Okay, here’s a sarcastic blog post, stripped down to its core message:
**Gotta Get My Foot on the Gas For the Third Time (And It’s Not Really a Car!)**
Okay, so I’ve been driving for three weeks, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to be getting a serious head-turn. I’m not saying I *hate* driving, but I’m starting to question the entire whole “all-electric SUV” thing. Let’s just say, the sheer *lack* of road infrastructure in Detroit is a major turnoff.
The Jeep Wagoneer S, bless its battered heart, is a dream come true. It’s the first all-electric SUV I’ve ever seen, and honestly, I’m a little rusty. I mean, I used to be a confident driver, but now I’m just a little… *tired*.
The city’s got a lot going on, and it’s a bit of a maze. I’ve tried the bus system, but it’s not always a breeze. And the QLINE? Let’s just say it’s a bit of a detour.
Honestly, driving in Detroit is a bit of a *silly* experience. It’s a bit of a gamble. I’m not saying I’m going to be a *successful* driver, but I’m definitely going to be a bit *laid-back* and less confident.
So, yeah, I’m going to try to get my foot on the gas for the third time. And honestly, I think I’ll be a little disappointed. But hey, at least I’ll have a story to tell.
I put my foot on the gas for the third time, at last getting a sense of how much pressure to apply to the pedal. It had been nearly a year since I’d driven any vehicle—much less a large, luxury, all-electric SUV—and I was clearly a little rusty. After a series of timid jolts that did little more than jump the car forward a few inches, I finally pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road. “Smooth,” I thought to myself. It was both a sarcastic comment on my driving abilities and an apt description of the way the vehicle felt now that it was finally moving.
The Jeep Wagoneer S in Downtown Detroit.
Photo: Courtesy of Stellantis
This summer, I traveled to Detroit with other writers and editors to test drive the Jeep Wagoneer S, the brand’s first all electric SUV. I was excited to visit—the city had been on my bucket list for some time—but it’s also in the midst of a fascinating revival I wanted to see first hand. As the New York Times reports, Detroit’s downtown is growing in population in an astounding way. And a series of developments have revitalized many abandoned buildings and underutilized areas, fostering a new era for the city once most famous for its decline.
We were given a car and free reign, and I was excited to use the day to explore as many Motor City art and design hotspots as I could squeeze in. And though I originally saw the experience as a two-birds-one-stone situation—test the car and tour the city—I quickly realized how intertwined the two adventures were. In fact, they have something of a symbiotic relationship: each provided a better perspective to the other, making both all the more meaningful.
To state the obvious: Detroit is not the easiest city to navigate without a car. I tried its bus system and the QLINE, a streetcar that runs along one of the city’s most historic streets, M-1. While both were fine for getting around the Downtown area, much of Detroit is spread out, making a car a convenient and efficient choice for certain destinations. This is no coincidence. “The spread of the city was motivated in large part by the location of the large automobile assembly plants,” explains Robert Fishman, PhD, a professor of architecture and urban planning at the University of Michigan. “And these in turn depended, kind of ironically, on the rail lines rather than any roads.”
I put my foot on the gas for the third time, at last getting a sense of how much pressure to apply to the pedal. It had been nearly a year since I’d driven any vehicle—much less a large, luxury, all-electric SUV—and I was clearly a little rusty. After a series of timid jolts that did little more than jump the car forward a few inches, I finally pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road. “Smooth,” I thought to myself. It was both a sarcastic comment on my driving abilities and an apt description of the way the vehicle felt now that it was finally moving.
The Jeep Wagoneer S in Downtown Detroit. Photo: Courtesy of Stellantis
This summer, I traveled to Detroit with other writers and editors to test drive the Jeep Wagoneer S, the brand’s first all electric SUV. I was excited to visit—the city had been on my bucket list for some time—but it’s also in the midst of a fascinating revival I wanted to see first hand. As the New York Times reports, Detroit’s downtown is growing in population in an astounding way. And a series of developments have revitalized many abandoned buildings and underutilized areas, fostering a new era for the city once most famous for its decline.
We were given a car and free reign, and I was excited to use the day to explore as many Motor City art and design hotspots as I could squeeze in. And though I originally saw the experience as a two-birds-one-stone situation—test the car and tour the city—I quickly realized how intertwined the two adventures were. In fact, they have something of a symbiotic relationship: each provided a better perspective to the other, making both all the more meaningful.
To state the obvious: Detroit is not the easiest city to navigate without a car. I tried its bus system and the QLINE, a streetcar that runs along one of the city’s most historic streets, M-1. While both were fine for getting around the Downtown area, much of Detroit is spread out, making a car a convenient and efficient choice for certain destinations. This is no coincidence. “The spread of the city was motivated in large part by the location of the large automobile assembly plants,” explains Robert Fishman, PhD, a professor of architecture and urban planning at the University of Michigan. “And these in turn depended, kind of ironically, on the rail lines rather than any roads.”
