Runs or Drives in the Family

Have you ever thought to yourself a distinct trait or habit you have was passed down from your family? As if certain things you like and dislike are a result from a past? Our families play a pivotal part in how we are brought up sure, but there is no denying the little things and details of our personalities that emanate through us from our past. Every now and then I will go through old family photos. Recently I came across these photos of my dad from the late 70s (hence the dolphin shorts and gym socks). My dad collected Corvettes back in the day and attended Philadelphia Corvette meets in the city. These photos not only tell of his past but of my future as well. As I looked at these admiring my dad's effortless coolness and nostalgia, I felt a sense of myself in these photos.

In my family, you don't grow up Lopez without loving cars and the sound of an engine. Being a Lopez girl was no exception and having four brothers only helped this habit. I absolutely love cars, vintage and new, sports and classic, in a way that makes my father proud and emanates his "swagger" through me. Oddly enough, having this "sense of myself" in these photos was more than emotional. After all, shortly after these photos I was on my way into this world physically. I mean c'mon my father was the man and still is. I imagine this is how he met my beautiful mother. What girl was gonna resist a guy in a Corvette? Needless to say, my father opted for more "child" friendly cars later on to accommodate a car seat, but it's still in his blood and mine till today. A love for the beautiful bodies and sounds of an engine, clutch and wind in your hair.

Old habits die hard, but these aren't old habits if I was born into them before I can remember. Embrace the past and remember it's part in your future. I have the coolest dad ever.

Response to Jalopnik article " What's The Most Annoying Driver Habit Where You Live?"

Jess_L0pezz  13 days ago

Here in Philadelphia you can see where the care for road infrastructure and sensibility teeter off the city management's and residents' "to do" list in the City of Brotherly love. Lowered cars to create sleek streamline profiles only do so in vain as countless and shameless so-called "gear heads" only meet a sleek and nearly flawless profile with the undercarriage of their car as they smash into the potholes and uneven streets of Philly. All the while cursing out a very avoidable and common sense mindset of "how low can you go?" can you get down low?" Obviously for the city I live in, you can't get down low without kissing the street and kissing your car's lip, kit and bumper bye bye.

Here is the original Jalopnik post. 

Facebook ‘Likes’ are Worth a Thousand Words, Literally

Have you ever ‘liked’ something on Facebook? Whether its a picture, status, product or service, ‘liking’ is a simple way to show an interest in something. As a generation saturated in social networking, we may take a lot of small things like Facebook’s ‘like’ application for granted, not thinking of its true potential, especially in creating awareness. Recently, Porsche became the quickest automaker to reach 1,000,000 fans on Facebook. How did they celebrate this social media achievement? Porsche printed the names of 27,000 fans who ‘liked’ their Facebook corporate fan page onto the body of their new hybrid 911 GT3 R racecar as a thank you to their million fans who made their social network success possible. The names were chosen at random from their fans and set to a Facebook-themed design with navy blue and white accents.

I don’t know about you but I can’t think of a better way to show fan appreciation than adorning their names on a car worth well over $250,000. From a public relations standpoint, Porsche’s use of social networking to gain publicity is a great initiative for them and other companies to start adopting. Porsche even created a separate “thank you” campaign and website for their fans to see the process of the car’s creation and search for their name on the car. Not only does this campaign portray the luxury automaker as a friendly and fan-loyal company, it brings awareness to the auto industry’s current eco-friendly car trend. By combining their fan loyalty with the popularity of hybrid vehicles, Porsche gets publicity, awareness, record setting and novelty points for releasing news in an unorthodox manner. For a company like Porsche, social responsibility to the environment and social interaction with their consumers and fans are connected. Porsche’s use of Facebook is an example of how the use of social networks can create more than just a digital and perceived connection between corporations and consumers but also a literal one.

What do you think about Porsche’s social network idea? Do you know any other companies that have used social media to connect with their fans in a creative way?

Become a fan of Porsche at http://www.facebook.com/porsche and check out their “A Million Thanks” campaign at: www.porsche.com/thankyou.

http://www.porsche.com/microsite/facebook/international.aspx

Original can be read here.