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I’m reminded of Al Franken’s story about having gone to an event where one of the questions was “which historical figure would you like to be?” and most people named ones they admired until it came to Ann Coulter who said she’d want be FDR so she could call off the New Deal and just not do any of it. Franken was next and said, “you’d want to be FDR? I’d want to be Hitler! That way I could not do the Holocaust, put the kibosh on World War 2, preventing tens of millions of deaths.
I’d go ahead with the Volkswagen though!”
And if you think the Beetle thing is awkward, let me walk you through the connections between Hitler’s disastrous plan to put all Europe under his thumb leading to total defeat, unconditional surrender, the decades-long and ongoing American military presence in Germany, and the existence of one David Tracy…
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how many of the cars I like were often built by people that I’m sure I would not care to meet (from what I know of them), but I was thinking more of notorious dicks like Enzo Ferrari than one of the worst mass murderers in history. As for most evil or worst, I think that’s open to a philosophical discussion. I’m not sure numbers are the best way to measure or if suffering can even be quantified, though number should certainly factor, but then there are some with possibly higher numbers, like Stalin, Ghengis Khan, Timur, etc., though how does one compare campaigns of conquest, consequences of harsh policy, “typical” send-in-the-troops genocide, and systemized mechanized murder in terms of “worse”? Then you have people who “merely” ordered killings vs those who set up a horrifically well planned murder system like Himmler vs those who enjoyed direct killing within the system like a Joey Mengele or Ilse Koch or run-of-the-mill serial killers who commit horrific acts because they are driven to do them, but could never achieve the scale even if they had no legal worries because its personal and that takes too much time per individual? Yikes. Suffice it to say, the bottom of the barrel of hell I hope he inhabits is crowded.
Also, that car sucks and I’m going to be petty because f Hitler. Those seats are way too high for anyone to sit in, the space utilization looks terrible, and is that f’n door in the middle like a Tropfenwagen (or Dymaxion)? It’s like he stole the idea, but missed the point. And, holy Athena, the line work is worse than my margin scribbles in high school.
While I hate the Beetle and am not quite as fond of cars that resemble enclosed lawnmowers in performance, I’m a lot closer to you in what I like than I am to Clarkson.
Wow, I love The Autopian, and all the writers are excellent, but I’ll admit that I read just about everything you write, Torch, while I pick and choose with the others. You’re a deeply strange guy and I love it.
Ted Bundy was fond of VWs, also. Face it, it’s not possible to find a car make or model that lots of truly despicable characters like, so we’re all lumped in with those miscreants one way or another. Could be cars, art, sports, entertainment, name it. Rather than fretting over an affinity for cars that Hitler liked, be thankful you don’t have more in common with Jeremy Clarkson.
After seeing those car drawings I can understand why Hitler’s art career never worked out. Those drawings are more third-rate than third reich.
Both Hitler and Jeremy owned “Grosser” Mercedes, Hitler a 770K and Jeremy a 1960’s 600. So if you say “the kind of stuff Hitler liked” that might not be quite the conversation-killer you thought?
Yes, there was that episode where Jeremy listed out all the dictators who owned one as proof to James that his car was better.
But he also gleefully destroyed a 2CV in Carnage a Trois.
And then finished the list with “Elvis”.