11/3/09
As I watched CNBC this morning, an ad appeared for the new Caddy SRX, which, from what I’ve read, is either a terrific vehicle or a major disappointment. I haven’t driven this one yet, so I have no opinion of my own on this vehicle, but this uncharacteristic lack of an opinion has no bearing on this post. The ad, typical of most Caddy ads since the “Welcome to the world of gentlemen, gentlemen” ad of several years ago, was quite inane. (Clearly, the quality of Cadillac ads has clearly not kept pace with the continuing improvement in the Cadillac product, but I digress.) One particular annoyance in this ad caught my attention: The camera zooms in on the young driver’s right hand as she pretends to shift her automatic transmission. Okay, maybe it was one of those vestigial manumatics that she was pretending to shift, but it wasn’t a manual; the SRX is unavailable with a manual. This “let’s pretend we’re really driving” approach is by no means unique to Caddy advertising; I distinctly remember a Buick ad of a few years ago when a similar young driver pretended to shift her automatic equipped LaCrosse. If you watch enough car ads, you’ll notice legions of steerers pretending to be drivers.
So as an aficionado of real manual transmissions, and as an observer of human nature, I have one question:
How many drivers of manual transmissions pretend they have automatic transmissions?
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