Pwned at Kroger

One of the things I really like about the Heart of Gold is that it's a very stealthy pocket rocket. To unknowing eyes, it looks just like every other five-door Mazda 3 on the road (of which there are many). Only the different wheels and the MazdaSpeed badges really set it apart. It's a subtle effect.

So, yesterday, I'm loading groceries into the hatch at the local Kroger. In the spot next to me is an older, balder, paunchier guy, doing the same thing with a Honda Pilot. While I'm halfway in the hatch, I hear from the direction of the Pilot, "these cars are about the coolest ones I've seen in a long time."

I look up. It's obvious the guy is talking to me, but I don't really know why. "You mean this?", I ask, pointing at my car.

"Yeah," he responds enthusiastically. "It's one of those Mazda 3s, right?"

"It's a MazdaSpeed3, yes." I emphasized that bit, 'cause I wanted to be sure he had the right fixation. Regular 3s, even five-door variants, are a dime a dozen. Don't get me wrong, they're good cars - a 3 sedan won H/S at the SCCA Solo National Championships last year - but they're just compact people movers, same as Civics and Foci. Maybe he was a car guy?

We continue to make a little small talk as I walked around behind his Pilot to the shopping cart corral.* Pilot guy talks about how his vehicle's too big, what with gas prices and now that it's just him and the wife. I was playing along, thinking he was drooling over my ride - a rare occurrence in my life (outside of autocrosses).

Then came the kicker.

"Yeah, I was thinking about picking up one of those - a zippy little 5-speed . . ." I didn't actually hear the rest. I mumbled something about getting an MX-5 if he really only needed two seats. But mostly, I was just getting out of there.

He wasn't a car guy. All MazdaSpeed3s have 6-speed transmissions. A car guy would know that. The 5-speeds are relegated to the base models. So here was this guy, drooling over my car for exactly what it isn't - the base model everyday Mazda 3.

Shit. I finally have a daily driver that is desired by those in the know, but the guy in the Kroger parking lot thinks it's a regular econobox.

Sometimes it doesn't pay to be subtle.

* NOTE: When I become supreme overlord of - well, anywhere - the first up against the wall will be the jacknuts who leave shopping carts in parking spaces!