The exhaust note of spring is in the air

Credit: Mo5176/Flickr.com

Winters are long, cold and tough in Montreal. I’ll be the first to admit I absolutely loathe the weather and the temperature. Every winter I question my own sanity for staying in this God foresaken country where I have to spend 20 minutes prepping before each outdoor venture, no matter how short just to save all my extremeties from frostbite. It’s a tad wearing after the third or fourth month, let me tell you.

But, come April/May, things change. The snow blissfully melts away (and so too do our roads, leaving gaping caverns in the asphalt, but that’s a topic for another blog), and our city comes back to life. After months curled up in hibernation, Montrealers emerge to greet the sun with open arms, and so too do their cars.

Montrealers are known for their love of cars. We might not be as rich as Toronto, but we sure do like to spend what money we do have on the cars we drive. And that’s clear to see on any sunny, summer day in the heart of downtown Montreal. From Bentleys to Ferraris, and maybe even a Lamborghini or two, they prowl the streets in all their glory, leaving a trail of gawking pedestrians and jealous motorists in their wake.

I love walking downtown in Montreal in the spring, just after the first big thaw.

Right now, we’re still in a bit of a cold streak. Temperatures are hovering around zero and there’s still a chill in the air. But the snow is officially gone and the sun is hot, so spring is definitely on its way — which means Montreal’s vehicular stars are waking up from their winter-long slumber. And while you might not see them right away, you’ll most definitely hear them.

Montrealers like their cars because they like to drive. And when that frost leaves the ground and the summer rims and rubber come out; watch out.

I love walking downtown and suddenly hearing the deep exhaust rumble of an Aston Martin DB9 reverberating off the buildings, or the sharp bark of a Ferrari F430 ripping through the busy downtown streets. Even the growling, distinctive note of a Subaru STI makes me smile. Finally, they’re all back on the road and they’re all being driven with gusto because the roads are dry.

Forget flowers blooming and trees budding (they just make me itchy and sneezy anyways), I know spring is in the air when my head is constantly whipping around to catch a glimpse of the car attached to the aural symphony approaching.

Drive on,
– M.

~ by drivingmsmiranda on April 19, 2011.