I like the statement "Don't blame the car for the fault of the driver."
This always sets me thinking, and a lot of questions spring up in my mind. Lets consider a stock car, a Toyota Corolla for the sake of illustration. Here's a few thoughts pertaining to the statement.
Is it still the driver's fault if Toyota installed a faulty gearbox? If a disproportionate amount of accidents involve people driving the Toyota Corolla, is it still the fault of the drivers? I'm guessing that's because when people drink, their cars automatically turn into Corollas. That'd probably explain why cars parked outside bars are almost exclusively Corollas, I guess.
And then there are car recalls. When the manufacturer notices something dangerously wrong in the car, usually due to user feedback, he sends out a recall notice. The driver then turns in the car for a replacement or for repairs. This is for his safety, and for the safety of others.
However, things get messy if the car driver firmly believes that his car is perfect for the only reason that the manual says so. How can one convince someone whose manual states that the car is perfect and should NOT be changed under any circumstances? What if the manual explicitly states in its first page that the car should not be changed even in the event of Toyota declaring a car recall? What if the manual denies the utility of car services? Doesn't it become downright dangerous to let the car stay on the road? Well, that would shift the blame back to the driver, I guess...
What if the standards and laws change? In some places, vehicles older than a set age or failing to meet certain emission norms are forced off the roads. If however, the man believes all this is a conspiracy to wreck his car, how would one reason with him? What if our driver wants only Corollas on the road, and is willing to go to any lengths to achieve it? What if he goes on a suicide mission to push non-Corollas off the road? Well, if you beg for a silver lining, he may become a liberal. He may decide to tolerate "people who bought the Toyota", but the rest should go.
What if he publicly declares his intention to kill anyone who dares commenting on the state of his car (Dirty, got a flat, loose fanbelt, broken windshield, etc)? 'The manual said it is perfect right? So what do these guys know?"
The fault for all this would probably squarely rest on the manual and the bigot who wrote it after having a little too much to drink.
