What’s in a Name?
Well, MRT is on the road again, completing our umpteenth summer survey of American eateries, cars, venues and enthusiasts. An outsider might ask, Don’t you ever sick of doing the same thing every year? I believe that Team MRT would emphatically respond, Absolutely NOT. So the question I ask today — as I sit in the sun beneath a blaring loudspeaker, amid the roars of modified camshafts and high-performance exhaust systems – Why don’t we get sick of it? Why do we love it so much? What exactly do we mean when we say “Love you car”?
Before your head spins with all my questions, I believe a preliminary query is in order, one that unifies the three I just rattled off: What is “it”? What is it that we love so dearly?
Let me propose an answer: We love the legend. Automotive passions are a great American pastime, woven into the fabric of our very livelihood over the course of the past century and a quarter. By livelihood I mean our industry, our leisure, our families.
The American automotive tradition incorporates all three of these elements. MRT, being a small business based in America’s motor city capital (Detroit, MI), knows firsthand that cars can pay the bills. The automotive industry converts America’s raw materials into vehicles for transport and, for fun. Yes, fun. If you’ve never zipped around corners with your knuckles white and your hair blowing around, I’m sorry to tell you that you are missing out. It’s a feeling that’s unique. That is, not found anywhere else at any other time on Earth. Which goes back to the notion of legend I brought up earlier. The uniqueness of the automotive hobby, lifestyle, passion (whatever you call it) makes it legendary: timeless, irresistible. So infectious that every year, tons of people plan their family vacations around car shows in Las Vegas, Tulsa, Carlisle, Myrtle Beach and Indianapolis – you name the place and I bet us “car nuts” are there.
We’re proud of it. Our heritage, our innovation, our uniqueness. (Maybe we think that the uniqueness of automotive experiences rubs off on us! lol.) It’s all wrapped up into some kind of weird identity thing that makes us who we are in our memory and in our plans. But I digress. Collectively, we enthusiasts badge our cars with racing decals and brand names to express our passion in connection with the past and with everyone else who badges their car in the same way. I guess it’s our way of saying, “I was here. This is who I am. I love cars just as much as you do, as an American should.”
What’s in a badge, or in a name? What makes a “Mustang,” a Mustang? What are the folks here at MRT saying with our MRT windshield banners? It seems like when it comes down to it, we are all trying to say the same thing, even though we bicker over who has the sexiest badge or the catchiest name. This weekend, I will see the “Shelby” badge at least a million times. After all, it is the Mid-America Team Shelby Meet. I don’t own a Shelby (yet) or a Mustang for that matter, but I think I get what it’s about. It’s about legend. Saying that we’re taking part in one of America’s great traditions. At MRT, we understand that.
Maybe this is why we, like thousands others, flock to the Tulsa Marriott every year and feel the same excitement and sense of variety that we always do. We see great cars, great people and have tons of fun. We will do it for many years to come.
Hope to run into you on the road, at the track or in a show! Stay tuned for updates,
- Corinne @ MRT.
Before your head spins with all my questions, I believe a preliminary query is in order, one that unifies the three I just rattled off: What is “it”? What is it that we love so dearly?
Let me propose an answer: We love the legend. Automotive passions are a great American pastime, woven into the fabric of our very livelihood over the course of the past century and a quarter. By livelihood I mean our industry, our leisure, our families.
The American automotive tradition incorporates all three of these elements. MRT, being a small business based in America’s motor city capital (Detroit, MI), knows firsthand that cars can pay the bills. The automotive industry converts America’s raw materials into vehicles for transport and, for fun. Yes, fun. If you’ve never zipped around corners with your knuckles white and your hair blowing around, I’m sorry to tell you that you are missing out. It’s a feeling that’s unique. That is, not found anywhere else at any other time on Earth. Which goes back to the notion of legend I brought up earlier. The uniqueness of the automotive hobby, lifestyle, passion (whatever you call it) makes it legendary: timeless, irresistible. So infectious that every year, tons of people plan their family vacations around car shows in Las Vegas, Tulsa, Carlisle, Myrtle Beach and Indianapolis – you name the place and I bet us “car nuts” are there.
We’re proud of it. Our heritage, our innovation, our uniqueness. (Maybe we think that the uniqueness of automotive experiences rubs off on us! lol.) It’s all wrapped up into some kind of weird identity thing that makes us who we are in our memory and in our plans. But I digress. Collectively, we enthusiasts badge our cars with racing decals and brand names to express our passion in connection with the past and with everyone else who badges their car in the same way. I guess it’s our way of saying, “I was here. This is who I am. I love cars just as much as you do, as an American should.”
What’s in a badge, or in a name? What makes a “Mustang,” a Mustang? What are the folks here at MRT saying with our MRT windshield banners? It seems like when it comes down to it, we are all trying to say the same thing, even though we bicker over who has the sexiest badge or the catchiest name. This weekend, I will see the “Shelby” badge at least a million times. After all, it is the Mid-America Team Shelby Meet. I don’t own a Shelby (yet) or a Mustang for that matter, but I think I get what it’s about. It’s about legend. Saying that we’re taking part in one of America’s great traditions. At MRT, we understand that.
Maybe this is why we, like thousands others, flock to the Tulsa Marriott every year and feel the same excitement and sense of variety that we always do. We see great cars, great people and have tons of fun. We will do it for many years to come.
Hope to run into you on the road, at the track or in a show! Stay tuned for updates,
- Corinne @ MRT.
