Why car enthusiasts should embrace cafeterias. ..

In high school, my classmates and I would dream about what car we want "when we grow up." It filled many of our lunchtime chats in the late 90s. Sloppy Jos, mung beans, and chocolate milk are premium fuels because we all try to convince each other of the superiority of the particular car we want.

Those moments at lunch I genuinely enjoyed because we drove very modest vehicles at the time.

Modest is putting it lightly too. One friend had a Chevy Citation.

I rest my case . . .

I had a Geo Storm . . .

Don’t laugh . . . I rocked The Storm . . .

My friends always went with a BMW. In particular, one of the M Series. As we would chow down like wild animals, this was the major point of contention; my friends advocated German engineering, while I, American iron.

I have lost touch with those old friends of mine and I suppose that happens over the years. They used to joke with me and say: “your Mustang will be no match for us in the BMW!” One of my friends was even kind enough to offer: “don’t worry, Carl, I will give you a ride when you need.” If only they could see the video below. It’s not exactly new but on a recent late night, looking at car videos, I came across it.

It triggered those fond memories. And I realized why car enthusiasts should embrace cafeterias.

If only this video would have been around in 1999.

How much better those Sloppy Joes would have tasted . . .

Make a point, in the near future, to have lunch with a fellow car enthusiast. Talk cars in the cafeteria and disagree! The debate will always go on – this car versus that one. Yet, in the end, it isn’t really about which car is the fastest, most powerful, lightest weight etc. It is about the strong conviction we have that makes one particular vehicle in our hearts the greatest.

The best vehicle in the world is the one we trust; the one we want to drive; the one we smile at. The one we rally for in the lunch room with our buddies.

For my friends, it was a BMW. For me, a Ford. Which one is better? I can’t honestly tell, nor do I want to. What I want to ultimately associate them with is not their prowess on the track, their body lines or engine specifications – rather their distinct ability to draw people together in unison, even if they are debating.

In those days cafeterias: It’s never about which car is better. It's about seeing a younger Karl shape my current view of the auto industry.