I’ve been looking into getting a new car lately. Every car I’ve had over the last 25 years has had four-wheel drive. When it came time for a new car a few years back, I went for the most economical car within my budget. I ended up with a Mini Cooper Clubman. It’s a great car. It’s rated as getting 37 miles per gallon combined. Mine did much better. I consistently got 40. Maybe it’s because I have the standard transmission. I’ve lived with the car for 50,000 miles. As much as I’ve tried, it just doesn’t work for my lifestyle. The area in the back isn’t big enough for all of the equipment I need in my everyday life. To be honest, the thing scares me on the L.A. freeways. To the uninitiated, people are constantly crashing into the backs of other people. It’s like bumper cars out there. I’m not sure I would survive being crunched from behind in that car. The biggest problem: No four-wheel drive. I’m a guy who does some off-roading, but more so, a lot of skiing. Anyone who’s been in the High Sierras knows that a blizzard can happen at any moment during the winter. My goal was to find the least expensive, yet capable, SUV I could get. The two finalists in my search became the Wrangler Unlimited and the Toyota FJ Cruiser. Like most people in the civilized world, I did most of my research on the Internet, reading several reviews of both vehicles. Every review listed both cars as capable off-road vehicles. Just about every reviewer said these cars offer rough rides. On my recent trip to Mammoth Lakes, California, I rented the unlimited. I ended up not liking it. It burned lots of fuel and was under-powered. But you know what? The ride wasn’t so bad. Last week I test drove the FJ Cruiser. It did seem to have ample power. Once again, the ride wasn’t so bad. The current car I’m driving is supposed to have a rough ride. Again, I find it quite comfortable. This leads me to my thought. Have we become that much of a pussy nation? We can’t handle a little road noise? We can feel one bump in the road? Do we really need ten-speaker sound systems? And climate control for passengers and drivers? Individually heated seats to keep our tushies warm? Plush carpet? And one of my favorite pussy features: Keyless entry. Are we so lazy that we can’t stick a key in a hole? Don’t get me started on back up cameras. Have we lost the ability to use a rearview mirror, or to simply turn around and look? Cars are not entertainment centers. Why do we have video players in cars? We can’t be without television for one second? Is this what we’ve become? I told you that to tell you this. Gyms have become just as bad as the auto world. I’ve often said people who sell gym memberships are no better than car salesmen. They gym system has followed the car world by making things too plush. Let me explain. When I started working out in 1972 at the ripe old age of 10, the gym I worked out in had barbells, dumbbells, power racks for squats and benches for bench pressing. The surface of the bench was made of wood. There was no upholstery. That gym is the antithesis of what I walk into today. There’s actually a gym on the west side of L.A. that has valet parking. It’s not the only one, by the way. People don’t want to walk from the parking lot to the gym where they will get on a treadmill and….walk! I’ve been in gyms that have elevators to the second floor. You can get out of the elevator and get on a…stair machine! Gyms are also cluttered with weight lifting machines, all designed to go in one direction. Unlike with free weight, you have to balance nothing. I spend a lot of time listening to people wax poetic about core strength. Trust me, if you’re free weight squatting, benching, cleaning or shoulder pressing, you will be working your…core! Some gyms barely have a free weight section. I think it’s one of the biggest injustices in fitness in years. While I’m on the subject, you won’t get in shape using an oversized beach ball. Do situps like a man…or a woman, if you happen to be one. If you’re not sure what a situp should look like, watch any Rocky movie. It’ll have more than enough regimens. In case you are wondering what I decided on, I went with the FJ Cruiser. Unfortunately, it came with keyless entry.
