What happens when you go to a premier car show? How do you feel? How does the beauty of brand-new shiny cars affect your senses? Does it leave you wanting more? Does it make you feel like you need to be much more?
These are questions that can only be answered by those who took the time to go to the magnificent Total Motor Show held on the 18th to the 20th of September 2015. This event only happens once every two years and this is quite regrettable. It should be held every year or better yet every month.
I always hear about the machines that engulfed those who had ever attended the motor show and the life-altering experiences that they had once they attended the show. This time I had to see it for myself. So I made my way to KICC where I was met by a huge crowd trying to get into the venue and I could not help myself, I had to look at the people around me and try guessing their motivation for being there.
1. The Petrol heads
These are individuals who have an irrational love for anything automotive. They are fascinated by cars so much that they always talk about cars in any setting where they can get a chance. You would think well that’s all men right? Ok, so this is how you know that you are a petrolhead.
- You are a fan of BBC’s Top Gear and have watched at least 17 of the 22 seasons done so far.
- You prefer driving yourself everywhere you go no matter how much you spend on petrol.
- You buy your girlfriend fewer gifts than you buy your car accessories and parts.
- You enjoy your trips to the service station and at times even do the service yourself.
- Your face lights up when people around you talk about cars and you always want to contribute even though some of the people are strangers.
2. The Dreamer
The dreamer has never owned a car or just recently owned his/her first car. They want to own a better car than they have now in as much as they haven’t placed which one exactly. The dreamer has no limits they see themselves in some of the most exotic and expensive machines in the yard even though they have no idea what they need to do in order to achieve their dreams. Dreamers took selfies with all the cars they could master. However, one car, in particular, was a crowd favourite. The Chevy Camaro ZJ1.
3. The Family Man
This man saw an opportunity to take out his kids to an event he could actually enjoy. I pitied the family man as he struggled to keep the kids in check since they were too excited and running all over the place filled with adrenaline-enhancing fizzy drinks. Most of the cars on display had to be locked since the kids would run into these cars and start fiddling with the dash controls. The family man was a bit realistic spending more time looking at the mid-range SUVs like the Tiguan, Nissan Xtrail, Subaru Forester, Renault and very little time on the Subaru STI and 500 horsepower Chevy Camaro.
4. The Rad Chick
This girl is always hanging out with the boys. Most of her friends are boys and she was here to show that she could try to keep up with their fascination for cars. This chic was mainly impressed with the aesthetics not minding about the consumption, engine performance etc. This girl spent more time looking at the Porsche Cayenne and the BMW X6 types of vehicles. Such a girl is such a gem and many guys would be lucky to know one.
5. The Achievers
These were the serious buyers in the bunch. The whole family, the wife/husband at hand, mostly accompanied them. The achievers asked the tough questions and insisted on getting into the cars for a closer look. Most of these people spent a lot of time in the cars and talked for a long with the salespeople. It is because of such people that it was rumoured that 3 Porsche Cayennes’ were actually purchased on Sunday. The achievers were the life of the party for the dealers in the showrooms validating the reasons behind holding such a key event ever so often.
6. The Clueless
These are the people who know nothing about cars or to put it simply they are me. The clueless were ever so shocked at the prices of the cars most of which were quoted in USD. They would ask questions like “What do you mean the Nissan X-Trail cost Ksh 5.2 million?” My brother almost chased me out of the event. The clueless did not know what car they were looking at or what brand that car was. We knew the Toyota and Nissans anything else was just too much to handle unless it looked pretty nice.
7. The ‘Wannabe’ Jeremy Clarksons
The final group of people I noticed. These guys want to commentate about cars much like the famous Top Gear BBC presenter Jeremy Clarkson does on TV. They were pretty annoying and some facts they gave were a little misguided. I followed some of them around until I learnt of this as some dealers would correct them sometimes more than once.
My visit to the Total Motor show was quite interesting. More than the cars around the place I found the best exhibits at the KICC to be the humans. We all want to be more, to feel like more, we all want to feel in control and show our strength/power and I guess when you are standing next to a brand new shiny vehicle, feeling that smell of new rubber and untainted leather seats our desires, feelings and insecurities come to light. That way watching the attendees made my day that day.
