Derreck Howell

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Pep Boys for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

A photo exhibition at the Museum of Technology in Berlin, Germany, some years ago showcased the intriguing and close-knit relationship that the modern man has with the automobile, a complicity not always understood by women.

For years, German photographer Brigitte Kraemer has focused her camera on capturing this intimate but unique relationship, one that can always be witnessed at dozens of racing events and car shows around the world.

The photo exhibition, which showcased some thirty photographs, was titled ‘Mann und Auto’. In it, the author gave credence to an underlying truth: men love machines. Kraemer intruded into a world dominated by men to show that the car is much more than a male hobby or an expensive, utilitarian object.

In her photographs, she immortalizes the passion of man for car, one who spends his free time cleaning and caring for it, not out of duty alone, but out of love, as if it were a child. That ‘proud father’ feeling is reflected in the faces of the owners, as they lean satisfied and proud, on the ‘body’ of their beloved auto. Sometimes this ‘relationship’ pushes the envelopes of parenthood,  since in certain shots, car and man look alike.

Sitting at the wheel, comfortably and confident, really enjoying a fast drive, men are proud to have under their control such a powerful machine.  This becomes a study in contrast with what happens in real life, where the complexity of maneuvering jobs or family relationships become much more complex than a ‘friendship’ with your car.

The boys of Pep Boys know this relationship all too well. In fact, they have one too and help us car-men maintain ours.  The company sells brand name and private label auto parts, and provides select services through some 700 stores in 35 states and Puerto Rico. Pep Boys stock about 25,000 car parts and accessories, including tires, and combined, operate around 7,000 service bays for vehicle repairs, inspections, and parts installations. 

And get this: Pep Boys is running a “The Best Seat in the House” Sweepstakes on Facebook! Enter today and enter for the chance to win a VIP Race Day Experience with Penske Racing’s No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil team in Pennsylvania on August 5, 2012!

The Pep Boys Sweepstakes Grand Prize winner gets travel and accommodations, VIP credentials, a guided tour of Pit Road and seats directly above the Pit Box. AND, there’s more! If you don’t win the Grand Prize, don’t worry! To help cheer on #22, they’ll also be giving 22 lucky fans who enter, a $50 Pep Boys Gift Card. Plus, if you share this with a friend who enters, you can get 22 more bonus entries for yourself. Enter and Win The Best Seat in the House! Click here for contest rules

Also, until May 29th, a contest will occur where one lucky winner that enters “The Best Seat in the House” sweepstakes, tweets out with the hashtag #WinTheBestSeatintheHouse as well as comments on the post on why they want to win the “The Best Seat in the House” sweepstakes will get the chance to win a $50 Pep Boys gift card!

A final note on this subject, a quote: “Stealing a man’s wife, that’s nothing, but stealing his car, that’s larceny.” - JAMES M. CAIN, The Postman Always Rings Twice

Drive safely!!