It was love at first sight between Germans and their cars. Which makes for some high-octane debates. Susi Bumms shifts down for a humorous take on this fraught relationship instead.
I suppose this isn’t news to anyone, but the auto industry and its product, the automobile, loom mighty large in Germany. In terms of turnover, it’s the biggest industry in the country. And given the never-ending debate about cars and the use thereof, it’s one of the biggest bones of contention around.Blocking the introduction of a speed limit on German autobahns is glorified in debates as defending human freedom. Climate activists who add to the daily congestion by blockading streets and stopping traffic are criminalized as domestic terrorists.
The headlines read: “Can the liberal state compel motorized citizens to stay alive?” Well, that was back in 1974 when a law was passed to make seat belts compulsory, but the debate wouldn’t be any different in our day.
Here are four more car stories from Germany. They’re almost true.
1. In Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis”, the most infamous assigned reading in German schools, a teenager wakes up to find he’s been turned into a car overnight.
The Metamorphosis | © Susi Bumms
2. German schoolchildren ride Bobby Cars to school.
Bobby Car | © Susi Bumms
3. A Social Democratic car served as German chancellor from 1981 to ’82.
Chancellor car | © Susi Bumms
4. Many Germans carry their second car along just in case it might come in handy.
Second-car piggyback | © Susi Bumms
“Frankly...“
On an alternating basis each week, our “Frankly ...” column series is written by Susi Bumms, Maximilian Buddenbohm, and Sineb El Masrar and Marie Leão. In the “Frankly…visual” column, Susi Bumms observes pop culture and politics, commenting on what she sees through cartoons and pictures..
June 2023