Feeling Fake

I like my job as an automotive blogger. There are days, though, that I feel like a fake.

Today was one of those days. One of my colleagues from Motor Trend brought one of the all-new Dodge Challengers to our office. While admiring its lines, both inside and out, I couldn't help but notice it was a stick shift.

I can't drive stick. Neither of my parents drove stick and it wasn't part of the driver's ed. Most folks in the U.S., in fact, can't drive stick.

But the auto industry is different. Just like how doctors can brag about being able to stay up three days/nights in a row without sleep, auto journalists and enthusiasts puff up their chests (and breasts) when they proudly declare they can drive a stick, prefer stick shift, and the only "real" driver is a stick driver. One journalist/exec, whom I admired, really brought that point home when he asked a tableful of journalists if they'd consider anyone in the industry who drove an automatic to be a true auto journalists. You can guess their answer.

Don't pity me. They have a point. I've already taken a few lessons from some of my colleagues and have researched driving schools. I will one day master the stick. Er, the one in a car, that is.