america
a
s I’msureyou know,this
GenerationXer isjust aswoke
asany Millennial.Orrather
most Millennials:there’s no
way I couldkeepupwith
HarryandMeghan,whooperateona whole
higherplaneofsocialjusticeandpolitical
correctness.
Soasa heartbreakinglyliberalcustodian
ofallthatisconsiderate, I’mdelightedthat
Mercedes-BenzinAmericahasbeenworking
hard togetlittlegirlsinterestedinmodel
cars, whichwilleventuallyleadthemtoa
stellarcareerinmotorsport.
TheGermancarmakerisgivingthousands
ofgirlsacrossAmericaa specialdie-cast
Matchbox replicaofa 1962 Argentinianroad
GrandPrix-winningMercedes-Benz 22 0SE.
Themodel,Mercedestellsthem,was driven
bythree-timeEuropeanrallychampion
Ewy Rosqvist, a woman.Ifshewas able
toshowhermenfolkhowtowin,then
surelyyounggirlscouldtoo, thecompany
reasons.
“If you give a girla toy car, wouldshe
imaginewinninga raceorwouldshetrade
it infora teaset?”MercedesUSAponders
initsblurbtosupportitscampaignto
“tackletheissueofgenderstereotypes.
Apparently, researcherssay most young
girlswouldratheroptfortheteaset,
thankstobeliefsformedatanearlyage
thatsometoysare meantforboysand
othersforgirls.
To“challengetheseperceptions”,
Mercedesteamedupwithtoymaker
Matteltoshowchildren“theycanaspire
tobeanddoanythingtheydesire when
there are nolimits”.
Thisisallveryadmirable, andI truly
weepa woketearofjoy attheinclusivity
ofit all.But I havetopointouta holein
thisapproach:Americajust doesn’t do
rallyverywell.
Americanshavenever won an
internationalrallychampionship—indeed,
theyhavehardlyeverhostedany. Thecountry’s own rallyseries, RallyAmerica,
fi zzledoutin 2017 andguesswhat:the
reigningchampionisnotAmerican.
You canunderstandwhy America
doesn’t dorallyif you consideroneof
themost enduringcomplaintsabout
Americancarsishowtheydon’t perform
well onbends. Rallyisfullofbends,
whichare lappeduponthewholeby
Japanese, FrenchandKoreanmodels.
You couldsay theFocusistechnicallyan
Americancar, butit’s notreally.
I’mallingettingmore girlstodrive in
motorsport,butmaybeMercedesshould
tryfora more realisticandcontemporary
goal,like NascarorevenFormula1.
I’msure Danicawouldhelp.“You canunderstandwhy americadoesn’t
do rally if you consideroneof themost
enduringcomplaintsaboutamericancars
is how they don’t performwell on bends.
rally is full of bends...”roadwarrior
avidtravellerandchronic
petrolheadrichardwhiteheadhas
driveninmorethan 50 countriesthisweek