As I was on my way to the freeway today in the Giveaway Porsche, I stopped at a red light and happened to look in my rear view mirror. Behind me was a newer Mazda RX-8. A red one. Not a bad looking car, but still a Mazda (sorry, this IS a Porsche blog after all).
Okay, so what…
The dude was wearing driving gloves!
I’m sure it’s not hard to imagine why I find this a bit more than odd. You might be thinking, “Maybe it was just a cold morning and he threw on the gloves to keep the old paws warm.” Nope. It was a beautiful, sunny day out. And the guy wasn’t wearing a jacket. So it couldn’t have been because he was chilly.
So I studied the guy for nearly a minute. Looked like an accountant type. Thin rimmed glasses. White shirt with a tie on. Perfectly combed hair. Oh, and did I mention…DRIVING GLOVES!!!
I have to say, I’m a guy who likes leather goods. I’ve even thought about donning a pair of driving gloves now and then as an experiment. See what the fuss was about. I don’t, however, think I’d have the nuggets to be seen wearing them in a Mazda though. A Ferrari or Lamborghini? Sure. You can write your own ticket driving one of those cars. A Porsche? Maybe, just maybe you could get away with them there without looking like a Jeff Gordon wannabe. They just seem too out of place in a fairly common Japanese made car regardless of how much pep it may be sporting.
I decided to see what he was made of…see how much the gloves helped him. When the light turned green, I stepped on it and shot off the line. I quickly made my way onto the on ramp for the freeway and lit it up. He kept pace for a bit, but missed a crucial merge into freeway traffic effectively bunwiching himself in the slow lane.
Moments later, I was in the fast lane letting my bareback ridin hands enjoy the black leather wrapped steering wheel.
Left Mazda Man behind. Driving gloves and all.
HAHAHAHA HILARIOUS. There is a definite need to moderate driving accessories with the exclusivity of the car, and I’m afraid that this peppy little Japanese sports car didn’t quite make the cut for driving gloves
Driving gloves? We don`t need no stinkin` driving gloves!! 🙂
I can’t wait to call her my own. Thanks for reigniting my passion for this car.
Glove guy is a complete tool!
well ryan maybe this guy had his hands burned in an accident and needs to use the gloves for protection and grip. i don’t really think this is the case though.
driving gloves in my opinion should be left to MG’s, Austin Healey’s, 356’s, and original Mini Coopers
lol. Really well written post (your best to date in my opinion). Made my morning. I think bunwiching may be my new favorite term. Well done. 🙂
on the street, driving gloves are for chauffers, like in driving miss daisy
actually a pair of driving gloves in the drivers seat when i win the 911 would be SOOOO funny.
Wearing driving gloves while driving a Mazda is like putting a plasma television in a trailer park house!
Funny comments, and I agree to leave the little black leather gloves to classic cars and OJ Simpson.
great story, well told. i can just picture it going down..
sort of unrelated, but im a huge DMB fan and their drummer always wears gloves so now im thinking about driving gloves every time i see him lol
sorry guys but you won’t be so smug after a couple of years of driving your Porsche without gloves you realize you’ve ruined your leather wrapped steering wheel with the oils from your hands, and have to replace it. It’s just another part of caring for a fine piece of equipment.
I’m actually a fan of the RX8. And please believe this car will leave most of you porsche guys crying where my accelerator….MAZDA will zoom zoom baby….especially the one I’m driving…Laughing all the way to the finish line!
Yurs truly,
Need for Speed!
Driving gloves would be useful in gripping the wheel when you are taking a lot of tight corners or sliding out the rear. It’s meaningless to beat another car in a straight line.
I guess anyone driving like a grandad behind his precious porsche during cornering wouldn’t appreciate that.