Getting’ Sporty: The art of the sports car, OC, and Pacific Coast Highway

We’ve all had the dream:  A beautiful Orange County day, drenched in the gorgeous glow of the Southern California sun, tooling down Pacific Coast Highway (observing the speed limit, of course), appropriate scene-setting music blaring from the radio.  Since we live in OC, it’s a pretty standard scenario to imagine; if it isn’t, please make it one as soon as possible, as it is quite therapeutic.  Yet as common as it is, it still leaves open one very important variable to factor into the overall fantasy of legally cruising the famed coastal road.  That is, what kind of sports car are you driving?

This is an important question that shouldn’t be taken lightly.  It is serious enough, in fact, it bears repeating that as you imagine the trek down PCH, whatever ride you envision yourself in has got to be a sports car.  Accept no substitutes.  Yes, you may love the beautiful luxury sedan that is sitting in your garage, and you may relish the concept of getting behind its wheel because of the power and intrigue that naturally comes with owning such a fine vehicle.  However, chances are great that they do not exactly coax the inner Steve McQueen that resides in all of us to rise to the surface and play.  But a sports car would, and that feeling of cool slickness that comes with feeling like the late movie star is exactly what zipping through a picturesque road such as PCH should.

As far as what sports car fulfills your fantasy, keep one thing in mind.  Not only does the vehicle you choose reflect your personal taste, in a way, it also reflects a projection of the Orange County image.  This is rather important, since OC has so many parts to its overall personality.  After all, we are talking about a county that is made up of equal parts casual beachside charm, entertainment force, business presence, and influential affluence.  Any car that you select for your mythical drive down PCH would reflect one, many, or even all of these angles in a refreshingly unique way.

How so, you ask?  Take a Porsche, for example:  Small, peppy, and uncomplicated, full of spunk and energy.  If sports cars were dogs, it would almost need to classify itself as a plucky terrier.  It’s great to look at and even greater to drive, yet at the same time it appears unassuming and basic – not as much as a Corvette, but certainly in the echelon right above.  Therefore, it stands to reason that this legendary sports car perfectly reflects the fun, relaxed side of Orange County; the kind of energy that seems to flow through its beach communities like gravy over mashed potatoes.  So much so, it seems easier to picture a Porsche chilling in a parking spot down in Huntington State Beach than it does for any other sports vehicle.

Contrast that with a sports car that has a little more slick practicality to it, such as a Camaro or a Nissan Skyline.   Come to think of it, most sports cars put out by non-luxury automobile labels – your Fords, your Mazdas, your Dodges – can handily fit this bill.  They are sleek and stylish, to be sure, but they also look a little more responsible in their playful desires.  These are the type of cars that can nicely blend into the elevated parking lot at Disneyland or South Coast Plaza when parked, but will turn heads once its wheels are set in motion.   And they most definitely turn heads. (Exhibit A:  the magnificent brilliance that is the Shelby Cobra.  Yowza.)

Then there is the class of sports cars that create a magnificent feeling of power and influence as well as grace and speed.  You know them, you love them:  BMW; Mercedes Benz; Audi; Jaguar.  Just the names of these manufacturers alone seem to signify that their drivers have exceptional business sense, which in turn, can create a rather irresistible feeling of confidence in the guy or gal who is moving it forward.  And it goes without saying that this kind of ambience is magnified rather brilliantly when you are motoring down PCH, enjoying some stellar tunes with the top down (because if you are having a fantasy about the ultimate drive down PCH, you better be in a convertible).  Even if work has hit a rough patch, the thought of driving this kind of car down the coast will cause you to forget such sorrows.

But let’s say you own a Porsche, or a Nissan Skyline, or a BMW.  Heck, you own all three, either presently or at one time or another.  Or maybe you realize that this dream ride down PCH is, indeed, a dream, and therefore you elect a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, or some sort of bold, over the top car of that ilk.  Needless to say that these head-turners are perfect symbols of the type of financial success that has given Orange County the deserved reputation as an opulent playground.  This is perfectly fine, mind you:  Thanks to shows like “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” it would appear that a chunk of the population believes that we practically utilize Porsches for our DMV driving tests.  Why not play up to this mindset a little bit?

So as you can see, any sports car your mind pretends to climb into not only invariably points back to just how rich in character Orange County is, but it also celebrates each aspect of OC life rather well.  Granted, the descriptions of the cars and their personalities can be deconstructed as nothing more than a theory, if you happen to be a person that views any joy that can be pulled from driving through a cynical eye.  But here’s the beautiful thing about this theory if you choose to view it as such – you can actually take it out for a test drive (pun intended).  If you have access to a sports car of any kind, it is important that you hop into its driver’s seat, turn the ignition, and head down to PCH post-haste.  Then again, if you have the means to access some sporting wheels, you owe it to yourself to turn the fantasy of the robust PCH cruise into a reality, if only to let your inner McQueen come up for some air.

By Rich Manning