1 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:13,875 Mike Rugnetta: Friends, hello, and welcome to Never Post, a 2 00:00:13,875 --> 00:00:16,195 podcast for and about the Internet. I'm your host, Mike 3 00:00:16,195 --> 00:00:20,915 Rugnetta, and we have a revving show for you this week. Producer 4 00:00:20,915 --> 00:00:25,875 Georgia talks with Rory Caroll of Alloy Mag about car culture 5 00:00:25,875 --> 00:00:32,850 online generally and the Renault Twingo specifically. How did the 6 00:00:32,850 --> 00:00:38,930 discontinued darling automobile of the Internet meme set attain 7 00:00:39,170 --> 00:00:43,825 such notoriety, and how does the adoption of this European 8 00:00:43,825 --> 00:00:49,185 compact reflect larger shifts in car culture, especially as it 9 00:00:49,185 --> 00:00:55,530 has moved, like everything else, increasingly online? But first, 10 00:00:55,530 --> 00:00:56,730 we're gonna take a quick break. 11 00:00:56,730 --> 00:00:59,450 You're gonna listen to some ads unless you're on the member 12 00:00:59,450 --> 00:01:04,090 feed. And when we return, Georgia, Rory, Car Culture, and 13 00:01:04,090 --> 00:01:06,410 the adorable Renault Twingo. 14 00:01:31,935 --> 00:01:35,135 Georgia Hampton: The racing video game Gran Turismo is an 15 00:01:35,135 --> 00:01:39,215 extremely reputable, if not the most reputable driving simulator 16 00:01:39,215 --> 00:01:43,215 on the market. A car enthusiast's dream game, which 17 00:01:43,215 --> 00:01:47,600 promises that all drivable cars offer extremely realistic 18 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:51,040 handling, mimicking the way that each one of these vehicles would 19 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:55,200 actually behave if you really drove them on a racetrack. And 20 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:59,815 in April of this year, Gran Turismo announced three new cars 21 00:01:59,815 --> 00:02:04,215 that players could drive in GT seven. Two of the three cars in 22 00:02:04,215 --> 00:02:08,295 this update were predictably racy for a racing game. The 23 00:02:08,295 --> 00:02:12,560 first was a now retired Porsche nine sixty four, a variant of 24 00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:16,400 the nine eleven series that was only produced between 1989 and 25 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:17,440 1994. 26 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:22,240 The second, the Yang Wang u nine is, according to the company's 27 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:26,855 website, the fastest EV production car in the world with 28 00:02:26,855 --> 00:02:33,095 a top speed of 308.33 miles per hour. It belongs to a class of 29 00:02:33,095 --> 00:02:37,815 luxury cars called supercars. Lavishly designed vehicles that 30 00:02:37,815 --> 00:02:42,540 are so exclusive and so terrifyingly powerful that 31 00:02:42,540 --> 00:02:48,220 they're basically works of art. Cars like this are sold for 32 00:02:48,220 --> 00:02:54,140 multiple millions of dollars. So while, yes, the u nine is 33 00:02:54,140 --> 00:02:57,455 technically a production car, meaning that quote unquote 34 00:02:57,455 --> 00:03:02,335 normal people could buy them, it is impossible to do so unless 35 00:03:02,335 --> 00:03:07,455 you're a prince with an empire's worth of unimaginable wealth or 36 00:03:07,455 --> 00:03:09,775 like a billionaire oil executive. 37 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:15,000 For the vast majority of us, Gran Turismo is our one chance 38 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:19,160 to experience what it would feel like to drive this car. But as 39 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:23,240 far as I could tell from looking at reactions online, nobody in 40 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:26,765 the Gran Turismo fandom cared about the u nine or the Porsche 41 00:03:26,765 --> 00:03:30,685 nine sixty four. The exciting part of the April update to GT 42 00:03:30,685 --> 00:03:36,205 seven was the third car. This car was the most anticipated, 43 00:03:36,365 --> 00:03:40,290 most talked about, and by far the most celebrated when it was 44 00:03:40,290 --> 00:03:45,090 announced. Are you familiar with the Renault Twingo? 45 00:03:45,090 --> 00:03:47,010 Rory Carroll: Of course. That's an all timer. 46 00:03:47,170 --> 00:03:50,370 Georgia Hampton: Could you describe to me what it looks 47 00:03:50,370 --> 00:03:50,930 like? 48 00:03:51,250 --> 00:03:53,250 Rory Carroll: I mean, first of all, it's smiling. I mean, it it 49 00:03:53,250 --> 00:03:58,105 is actively it's doing the, like, anime eyes, and it has, 50 00:03:58,105 --> 00:04:01,705 like, a little tiny human smile on the front bumper. It is the 51 00:04:01,705 --> 00:04:04,665 happiest looking vehicle maybe in history. 52 00:04:04,825 --> 00:04:07,065 Georgia Hampton: That's Rory Caroll. He's an automotive 53 00:04:07,065 --> 00:04:10,060 journalist who used to run Auto Week magazine, then was the 54 00:04:10,060 --> 00:04:13,980 editor in chief at Jalopnik, and most recently launched the car 55 00:04:13,980 --> 00:04:21,260 site Alloy last October. Rory has bylines in pretty much every 56 00:04:21,260 --> 00:04:24,925 car publication. And he's the only person I'd wanna talk to 57 00:04:24,925 --> 00:04:30,285 about the fact that a 1993 Renault Twingo had somehow made 58 00:04:30,285 --> 00:04:34,045 its way onto one of the most well respected driving games of 59 00:04:34,045 --> 00:04:39,460 all time. Because as a passive observer, the kinds of cars I 60 00:04:39,460 --> 00:04:43,700 expected to see in a game like Gran Turismo were the ones I 61 00:04:43,700 --> 00:04:44,580 mentioned before. 62 00:04:44,980 --> 00:04:50,100 Extremely fast, intimidating looking cars, luxury cars, rare 63 00:04:50,100 --> 00:04:54,735 vehicles like that yangwang, or even something as unusual as a 64 00:04:54,735 --> 00:04:58,415 moon buggy, which was in fact offered in a previous update. 65 00:04:58,415 --> 00:05:00,895 Speaker 4: K. When he hits the craters and starts bouncing is 66 00:05:00,895 --> 00:05:05,775 when he gets his rooster tail, he makes sharp turns. Hey. That 67 00:05:05,775 --> 00:05:07,720 was a good stop. Those wheels just lock. 68 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:08,600 Mark off. 69 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:15,640 Georgia Hampton: But definitely not the Renault Twingo. An 70 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:18,915 affordable and dorky looking mass production car that was 71 00:05:19,155 --> 00:05:22,435 moderately popular during its thirty plus years on the market. 72 00:05:22,995 --> 00:05:28,995 Yet somehow, there it was. Its smiling face beaming back at me 73 00:05:28,995 --> 00:05:33,740 unabashed and unafraid of the two far more powerful cars that 74 00:05:33,740 --> 00:05:39,420 sat idling alongside it. And it matters that this car of all 75 00:05:39,420 --> 00:05:42,060 cars was the one that got chosen. 76 00:05:45,020 --> 00:05:48,855 Rory Carroll: You can't just throw any car in there. Like, 77 00:05:48,855 --> 00:05:51,975 there there have been cheap kind of micro cars in Gran Turismo 78 00:05:51,975 --> 00:05:55,495 since Gran Turismo started, and none of them have had this like 79 00:05:55,495 --> 00:05:59,175 mummified or or kind of like Internet moment of celebrity 80 00:05:59,175 --> 00:06:02,590 that the Twingo did when it when it joined. Right? Like, this is 81 00:06:02,590 --> 00:06:05,550 kind of like a singular thing where it's like, oh, everyone's 82 00:06:05,710 --> 00:06:09,790 just excited about the Twingo being in in Gran Turismo. 83 00:06:09,870 --> 00:06:12,750 Georgia Hampton: Even before its debut on GT seven, there's been 84 00:06:12,750 --> 00:06:16,510 a small but very vocal meaning community around the Twingo. 85 00:06:17,135 --> 00:06:20,335 People spliced in pictures of it keeping pace with a Formula one 86 00:06:20,335 --> 00:06:24,495 car or pasted it into a fake breaking news bulletin declaring 87 00:06:24,495 --> 00:06:28,815 that a Twingo just won Le Mans, an extremely prestigious 88 00:06:28,815 --> 00:06:32,570 endurance race that takes twenty four hours to complete. In real 89 00:06:32,570 --> 00:06:37,290 life, it would be completely impossible for a Twingo to win a 90 00:06:37,290 --> 00:06:41,850 race like that. It's just not powerful enough. But online, the 91 00:06:41,850 --> 00:06:42,970 Twingo could do it all. 92 00:06:45,065 --> 00:06:48,745 And putting a car like that into Gran Turismo plays into the 93 00:06:48,745 --> 00:06:52,265 joke. It's making the meme of the Twingo winning Le Mans a 94 00:06:52,265 --> 00:06:57,305 reality. Well, at least through a screen. But it also brought 95 00:06:57,305 --> 00:07:02,470 this jokiness into a much, much bigger digital spotlight. The 96 00:07:02,470 --> 00:07:06,230 meme of the Twingo was no longer the darling of a community of 97 00:07:06,230 --> 00:07:08,870 enthusiasts who had all found the same subreddit. 98 00:07:09,350 --> 00:07:14,445 Now the meme ability of this funny little car exploded across 99 00:07:14,445 --> 00:07:16,445 a broader online car culture. 100 00:07:16,685 --> 00:07:20,845 Rory Carroll: Gran Turismo is like among the, you know, 101 00:07:20,845 --> 00:07:23,165 whatever mainstream racing games. It's like, this is the 102 00:07:23,165 --> 00:07:25,565 real racing simulator. This is the most serious, which is like, 103 00:07:25,565 --> 00:07:27,405 it's great. It's incredible. It's very impressive. 104 00:07:28,205 --> 00:07:33,140 But that's that makes it so much funnier when you see a Twingo 105 00:07:33,540 --> 00:07:37,700 out of the track or like a a huge group of Twingos out on the 106 00:07:37,700 --> 00:07:40,340 track. Like, that's why it's good because it's like this is a 107 00:07:40,340 --> 00:07:45,205 cartoon car. This is a Pokemon going out and racing against 108 00:07:45,205 --> 00:07:46,965 much more serious machinery. 109 00:07:48,885 --> 00:07:52,245 Georgia Hampton: And at first, I thought that was the beginning 110 00:07:52,245 --> 00:07:56,565 and end of this. The Twingo got onto g t seven because it was a 111 00:07:56,565 --> 00:08:01,880 meme. And it was a meme because, I mean, it's called a Twingo. 112 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:07,640 And it looks the way it looks. Like, it's impossible to 113 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:11,560 overstate how much this car is just like a little guy. 114 00:08:12,245 --> 00:08:15,845 The Twingo is the kind of car a child would draw if asked to 115 00:08:15,845 --> 00:08:23,765 draw a car. It looks happy to see you. It's so cute. But if 116 00:08:23,765 --> 00:08:26,420 Gran Turismo was just looking for a car that was regularly 117 00:08:26,420 --> 00:08:29,220 being laughed at on the Internet, they'd throw a Tesla 118 00:08:29,220 --> 00:08:31,060 Cybertruck in there. No. 119 00:08:31,620 --> 00:08:36,500 The Twingo and the online community around it represents 120 00:08:36,500 --> 00:08:42,725 something else, something far, far bigger than a meme. And to 121 00:08:42,725 --> 00:08:47,765 better understand that, we have to look at how the Twingo exists 122 00:08:47,765 --> 00:08:52,750 within car culture IRL, and then how the Internet shook things 123 00:08:52,750 --> 00:09:12,725 up. As an actual car on the market, the Twingo had two huge 124 00:09:12,725 --> 00:09:16,565 benefits, affordability and accessible design. 125 00:09:16,565 --> 00:09:18,645 Rory Carroll: It's one of those cars this is like my favorite 126 00:09:18,645 --> 00:09:22,340 genre of cars, which is like a cheap car that does not punish 127 00:09:22,340 --> 00:09:25,780 you for, like, not having a lot of money. So it's like great 128 00:09:26,580 --> 00:09:29,380 design. The wheels are pushed way out into the corner, so 129 00:09:29,380 --> 00:09:32,820 there's tons of space inside and it handles really well. And the 130 00:09:32,820 --> 00:09:36,500 rear seat is on rails. Like, this was very unusual at the 131 00:09:36,500 --> 00:09:36,660 time. 132 00:09:36,660 --> 00:09:39,935 It's like a bench seat, but you could push the seat forward to 133 00:09:39,935 --> 00:09:42,655 create more trunk space and push it back to create more leg room 134 00:09:42,655 --> 00:09:46,415 so, like, adults can fit in the back of the car. And it just 135 00:09:46,415 --> 00:09:51,230 like it is one of those things where it's like thoughtfully 136 00:09:51,230 --> 00:09:54,510 designed. And again, it's it's supposed to, you know, it says 137 00:09:54,510 --> 00:09:57,230 like, hey, look, we know you don't have a lot of money, but 138 00:09:57,230 --> 00:09:59,390 that doesn't mean you have to have this miserable little car. 139 00:09:59,390 --> 00:10:01,550 Like, this is gonna be a fun, cool experience. 140 00:10:01,630 --> 00:10:04,725 Georgia Hampton: But the Twingo wasn't cool in the mainstream 141 00:10:04,725 --> 00:10:08,885 sense of the word when it came to cars. Not by a long shot. A 142 00:10:08,885 --> 00:10:14,005 cool car was more like a muscle car. Something loud and fast and 143 00:10:14,005 --> 00:10:19,300 powerful. It was the 1968 Ford Mustang GT three ninety Fastback 144 00:10:19,300 --> 00:10:21,460 driven by Steve McQueen in Bulleit. 145 00:10:21,860 --> 00:10:26,340 A car that insists upon itself in its bulk or its ability to 146 00:10:26,340 --> 00:10:35,835 beat your car in a drag race, a bully of a car. Offline, 147 00:10:35,915 --> 00:10:40,795 mainstream car culture was and still is the stuff of the quote 148 00:10:40,795 --> 00:10:45,660 unquote car guy. There are many versions of this person, but I 149 00:10:45,660 --> 00:10:50,780 picture him like this. He's a middle aged white man wearing a 150 00:10:50,780 --> 00:10:55,580 polo shirt tucked into slacks and white sneakers. Fancy watch, 151 00:10:56,060 --> 00:11:00,315 worryingly tan skin, an avid Top Gear viewer. 152 00:11:00,715 --> 00:11:03,675 He's the kind of guy who would be excited by the fact that I 153 00:11:03,675 --> 00:11:08,475 just said 1968 Ford Mustang GT three ninety Fastback and that I 154 00:11:08,475 --> 00:11:11,595 referenced the movie Bullet. As someone who's always been 155 00:11:11,595 --> 00:11:15,830 interested in cars and racing, I grew up around this iteration of 156 00:11:15,830 --> 00:11:19,590 the car guy. But regardless of his appearance, he is the 157 00:11:19,590 --> 00:11:26,705 gatekeeper of mainstream offline capital c c car culture. And it 158 00:11:26,705 --> 00:11:32,465 is a culture that has never been especially welcoming. There's 159 00:11:32,465 --> 00:11:35,425 the issue of price and who can afford to drive certain kinds of 160 00:11:35,425 --> 00:11:36,065 cars. 161 00:11:36,305 --> 00:11:40,330 The way vehicles run, what kind of machinery they use, all of 162 00:11:40,330 --> 00:11:44,890 that can become extremely technical very quickly. And if 163 00:11:44,890 --> 00:11:47,770 you don't know what all those words mean, you'd be forgiven if 164 00:11:47,770 --> 00:11:49,370 you didn't feel like participating in the 165 00:11:49,370 --> 00:11:54,170 conversation. It's very easy to make a discussion about, say, a 166 00:11:54,170 --> 00:11:58,205 Formula one car sound like an extremely dense textbook in a 167 00:11:58,205 --> 00:12:04,925 subject you never studied. The IRL car guy really only makes 168 00:12:04,925 --> 00:12:08,765 space for other car guys who have the same interests, dare I 169 00:12:08,765 --> 00:12:13,750 say, same look as he does. My experience, talking to these 170 00:12:13,750 --> 00:12:16,390 kinds of men quickly turns into a pop quiz. 171 00:12:16,550 --> 00:12:21,270 You are veritable, oh, you watch Formula One? Name five drivers 172 00:12:21,270 --> 00:12:27,975 currently on the grid. And I can, and I do, but it sucks 173 00:12:28,135 --> 00:12:32,775 every time. The car guy has dictated a lot of what has been 174 00:12:32,775 --> 00:12:37,175 deemed cool or interesting in the culture of cars for a very, 175 00:12:37,255 --> 00:12:41,250 very long time. And also notably, what wasn't cool? 176 00:12:41,250 --> 00:12:44,050 Rory Carroll: Like, I can remember conversations like, oh, 177 00:12:44,050 --> 00:12:48,050 you can't buy a NA Miata. That's a girl's car. That's a it's a 178 00:12:48,050 --> 00:12:50,930 hairdresser's car or whatever. You know, when I was a kid, and 179 00:12:50,930 --> 00:12:54,405 I think in in probably before that too, it was all about 180 00:12:54,405 --> 00:12:57,285 performance and like, oh, my thing is better than your thing. 181 00:12:57,285 --> 00:13:01,765 Like, I read in Car and Driver that my m three is faster than 182 00:13:01,765 --> 00:13:04,805 your 300 z x or whatever. 183 00:13:05,205 --> 00:13:08,200 It's better. Like, I you know, we've looked at the numbers and 184 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:12,200 proven that it it is my thing is better than yours. It was men 185 00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:15,400 trying to go fast, and, like, that was the kind of beginning 186 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:16,280 and end of it. 187 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:19,720 Georgia Hampton: In this world, the Twingo wasn't just uncool. 188 00:13:20,405 --> 00:13:24,165 It was irrelevant, uninteresting. It didn't fit the 189 00:13:24,165 --> 00:13:27,845 criteria of power, speed, and prestige that made it worth 190 00:13:27,845 --> 00:13:32,645 talking about. A Twingo would never be seen in Bullitt. Or to 191 00:13:32,645 --> 00:13:36,660 use a more contemporary car guy example, the Twingo was never 192 00:13:36,660 --> 00:13:38,980 going to be in a Fast and Furious movie. 193 00:13:42,340 --> 00:13:45,540 Dom Toretto was never going to roll up to the end of the movie 194 00:13:45,540 --> 00:13:53,435 cookout in one of these. In general, unless you are a 195 00:13:53,435 --> 00:13:55,595 certain type of person with a certain type of insider 196 00:13:55,595 --> 00:13:59,995 knowledge, car culture was not an easy thing to enter into. And 197 00:13:59,995 --> 00:14:03,755 as this community moved on to the Internet, it's easy to 198 00:14:03,755 --> 00:14:07,010 imagine that it would create an online culture that perpetuates 199 00:14:07,010 --> 00:14:11,650 an explicitly exclusionary kind of knowledge hoarding. That the 200 00:14:11,650 --> 00:14:16,530 memes would play into the highly technical, elite, oddly 201 00:14:16,530 --> 00:14:20,735 competitive culture of one upmanship that kept this world 202 00:14:20,735 --> 00:14:25,615 shut out from anyone who wasn't a stereotypical car guy. But 203 00:14:25,615 --> 00:14:31,935 what's so exciting to me is that that's not what happened at all. 204 00:14:32,575 --> 00:14:36,010 In fact, it's been the total opposite. 205 00:14:36,090 --> 00:14:38,010 Rory Carroll: Because of the Internet and, again, because of 206 00:14:38,010 --> 00:14:42,730 that dynamic around searching and kind of, like, be being a 207 00:14:42,730 --> 00:14:47,405 connoisseur, I think, like, result has been all the barrier 208 00:14:47,565 --> 00:14:51,485 barriers to entry have gotten lower because, like, it's it's 209 00:14:51,485 --> 00:14:54,765 just there are more there's more knowledge about, like, weird, 210 00:14:54,765 --> 00:14:58,045 cool, cheap cars. I think that's new too. I think, like, that 211 00:14:58,045 --> 00:15:02,140 that car culture, and I think, you know, in large part because 212 00:15:02,140 --> 00:15:06,940 of the Internet has grown to be much more inviting and much more 213 00:15:06,940 --> 00:15:09,500 inclusive, and I think it is just more fun. 214 00:15:09,740 --> 00:15:12,140 Georgia Hampton: Offline, there have always been a select few 215 00:15:12,140 --> 00:15:17,605 car people who are into weird fun cars. But online, those 216 00:15:17,605 --> 00:15:20,965 communities spread out to significantly more people than 217 00:15:20,965 --> 00:15:24,805 they could ever have reached in the physical world. Rebuilding 218 00:15:24,805 --> 00:15:29,500 the car community on the Internet somehow skirted the car 219 00:15:29,500 --> 00:15:33,740 guy and his chokehold over what qualities were needed for a car 220 00:15:33,740 --> 00:15:42,795 to be cool. Now cool can mean cute. It can mean fun. 221 00:15:43,675 --> 00:15:47,835 Like, the fact that the Twingo is just a practical, but 222 00:15:47,835 --> 00:15:51,835 beloved, goofy little guy of a car that is happy to see you, 223 00:15:52,235 --> 00:15:55,990 that's a plus on the Internet. All the things that made the 224 00:15:55,990 --> 00:15:59,430 Twingo a fringe interest for a certain community of enthusiasts 225 00:15:59,430 --> 00:16:03,590 make it the perfect thing to be celebrated online. 226 00:16:03,590 --> 00:16:06,550 Rory Carroll: A lot of meme culture, I think, like, just in 227 00:16:06,550 --> 00:16:10,385 cars, but in everything is like it's sometimes, like, less about 228 00:16:10,385 --> 00:16:14,625 the joke as far as, like, I'm gonna actually laugh at this, 229 00:16:14,625 --> 00:16:18,945 but it's more about, like, in group signaling where it's like, 230 00:16:19,105 --> 00:16:23,080 we understand this commonly. So we have, like, a sense of kind 231 00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:25,240 of community and we're speaking a language that other people 232 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:27,800 don't understand. And I think, like, the Internet car culture 233 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:35,095 is in large part driven by that, like, ability to to demonstrate 234 00:16:35,095 --> 00:16:37,975 your obscure knowledge that you know more that you're deeper in 235 00:16:37,975 --> 00:16:39,255 it than the other person. 236 00:16:39,415 --> 00:16:42,055 Georgia Hampton: But in the case of the online Twingo community, 237 00:16:42,375 --> 00:16:46,615 the obscure knowledge isn't necessarily a ton of specs that 238 00:16:46,615 --> 00:16:50,110 have to do with the drivetrain or torque. It's just the 239 00:16:50,110 --> 00:16:54,270 awareness of a car that looks interesting. And that is such a 240 00:16:54,270 --> 00:16:59,470 huge distinction between the IRL car culture and the digital one. 241 00:16:59,950 --> 00:17:04,535 Because online, looking at memes about cars, all you have is what 242 00:17:04,535 --> 00:17:09,655 the cars look like or maybe sound like. All you have is the 243 00:17:09,655 --> 00:17:12,935 flattened version of the car that exists on your screen. 244 00:17:13,495 --> 00:17:17,110 And through that format, it really helps to have a vehicle 245 00:17:17,110 --> 00:17:21,830 that has a personality. A photo of a Mustang just looks like a 246 00:17:21,830 --> 00:17:25,590 car. The Twingo looks like your buddy. 247 00:17:27,615 --> 00:17:30,255 Rory Carroll: It is like it's so refreshing to be like, oh, look 248 00:17:30,255 --> 00:17:33,055 at you. Look at you. Look at my little friend here, my little 249 00:17:33,055 --> 00:17:38,095 French friend. You can formulate kind of an appreciation for a 250 00:17:38,095 --> 00:17:41,935 car like the Twingo and express it, where it's like, it's good 251 00:17:41,935 --> 00:17:42,980 because it's cute. 252 00:17:43,140 --> 00:17:44,900 Georgia Hampton: And the Twingo's cuteness is the thing 253 00:17:44,900 --> 00:17:49,700 that invites you in. In on the joke of the memes, and if you'd 254 00:17:49,700 --> 00:17:53,860 like, into the culture that exists around this car. I had 255 00:17:53,860 --> 00:17:57,300 never heard of the Twingo before the GT seven update. But the 256 00:17:57,300 --> 00:18:01,835 second I saw its little egg shaped silhouette, I fell in 257 00:18:01,835 --> 00:18:07,115 love. Then I started going down a rabbit hole of other cute, 258 00:18:07,195 --> 00:18:08,955 interestingly designed cars. 259 00:18:09,595 --> 00:18:14,280 I found the Nissan s car go, a car so wonderfully named because 260 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:19,960 it looks, yes, like a big snail. That then led me to the Nissan 261 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:23,320 Figaro, which looks like it should be driven by Stuart 262 00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:27,885 Little. I spent a while looking at k cars, a class of Japanese 263 00:18:27,885 --> 00:18:32,205 cars that are so small, they could easily fit inside my 264 00:18:32,205 --> 00:18:35,405 living room. Those have actually had a meme streak in their own 265 00:18:35,405 --> 00:18:36,765 right. Look them up. 266 00:18:36,765 --> 00:18:40,170 You've almost certainly seen a post about a k car within the 267 00:18:40,170 --> 00:18:44,970 last couple years. Honestly, look up all these cars. All of 268 00:18:44,970 --> 00:18:48,650 them debuted before the Internet as we know it existed. But it's 269 00:18:48,650 --> 00:18:53,575 only through the Internet that I, and now maybe you, had a 270 00:18:53,575 --> 00:18:57,335 chance to learn about them. Each one of these cars has an online 271 00:18:57,335 --> 00:19:00,215 community of people who love them. 272 00:19:00,775 --> 00:19:04,360 And if you spend a little time clicking around, you can find 273 00:19:04,360 --> 00:19:08,200 car people who are happy to be fans of a certain vehicle just 274 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:14,360 because it's cute. Like, that's the barrier to entry. And the 275 00:19:14,360 --> 00:19:18,855 more I look at the Twingo, the more I adore it for this reason. 276 00:19:25,255 --> 00:19:28,855 I've never really thought about playing Gran Turismo before, but 277 00:19:28,855 --> 00:19:32,900 honestly, I would for the Twingo. I can tell already that 278 00:19:32,900 --> 00:19:36,660 it would be an absolute nightmare to drive on a 279 00:19:36,660 --> 00:19:37,380 racetrack. 280 00:19:37,380 --> 00:19:41,380 It's too slow. It would almost certainly tip over on really 281 00:19:41,380 --> 00:19:44,260 tight turns. But who cares? 282 00:19:46,975 --> 00:19:49,055 Rory Carroll: That's what's good about it. That's what's inviting 283 00:19:49,055 --> 00:19:51,935 about it. It invites people to, like, step back from this very 284 00:19:51,935 --> 00:19:54,575 serious game and, like, experience something that is 285 00:19:54,575 --> 00:19:56,975 just fun and inviting. I think that's great. 286 00:19:57,295 --> 00:20:00,830 Georgia Hampton: The Twingo is approachable by design. It tells 287 00:20:00,830 --> 00:20:05,790 you, hey, don't worry so much. I'm your friend, and I'm here to 288 00:20:05,790 --> 00:20:09,470 get you where you're going. It only makes sense that the memes 289 00:20:09,470 --> 00:20:14,125 around it are that way too. And sure, yes, there is still some 290 00:20:14,125 --> 00:20:16,605 degree of if you know, you know about these posts. 291 00:20:16,845 --> 00:20:20,605 Like, if you don't know what Lamons is, you won't completely 292 00:20:20,605 --> 00:20:24,365 understand why it's funny to imagine a Twingo winning it. But 293 00:20:24,365 --> 00:20:30,080 even so, the fact of the Twingo, its very nature, is the biggest 294 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:34,880 draw. And it so perfectly represents the kind of car 295 00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:42,145 design I personally love. Sweet, lovely, and unserious. Here's my 296 00:20:42,145 --> 00:20:43,105 favorite example. 297 00:20:43,425 --> 00:20:47,185 The Volkswagen Beetle had the optional accessory of a small 298 00:20:47,265 --> 00:20:52,065 bud vase attached to the dashboard. Like, who needs that? 299 00:20:52,385 --> 00:20:59,210 But also, why not? IRL, I've never really found purchase for 300 00:20:59,210 --> 00:21:03,050 my interest in cute car design. The car guys had nothing but 301 00:21:03,050 --> 00:21:06,490 disdain and mockery for the VW Beetle's bud vase. 302 00:21:06,970 --> 00:21:10,475 But on the Internet, the posts about the Twingo feel like a 303 00:21:10,475 --> 00:21:15,595 doorway into this exact kind of car culture, one that has 304 00:21:15,595 --> 00:21:20,315 nothing to do with speed or intimidation or technicalities, 305 00:21:21,050 --> 00:21:25,130 but just the sheer appreciation of something fun. 306 00:21:27,050 --> 00:21:29,530 Rory Carroll: I don't care that it's slow. It's actually better 307 00:21:29,530 --> 00:21:32,650 because it's slow. You know what I mean? Like and it's it's not 308 00:21:32,650 --> 00:21:34,970 cool because it's expensive. I don't need to prove any like, 309 00:21:34,970 --> 00:21:37,425 it's cool because it's cheap and anyone can get one. 310 00:21:37,665 --> 00:21:40,785 Georgia Hampton: On the Twingo's Internet, egalitarianism is 311 00:21:40,785 --> 00:21:46,465 chic. That Yang Wang u nine with its over 300 miles per hour top 312 00:21:46,465 --> 00:21:52,330 speed and unspeakably hefty price tag, it's tired. It's 313 00:21:52,330 --> 00:21:57,690 boring. It's not fun. And at least on some very vocal corners 314 00:21:57,690 --> 00:22:03,450 of the web, the people yearn for fun, for a cute little car that 315 00:22:03,450 --> 00:22:06,355 drives around with a smile on its face. 316 00:22:13,635 --> 00:22:16,995 A massive thank you to Rory Caroll for talking to me about 317 00:22:16,995 --> 00:22:20,570 the Twingo and turning what I thought was going to be a simple 318 00:22:20,570 --> 00:22:25,370 question of meme ability into one of the most wonderful and 319 00:22:25,370 --> 00:22:30,490 frankly hopeful discussions I've ever had about car culture. I'll 320 00:22:30,490 --> 00:22:34,025 include links in the show notes for Alloy, Jalopnik, and other 321 00:22:34,025 --> 00:22:37,065 places where you can find more of his work. I will also, 322 00:22:37,305 --> 00:22:40,585 obviously, include links to the cars that I mentioned in this 323 00:22:40,585 --> 00:22:46,505 episode. Please, I am begging you, please go look at the S 324 00:22:46,505 --> 00:22:46,825 cargo. 325 00:23:10,295 --> 00:23:12,775 Mike Rugnetta: That is the show we have for you this week. We 326 00:23:12,775 --> 00:23:16,240 are gonna be back here in the main feed on or around Thursday, 327 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:21,680 July 16. Is your wallet too heavy? Bank account, feeling 328 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:25,840 slightly too cumbersome. Allow Never Post to ease some of that 329 00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:29,440 burden by handling four to 12 of your monthly dollars. 330 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:34,065 That's right. We have three membership tiers, 4, 7, and $12 331 00:23:34,065 --> 00:23:36,865 depending upon how much of your wealth you would like Never Post 332 00:23:36,865 --> 00:23:41,425 to manage by turning it into a podcast. Hey, it's a more sound 333 00:23:41,425 --> 00:23:44,750 investment than a lot of other things out there. You can become 334 00:23:44,750 --> 00:23:50,030 a member today at neverpo.st. Never Post's producers are 335 00:23:50,030 --> 00:23:53,630 Audrey Evans, Georgia Hampton, and the mysterious doctor first 336 00:23:53,630 --> 00:23:54,270 name, last name. 337 00:23:54,425 --> 00:23:58,105 Our senior producer is Hans Buto. Our executive producer is 338 00:23:58,105 --> 00:24:01,625 Jason Oberholzer, and the show's host, that's me, is Mike 339 00:24:01,625 --> 00:24:08,025 Rugnetta. Revving an engine to steal attention. Flirting cool 340 00:24:08,025 --> 00:24:11,850 furniture with blithe lids closed. A tidy splash on a 341 00:24:11,850 --> 00:24:12,490 mirror. 342 00:24:12,890 --> 00:24:15,450 A feel of belonging and avoidance of cleaving to 343 00:24:15,450 --> 00:24:20,250 incompletion as a flash as of hit by a flash or an echo or an 344 00:24:20,250 --> 00:24:24,365 echo of a speech into stones. Tone deaf stick lashings who 345 00:24:24,365 --> 00:24:29,565 spoke along school railings, paramount noise. Excerpt of 346 00:24:29,565 --> 00:24:34,045 Stranger by Chris Cheek. Never Post is a production of Charts 347 00:24:34,045 --> 00:24:37,565 and Leisure and it's distributed by Radiotopia.