Pride of Ownership

On most other topics, I usually spend some time thinking about what I want to say, and then I type. I type because it's been on my mind, whether it bothers me or it is a message I feel the need to share. In this case, I'm bothered, but I haven't thought it through.

It's about my car.
I have some money saved. There are basically two routes I will take in order to spend it. Of course, the third route would be to not spend it on the car, but shit, who are we kidding. That's not happening.
     The first route is performance upgrades. This means making the car go faster.
     The second is aesthetic upgrades. This means making the car look nicer, like it could go faster (but doesn't).

My mom, being a woman and doesn't understand cars, reasons that the look is more important to attract girls.
Holy shit, if only it were that easy, mom.
     I don't deny this, though. A good-looking, well-kept car would be a liiiiittle more appealing than what I have now. But what I have now isn't bad to begin with. There are noticeable scratches, but not that bad. Personally, I don't like the color. Or the wheels. So if I were to take the second route, I would by what are called "side skirts" and a small spoiler, have the whole car painted a dark metallic grey, buy new rims and tires, and lower the car with coilovers. I may also get new headlights.

My preferred choice is the first one, hence, "first." Save up for a turbo kit and exhaust system and new clutch. Some people have pointed out that the money I would spend on this could also be spent on another car. So I ask, why would I buy a second, equally underpowered car? I only say that because any car $5000 and under is very likely be all stock, just as mine is now.
     I could spend less to achieve the same power upgrades, but I'm not that experienced nor do I know "a guy" that can help with either deals or installation. Therefore, and I guess unfortunately, I will shell out the extra cash for a system I know that works—versus individual, likely used, parts from many different sources.
     If this was a crafts project, I'd look into all my cheapest solutions and pick from every source I can. But no, this is a car. It is an already reliable mechanical object with lots of things that could go wrong. So no, I'm not going to risk modifying my car in ways that haven't been tested because I don't have the prior knowledge to back up what I'm doing. 
     I recognize that I could, I could play with it and "see what happens" but I intend on keeping this car for a long time. And considering the work I have and will put into it, I don't want one mistake to ultimately destroy my investments. That's my justification for spending more money, and I'm comfortable with it. 

Back to the performance versus aesthetics debacle. One day in the distance future, I project I'll have succeeded and achieved both goals. The debacle is, which goals should be pursued first? Making the car go "chochochochochco" or making other people go "Hey, nice car"?
     Being a guy, the first one. POWEERRR in the words of Jeremy Clarkson. MORE POWER in the words in Tim Taylor/Allen. VROOM VROOM in the words of every five-year-old with a toy car in his hand.
     But there are reasons why... believe it or not. I couldn't possibly discuss "why men like cars," but I can share one reason of my own. This is the part in which I finally make the connection to the title.

People like doing things. People like doing things that make them happy. When people create something that made them happy, they feel proud. They take pride in what they accomplished.

Ground breaking stuff, I know. My very easy to understand point is, when I work on my car, which makes me happy, I feel proud of what I accomplish. This even applies to when I break something, because fixing something that's broken also boosts my pride. It's fun. It's not fun for everyone, but it's fun for me, and that's all you need to understand. 
     I am proud to own this machine that I have spent time on improving. I improve it because I enjoy spending time on it. I spend time on it because I want to improve it. This is an endless cycle, guys...

So that's why I want to follow the path of performance upgrades. I will get to work on it plenty, and I'll have greater satisfaction for that one of many reasons. Making the car look nice doesn't really involve much of my time. 

I'm sorry if I spelled this out too simply, but my mom just doesn't seem to get it. She's not in charge of my money, but I just want her to know I'm spending it "wisely." And for all these nights that I can't afford to make the upgrades, I research. Boy, do I try to learn this stuff on my own. All just so I can do it myself and be proud of my accomplishments.