Tell me a lie with the best of intentions

I want you all to take a good hard look at this car:

THAT, is an entry level Mercedes Benz C class.

Now notice what happens when you swap logos with the new Toyota Corolla:
They become the same car.
This trend of designing German cars to look Japanese saddens me. I don't think it's worth getting a German car anymore, at least in the lower range. The C class and BMW 3 series really aren't German looking cars. I mean, just look at the rear end of the 3 series:

Now the Honda City:
See the resemblance?
It isn't about outright COPYING here. It's about a loss of passion. It's almost as if the design teams for Merc and BMW just didn't think it was worth the effort.

For a long time, I thought there wasn't any hope left for entry level German cars. Sure, VW still is pretty good, but they're not exactly associated with luxury here in JB(I can't speak for the rest of Malaysia, all I know is that BMW and Mercedes are the most common luxury cars here.)

But then, I noticed something.

I noticed a car.

On the way to college, especially when I'm driving, I end up behind this car. I always let it over take me (and take over me, metaphorically speaking).

The weirdest part is, it's an Audi.







It looks genuinely good. Look at how much better it looks after the facelift.
See? In 2007, it looked Japanese-ish. The shape of the boot was like a 2002 Camry, with the taillights of a 2004 Honda Civic. But the 2008 model is just... jaw droppingly good. It looks like European. And, guess what? It's cheaper than the C class and the BMW entry models.

The smallest engine comes with a turbo, and is just a 1.8.
Which is sexy. Because the road tax is really really low. And there's really something quite nice about the way 1.8T looks on the back. (I should know. I stare at it all the way to college.)

Maybe I don't like the A4 as I think I do. Maybe I only like it because it genuinely looks good. I think it's the best thing I've seen on the road so far. Sure, all those super cars look good, but they're so... untouchable, you know? When you see a Lamborghini pass by, maybe you'll choke on your own saliva for a second, then it passes by and you never think about it again. Then later you'll mention that you saw a Lamborghini on the road to a friend. That's about it.

But the Audi A4 is different. It's not the fastest thing on the road, so most of the time I can kinda stalk it. Which isn't creepy cause the driver isn't a lady. It looks as good as a supercar (in my eyes, at least), and it's really really really cool, even though it has corny LED lights.


Just look at the second photograph of the Audi. See that wide, open front grille? Who does that? Honda doesn't. Toyota doesn't. VolksWagen hints at it sometimes, but no one has actually dared to pull it off.

I think my obsession over this car has nothing to do with the car itself. The Audi A4 is temporary, but what it represents is what I admire in the system. Mercedes and Nokia are the bland, corporate entities of their respective industry. Audi and Apple are the opposite. Yes, they're corporations as well, but at least they're not soulless.

Yes, that's the word I'm looking for.

The A4 has soul. It looks expensive, like it's worth RM235000. (The C Class looks like it's worth a little less than a Camry, which is pretty uncool, considering the Camry is RM80,000 cheaper than the C Class).

It looks efficient. The 1.8T on the A4 makes it look like it's got an engine that's efficient. Big, scar german cars tend to hover around 2.4 - 5 litre engines. 1.8 would have looked stupid and cheap. The 'T' makes it look like it know what it's doing. As far as I can tell, a turbo essentially takes the exhaust fumes that still have a little petrol in it, and stuffs it back into the engine for a little boost.


wait, why am i talking about a goddamn car?

Ughhh..

Because I have a throat infection.

Hey look Sunway has finally realized what it is:
A god damn toilet.


And look again! Gabriel is a fooking prawn from District 9.

What a missed opportunity for lols.

This headache is messing with everything. I should have been studying. Or blogging properly at least.

Instead, this. Blearghh..

Shit, trials already!