The Soul feels the pain of everyone... then it feels nothing
Mrs. LaPine-Grueninger is a crafty lady with a crafty husband who also loves all-things automotive. They used to be Euro-obsessed dubbers (ok… they still are) but a recent trip to the Creation Museum helped open their eyes to the new gospel according to Hyundai and the modern word of Kia. Hop the jump for another great photo, and a link over to Cherise’s wonderful tale of taking the Kia Soul and the Hyundai Genesis Coupe to the center of the universe Petersburg, Kentucky – home to the shrine to a time when Man and Dinosaur walked the Earth hand-in-Dino Claw.
These two won't be coming home tonight... our generation has to put it right
Here is a snippet of her story:
For those unfamiliar with this $27 million blatant disregard for scientific knowledge, it is dedicated to demonstrating that the earth is about 6000 years old, according to a literal interpretation of the Bible. If we are willing to suspend disbelief, the museum’s premise results in the revelation that dinosaurs coexisted with humans because we were all created on the same day. The museum’s backer? The fundamentalist organization, Answers in Genesis. Here I sit back as the jokes write themselves.
We got the cars together, and the drive down was tantalizing, the two of us, weaving through Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky, admiring ourselves and each other. The Genesis, especially, inspired lust, greed and envy; I often found myself the subject of curious stares from onlookers. In Chicago, two sweet young things threw their Acura in reverse at a stoplight to get a better look, and at one point, I was approaching a fresh-looking bright red car from behind and thought to myself, “Damn, what’s that?” before realizing it was another Coupe Sport. As we progressed southward, the auto landscape grew sparser. We knew we were close when we piloted the only two Korean cars for miles.
The Creation Museum is beautifully designed to make its visitors feel shameful about the world we inhabit. It starts with a short film that gives the timeline of the world’s beginning according to Genesis. From there, visitors are shuttled to the opening exhibit, Natural Selection is Not Evolution, to which there’s not much more than its unwieldy title. To convince us that Science is Bad, we were treated of a diorama of two wax paleontologist figures unearthing dinosaur bones, side by side. The Creationist paleontologist found a 6000-year-old skeleton; the scientist’s dino, however, was billions of years in the hole. In this museum, shiny placards automatically and without question present a cogent argument. The moral of the story, so often quoted throughout the museum to explain the disconnects between science and faith? “Different starting points, same facts.” Not convinced; want another? “Today, linguists recognize languages fall into distinct ‘families’ of recent origin.” Sure, “recent” is a relative term to the Creationists, but that sound byte is a better explanation of why we brought the Soul Sport and Genesis Coupe together.
Read the whole thing at SpeedSportLife.com
That was .. a little painful to read. I would prefer a bit of a dialing back on the prose there. But it's nice to hear that abomination in KY being mocked.
It was long, yes.
But I love that she took the cars there… and every now and then a good prosaic review is a nice change of pace from the standard…
"Handling: sublime, Engine Noise: growly, Transmission: click-clack, Interior: well fit…"
Braff, I thought you disliked longwinded prose?
No, I enjoy it actually… I just enjoy busting your chops even more.
My first Nissan GT-R review is a good example of not-so-great long winded prose…
Yes, but is it green? VERY.
This is really the first I've ever heard of it. Kinda makes me want to go have an atheist party across the street.
A tangentially relevant tidbit is that South Korea is the fastest growing Christian nation on earth, per capita.
Now all they need is their very own Joseph Smith to claim the Genesis 2.0t owner’s manual is a lost gospel.
I would say that J. Mascis would be proud, but then I'm not sure he's ever proud of anything.
Big Butter Jesus will give those Korean cars a hug. It isn't too far away in Ohio.
<img src="http://eviljwinter.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/heshuge.jpg" style="width: 400px; border: 0" alt="imgTag" />
That's like a still shot from Clash of the Titans!
Ahh, the Creation Museum. I wonder if they're trying to get a license from Hanna-Barbera to use the Flintstones as a documentary? I'd be tempted to visit for a nice chuckle, but fear such a trip would end with a restraining order and an arson charge. So I'll instead point to its existence as "Exhibit F" regarding my references to Kentucky as "The Paradox State".
Also, regarding the Soul: my first natural instinct is to want to hate it, but I can't. It's funky, fresh, and unpretentious in the way the xB and Cube are not. It's the first Korean car I've actually been curious to test drive.
Yep, saw one drive by my house the other day. It really picks up where the Element and xB left off (the Element through staleness, the xB through a weird re-design).
I've played around with the Soul a few times now, and to say I was pleasantly surprised would not give Kia enough credit. It's almost astonishingly nice for the price. It's far more stylish, appealing, and comfortable than, say, a Corolla at a substantially higher price tag. I would much, much rather pay $14,000 for this Kia than $22,000 for a Corolla.
As for this museum… the sad part is that there will now be people all over the internet pointing to this as "scientific proof" of evolution. Because clearly, these people are scientists, so they know what they're talking about. But don't get me started, or I'll get into a lot of touchy topics.
The whole argument about Korean cars being crap is dead. They might not elicit much in the way of joy but they're cheap, functional, reliable, and pretty much live in the space that Honda and Toyota vacated years ago. Just don't ask me what I think of people giving money to Korean chaebols.
I want to embrace the new Koreans (I park next to an especially attractive Genesis sedan at work) but have spent too much time behind the wheel of their earlier models – I believe they were the Hyundai "Purgatory" and the Kia "Plague of Locusts".
All I can say is drive one drive one drive one…
The Soul is great and the new Kia Forte is a wonderful, affordable car in both sedan and Koup versions.
The Genesis (Sedan and Coupe) are also both great cars…
Yeah…we're trying to keep our car site about cars.
That said, as someone who will actually identify himself as a Christian (or Xtian in interwebs speak) I'm happy to point out say such literalists are missing the point entirely. In fact, I'll go with a "they can bite my ass for all I care".
Good to hear about the Kia. My mom has been rocking her Rio now for ohhhhhhh 7 maybe 8 years…she takes impeccable care of it, has spent a total of ehhhhh….$500 in true non maintenance repairs on it, and loves it to bits. But it's a little tired and my sister needs an around town car. I wanted to talk mom into the Soul, and being the good Christian she is I figured the name was a plus by itself. Hearing from you that it's actually nice has given me the kick in the pants to go to good ole' Wisconsin and get her tush to the dealership for hopefully, this new, funky lookin' car.
Basically what I'm trying to say is, mom needs a new car, thanks for the tip, I'll point her in this direction.
Hey, the Flintstones happened! Take that back! And the Jetsons will shot in the future and sent back through a time portal.
You sound like Karl Pilkington.
Kia Soul: Jesus is my co-pilot.
Hyundai Genesis: Moses guides me through the twisties.
God did create dinosaurs, several of which can be found touring the Creation Museum on any given day.
kia cadenza…
The all-new Kia Cadenza luxury sporty sedan revealed in Korea today (where it is called the K7). New Cadenza will …