My Survivor Car
The Scriptures say... God brought animals "to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals." (Genesis 2:19&20) Whether you believe the Scriptures or not, you gotta agree that we've been naming things since before history. And many things; flowers, trees, animals, often have several names... common and scientific ... and pets get personal names (cat, felis silvestris catus, Roy).
But we don't just name animals, we also name every action & physical thing. That's pretty much what language is, simply naming things.
And so with our cars. There are the general names; car or automobile. Brand names like Studebaker or Pontiac. Model names like Hawk. Accessory package names like Flight, Power, Silver, or Golden. There are style names like sports, pickups, SUVs, and collectors. And collector cars have names; classic, muscle, antique, restomod, original, custom, hotrod... and now the topic of this thread... the 'survivor' car.
I find it irritating on a hike, when some know-it-all is calling out the names of everything. The plants could care less about what we have named them... and I agree. They get along fine among themselves without names. But its our nature and our compulsion to name them.
Many names have exact meanings. But others change definitions over time. The Blackfoot Indians may have their names changed several times through out their lifetimes. I have a name, a short form, and nicknames; Thomas, Thom, Rafe Hollister. And words; like hot, cool, bad, gay, gang banger, text, meme, partner, insane, have changed meanings in recent history.
And then there is the all time greatest word in the English language (and many languages) that can be used as most any part of speech; noun, verb, adverb, adjective, pronoun, interjection, and conjunction. It can mean good or bad. It is actually seldom used for it original meaning... the word 'f**k'. I love this word, in a linguistic scholarly way.
And now we are wrestling over the word 'Survivor'. Why? For one, the term has not made it into any mainstream dictionary... yet. But there are plenty of definitions with magazines, forums, newsletters, car shows, auctions, and insurance companies. Your definition of the word will change depending on whether you hold either Car & Driver or the Bill Nessler Blue Lake Car Show as authoritative.
I think there is another reason, 'Survivor' is simply fun to say, it rolls off the tongue. It has connotations with age, ruggedness, individuality, oppression, exclusivity, war, and style.
Most of our popular cuss words are phonetically cathartic to say. Hearing them may create stress, but saying them relieves stress. Think of some cuss words... say them nicely... pretty lame eh? These words are meant to be spoken with emotional intensity, to be pronounced with clear diction, every consonant and vowel clearly enunciated... that is the satisfaction of using them!
Of course, Survivor will never have the emotional satisfaction of a cuss word... but it definitely has a greater emotional appeal than the words 'stock, classic, custom, or restoration'. So most any one would have a motive to use the survivor label for their car.
My '56 PowerHawk looks like it has survived an eventful 69 years. Passers by occasionally call it a survivor. But as I understand it, with mag wheels, paint job, Prius power steering, Sienna power seats, shaved hood scoop, Turner brakes, and T-5 trans, ... it doesn't actually qualify. At least not to those in the know. But to the man in the street, I can call it a survivor. It's especially satisfying to call it a survivor within earshot of the annal retentive collector guys and gals. And to watch them sidle up and correct me with fervent condescension... hilarious!
If I have said anything offensive to any of you, please understand... I have accomplished my goal and I am quite delighted! I'm just like that sometimes.
Rafe Hollister, survivor... my old bones still have over 75% of their original parts, tho some are in quite poor working order.
PS: This article was inspired by 64V19816's post, "How do you define a "survivor car"?"
But we don't just name animals, we also name every action & physical thing. That's pretty much what language is, simply naming things.
And so with our cars. There are the general names; car or automobile. Brand names like Studebaker or Pontiac. Model names like Hawk. Accessory package names like Flight, Power, Silver, or Golden. There are style names like sports, pickups, SUVs, and collectors. And collector cars have names; classic, muscle, antique, restomod, original, custom, hotrod... and now the topic of this thread... the 'survivor' car.
I find it irritating on a hike, when some know-it-all is calling out the names of everything. The plants could care less about what we have named them... and I agree. They get along fine among themselves without names. But its our nature and our compulsion to name them.
Many names have exact meanings. But others change definitions over time. The Blackfoot Indians may have their names changed several times through out their lifetimes. I have a name, a short form, and nicknames; Thomas, Thom, Rafe Hollister. And words; like hot, cool, bad, gay, gang banger, text, meme, partner, insane, have changed meanings in recent history.
And then there is the all time greatest word in the English language (and many languages) that can be used as most any part of speech; noun, verb, adverb, adjective, pronoun, interjection, and conjunction. It can mean good or bad. It is actually seldom used for it original meaning... the word 'f**k'. I love this word, in a linguistic scholarly way.
And now we are wrestling over the word 'Survivor'. Why? For one, the term has not made it into any mainstream dictionary... yet. But there are plenty of definitions with magazines, forums, newsletters, car shows, auctions, and insurance companies. Your definition of the word will change depending on whether you hold either Car & Driver or the Bill Nessler Blue Lake Car Show as authoritative.
I think there is another reason, 'Survivor' is simply fun to say, it rolls off the tongue. It has connotations with age, ruggedness, individuality, oppression, exclusivity, war, and style.
Most of our popular cuss words are phonetically cathartic to say. Hearing them may create stress, but saying them relieves stress. Think of some cuss words... say them nicely... pretty lame eh? These words are meant to be spoken with emotional intensity, to be pronounced with clear diction, every consonant and vowel clearly enunciated... that is the satisfaction of using them!
Of course, Survivor will never have the emotional satisfaction of a cuss word... but it definitely has a greater emotional appeal than the words 'stock, classic, custom, or restoration'. So most any one would have a motive to use the survivor label for their car.
My '56 PowerHawk looks like it has survived an eventful 69 years. Passers by occasionally call it a survivor. But as I understand it, with mag wheels, paint job, Prius power steering, Sienna power seats, shaved hood scoop, Turner brakes, and T-5 trans, ... it doesn't actually qualify. At least not to those in the know. But to the man in the street, I can call it a survivor. It's especially satisfying to call it a survivor within earshot of the annal retentive collector guys and gals. And to watch them sidle up and correct me with fervent condescension... hilarious!
If I have said anything offensive to any of you, please understand... I have accomplished my goal and I am quite delighted! I'm just like that sometimes.
Rafe Hollister, survivor... my old bones still have over 75% of their original parts, tho some are in quite poor working order.
PS: This article was inspired by 64V19816's post, "How do you define a "survivor car"?"
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