What does your car say about you?
"When I go to parking places, I always park my own car, even with the valet people at my building."
- Missy Elliott
Missy Elliott revered fancy rides so much that at the height of her career, she graced the covers of car magazines. I interviewed Missy for the stars-and-cars mag DUB in 2005, timed to coincide with the release of her sixth studio album The Cookbook. She was particular on how she handled cars, only trusted herself at the wheel, and stressed the importance of self-parking to me. In every aspect of her career, Missy didn't rush or delegate a process. In 2019, her song "Throw It Back" and powerful, exotic cars stayed central to her persona in her lyrics.
Lambo be the whip (Whip) / like banana split (Split)
Stories about famous people and their cars are fun to write. As a journalist, I learned that you could glean a lot about a person through the way they talk about their things and their habits. But these observations aren’t unique to celebrities.
I was brand new to New York City the first time I went driving with my new friend Wendy. Wendy was a sophisticated music industry executive who took me under her wing. She picked me up on her way into Manhattan on a brisk fall weekend morning. We made a second stop in Brooklyn to scoop up our friend Jana who jumped in the back seat of Wendy’s spacious luxury sedan, and we sped over the Brooklyn Bridge. We headed to the Chelsea Market where Wendy bought fresh cut flowers and the votive candles she always had burning in her living room. I remember the traffic blaring, that familiar cocktail of New York street scent — a blend of hot pretzel, throwaway food and strong perfume wafting through the window— and the pulse of new music from the stereo of her all-black luxury sedan.
Driving with Wendy was an adventure – she engaged in ongoing commentary with other drivers who dared to cut her off, as she glided from lane to lane, foot always on the gas. Usually, she had unreleased music booming on her sound system, or one of her go-to favorites, especially the pop hit “1-2 Step” by Ciara (“Strut my stuff, and yes, I flaunt it”), which Jana and I teased her about. In Wendy’s car, we sailed over the New York streets, feeling invincible.
Driving in Manhattan is not for the faint hearted. Wendy’s way of handling her car seemed like an extension of her personality. It always perplexed me that Wendy didn’t identify as “a car person.” You don’t have to read car magazines to like your car.
The right car should capture its driver’s unique wants and needs. But sorting through the choices is not intuitive. In fact, there are so many lingering myths about car buying that make this connection hard to find. Here are some of Le Car’s tips for reclaiming car shopping.
#1 Everyone, including the experts, is confused. There are over 250 new cars released every year, and when you add used cars into the equation the options are dizzying, and then on top of thousands of variations on new cars available every year. When you add the particulars of model year and package options, the possibilities seem infinite. Keep this in mind when you are reading reviews, talking to salespeople, or consulting with your car companion. No one really knows everything, and much of this information is subjective.
#2 There’s too much information about cars online — and much of it is contradictory.
It all starts with narrowing down your options. That’s why we started Le Car, a personal car shopping service, that asks questions that only you can answer. We sort through the noise and help you kick off your car shopping journey.
#3 Only you can determine what car is right for you.
True, we can't all be Missy sailing around in a Lamborghini. But that doesn't mean that the precious time we spend in our cars doesn't matter. Being in our cars (when not stuck in traffic) ideally provokes some kind of emotion or reaction. We may feel strong, safe, serene, carefree, modest, flashy, pragmatic, glamorous or conscious. The fun of writing profiles about people and their cars is to discover what a moving object reveals about the subject that rides inside. It's not just, what do you say about your car, but what does your car say about you? Or to quote Missy's clever hook: "I put my thing down, flip it and reverse it/Ti esrever dna ti pilf nwod gniht ym tup I."
An update on Wendy and her life in cars: In the years since we first met, Wendy’s became an avid cyclist to offset her carbon footprint from that commute. She opened her own business, and downsized into a small pearl-white convertible. She still prefers to do all the driving.