Simple and Sweet (KISS). But with our group, it's a never ending option of opportunities which some says it's "too poisonous".
Then there is the point of the plethora of options. Especially those that I 'dig' out from all over the place. Whilst they might be cheaper than what's available locally, or even exclusive items, they still cost money (and sometimes, quite a bit of money). Given the fact that these items may not be available elsewhere, it's a tempting offer sometimes, despite the fact that the monthly financial car mod quota may have already been spent already. As such, my offer to help our friends to procure these options can sometimes be a financial strain, despite the good intentions to share.
Actually, that's one of the reasons why this blog is private. So that the options that I keep for my own reference is well... for my own reference. Access has been granted to the few who asked for it, but word does get around too. Perhaps I should consider to "retire" and put an end to the fiddling with the car, like what Justin was thinking of doing. It's a never ending story anyway.
Just some thoughts in my head that I thought I'll put here. I think at the end of the day, it's personal. We should enjoy this good car at our own pace, within our means, according to our taste. There is absolutely nothing that you must add to the Toyota Wish for it to function well. If it was a crap car, we wouldn't have bought it in the first place.
Lastly, we will all no longer tease John about being RICH. However, we are allowed to call him
UNPOOR. Please take note and react accordingly.
Cheers,
