Why Cars Matter: The Hidden Stories Behind the Machines We Drive

By the time I reached college, I had long accepted that my fascination with cars was not universally shared. While some friends could (and often did) dive endlessly into automotive topics, most viewed motorized transport with only passing interest. For many, that interest waned further, replaced by dismissiveness—or worse, outright disdain.

I still remember one evening in the mid-1970s when a high school friend, now a ‘delinquent in training,’ demonstrated how to identify Ford models from the 1960s in the dark—just by the shape of their taillights. He proceeded to show us how the fuselage-body Plymouth Furies used by local police could be spotted instantly: their amber front running lights, positioned inboard, gave away their ominous authority. ‘Surely,’ I thought, ‘we can all make room in our brains for such practical knowledge.’ Flickr/Tim Carter

Yet no. Some people simply don’t care about cars—or anything related to them. While I didn’t abandon the subject entirely in polite company, I learned to keep my passion hidden in new or unfamiliar settings. At least initially. It was akin to what I imagined it must have been like for those who secretly admired Richard Nixon, polka music, or the clerihews of theologian G.K. Chesterton.

Still, I couldn’t fathom how anyone—especially my peers or the intellectual gatekeepers of news and culture, like The New York Times—could overlook the central role of cars in our modern world. They failed to recognize automobiles as objects of industrial design and art. They ignored their historical significance, their impact on the global economy, and—most importantly to me—their socio-emotional weight. Every make and model on the road carries meaning, whether the owner is aware of it or not.

The car a person chooses to drive reveals volumes about their taste, values, beliefs, social standing, and even their self-image. It’s a Rorschach test, a tell, a roadmap. In an instant, it can expose their aesthetic sense, politics, financial status, and sense of self-worth. (And, admittedly, my judgment of what their self-worth should be.) Warner Bros. Pictures

This is why the choice of cars for characters in television and movies is often meticulously considered. There are nuances to every selection. For me, assessing what car a character drives is as revealing as analyzing their wardrobe or dialogue. It’s not just about transportation—it’s about storytelling.