I owned several Cadillacs in my working years. Why? Because I needed the room inside and in the trunk they provided. i had three daughters and a step-daughter and we all traveled together on vacations and other trips. I also had a middle management job with a public utility and was expected to have a car that I could use to take high management people to lunch and to meetings. I usually owned one that was 2 to 4 years old because I could not afford a new one.
But the cars I loved to drive were my 1974 Datsun 260z and my 1981 Toyota Corolla. Those were good cars and fun to drive. The Caddies were crap with leather seats.
In recent years, even though I am older and can afford a Cadillac or Lincoln or even a Lexus, I've found that my favorite car is still my 1995 Toyota Camry. It has 210K + miles on the odometer, but it starts every time, has a nice ride, and everything works. I drive it several times a week and the damn thing won't die and it's now 20 years old. I also own a recent model of Hyundai Sonata - a very good and reliable car. But when my wife and I bought it a couple years ago we drove everything out there - including some high-end models. The difference between the Sonata we bought and most of the other cars we drove that cost tens of thousands more were insignificant. For my wife, most of the others were far too technical and we realized that she would never master the use of the more complex radio and navigation systems.
Looking back, other than the big trunk and extra seating space (in those days all cars had bench seats in front and back), the big Caddies, Buicks, Lincolns and Chryslers offered no advantages at all. In fact, they were harder to park, more expensive to insure, used more gas, were far more expensive to maintain and for the most part were ugly. I remember my subordinates at the public utility I worked at laughing at me when I pulled into the company parking lot in my 1974 Cadillac Fleetwood. "Here comes Mr. JV in his 'Jew canoe'!" So for me, other than space for my family, having a big car was not much of an advantage, but more of an embarrassment. My then wife loved riding in the car but preferred to drive her VW bug to work. A small woman, she really hated driving that beast, because it made her look like a 12-year old driving a truck.
Cadillacs, Chryslers and Lincolns, big Mercedes and BMWs were not very good cars - and were not that much fun to drive.
Some of you might think that for the WT leaders being chauffeured around in a big Caddy or Lincoln would be a big deal. My guess is that except for Rutherford who proudly showed off his Cadillacs, for the others it might have been more embarrassing. I think that is why most of the cars leased by the Watchtower's own auto rental companies are most Buicks (and equivalents). Big, comfortable, etc. - but not too flashy - especially for COs, DOs and Branch Overseers. Not sure what they drive and ride in in Europe. Does anyone here know?
JV
