The Fort Collins car community, like all car communities, has its heroes. Among them is a ubiquitous figure that seems to transcend place and time: Paul Walker. I am here to tell you that it?s time to move on.
Let me preface this with a statement: What happened to Paul Walker and Roger Rodas is an absolute shame. I do not mean any disrespect to their families OR them.
Paul Walker is an icon among car enthusiasts, ?Remember the Buster? stickers don many enthusiasts cars, tattoos of Paul Walker Quotes plague Facebook walls and Snapchat stories, he is idolized by grown ass men and prepubescent teens alike, his death is now a testament to ?the ultimate car guy?s way to go.? But no one ever talks about how reckless he and Mr. Rodas Both were well versed in car maintenance and the limitations of worn tires, failed to notice that the tires on their Porsche were more than twice expired, the rubber was compromised, and they didn?t even consider it when they drove that car upwards of twice the speed limit in that zone. (http://articles.latimes.com/2014/mar/26/local/la-me-ln-paul-walker-porsche-outdated-tires-crash-20140326) Rather than praising his death as ?the ultimate way to go out? for a car guy, he should be a stern warning of the dangers of reckless driving.
Yes, he was an icon to car enthusiasts because of his role in the ?Fast & Furious? movies. Despite the absolute horrid plot, acting, overall premise, and disappointing delivery in almost every single installment, Walker managed to shape an entire community with mediocre acting and flashy cars. His overwhelming presence in the car scene completely muted any of his wrongdoings. Five years after his death, ?I Am Paul Walker? a documentary of his life aired. I never watched it.
According to an article on Jalopnik.com, (https://jalopnik.com/when-are-we-going-to-address-how-paul-walker-had-relati-1828227580) there was no mention of his relations with teenagers. He dated two sixteen-year-old while the age of 33. Anyone else would be labeled a pedophile and ostracized, but somehow Walker *walked* away with it.
Thanks to all of the attention that Walker?s death got, Roger Rodas? went completely unnoticed by most people. Even now, when you ?Google? him, most of the results are about Paul Walker. It is sad as hell there is no attention to the other guy in the car simply because he wasn?t the poster boy for everyone?s favorite cookie-cutter tuner cars.
Paul Walker?s daughter sued Porsche as soon as the opportunity presented itself. (https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-entertainment-news-updates-paul-walker-porsche-settles-1508940377-htmlstory.html) While she and Porsche settled out of court, no responsibility is being put on the drivers of a car that could have just as easily killed a bystander or another car coming around that corner.
Look, I don?t hate Paul Walker (I do hate his movies but that?s for another day), but I certainly don?t think that he was the flawless character every burnout with a Honda Civic makes him out to be. I don?t think that we should be getting tattoos with his boring, generic philosophies about cars and dedicating our lives to ?The Buster?. He was a mediocre actor with a cool hobby and a weird thing for young girls.
Let?s stop pretending every celebrity that has a common interest with us is perfect, and that our hobbies make us like them. Let?s be better than them. There are so many opportunities to really experience cars and the car scene locally. In Northern Colorado alone, there are more than 10 different car clubs spanning from model specific to a diverse pool of enthusiasts. Let?s show celebrities how to truly be an enthusiast. Let?s see our celebrities bringing their sports cars out to the track where there are required maintenance minimums to prevent tragedies like this.
