A Note on the Automobiles of Amman

Cars here are not like cars in America, or for that matter anywhere else. Cars here are like craft beers back in the states: the more you start to pay attention to them the more flavors you find. Some are a lot better than others.

We see plenty of Toyota Camrys, equally bland Chevy sedans, and Honda Civics cruising around just like back home. But, right behind them five times out of ten comes a horrible little plastic box with the label reading Daewoo. What on earth is Daewoo? Where on earth does a car engineer stand back from designing that and think he has done a good job? They don't even bother thinking up a vaguely sexy name that makes you think of something else. It is just riding through the desert on plastic box with no name.

One step up from the Box With No Name is are the multitudes of seemingly self procreating multitudes, of Renaults/Citrons/Peugeots/Opels. These are appear little better than the Daewoos. Although, they do at least have names. The names do not exactly conjure images of a “Passion for Change” (Renault slogan) or a “Spirit of Avant Garde” (Citroen slogan) with names like 206, 306, Megane, C3, C4, Duster, and Astra. The Peugeot 206 seems to be a particular favorite among the suburban residents of Amman. It also acts as a perfect archetype for this strata.

They are not horrible boxes, but rather horrible little blobs. At least it appears some modicum of thought was provided for their design. They can often be seen struggling to climb one of Amman’s many hills while sporting erroneous hood vents. Ostensibly, the vents are there to fool a casual observer into believing that this particular Peugeot 206 is turbo charged.... Despite it’s obvious struggle to carry to normal sized humans up a moderate gradient.

Above the French shapes come all numerous Japanese and American shapes: American blandness from before GM’s weight loss program circa 2009, Japanese brands that are not Toyota and Honda, Korean models which look suspiciously alike, along with the odd Lada, Yugo, and newly minted Chinese Brands which no one has yet bothered to learn the name of. (Shanwong, Shanwang, Sanwo??) Suffice to say then, that Amman is a rainforest in terms of its automobile diversity.

This is not to say that all cars in Amman are crap though. What about the ubiquitous upper crust, the top shelf, the luxury? Amman has this as well. Interspersed in the traffic are often some of the most high end cars I have ever seen in real life. Mercedes S-65 AMG, Bentley Continental GT’s with racing wheels, a brand new BMW i-8, custard orange Lamborghini Gallardo. High riding Porsche Cayennes with windows tinted the shade of a moonless night. Most common among the creme of the automotive crop are plethoras of german super-coupes. It is traditional here apparently for these to sport a license plate from a gulf state. The super coupes are daily cruisers for Emiratis, Kuwaitis, Saudis, and the occasional Qatari. All of them ride low with matte paint, jet black windows, after market alloy wheels, and tuned exhaust. They ooze of the conspicuous consumption that flows citizens of a country where the term “cash issues” simply does not exist and daily act as a reminder to all that your country does not float on petroleum lakes.

The Gulf’s consumption brings us neatly to one of the overarching features of automobile ownership in Amman: customization. To put it more accurately, the overarching feature appears to be conspicuous consumption. The local theory seems to be that no matter what you drive, expensive or cheap, old or new, it is made better by adding more. A similar attitude certainly exists in the US with jacking up a pickup truck or putting a body kit on a drifter, but in Amman it is far more reaching. Chrome window frames on Minivans. Nissans with Toyota Racing Development livery emblazoned nose to tail. Customizing even reaches utility vehicles like flat bed trucks which often times sport their own home made color schemes and patterns.

“The more chrome and stickers put on a car the better”, appears to be the dominant style trend. Never you mind whether or not the brand on the stickers matches the brand of the actual car. And, certainly do not be bothered by whether or not you Hyundai accent looks better with fake chrome gills. Of course it looks better! Chrome makes anything on wheels look better! I would imagine strollers and roller skates even look better with chrome around here. In reality though conspicuousness of automobiles in Jordan is really speaking to a wider trend in Jordan and arguably the Middle East. Capturing the abject juxtaposition of car value versus the value of the customized parts does prove ironically difficult. Inevitably the ones that have been bathed in ridiculous racing stripes and chrome are the ones being driven by hormonal young men at, shall we call it, less than safe speed.

It is difficult to place exactly why this trend exists so pervasively. Trying to standout in a crowd seems to be a universal desire of youth, and certainly a flash car can help in that pursuit. Although, this seems an insufficient explanation in of itself. Perhaps, it also has to do with a local youth culture that often has trouble expressing itself for fear of social consequences. Racing stickers and aftermarket wheels are therefore a socially acceptable way of standing out. Or, perhaps more to the point, conspicuous over customization is a way of standing closer to American, or generally western, culture that youth here voraciously consumes but is held at arm's length by older generations.A more simple explanation might be cheap attempts to emulate the gulf’s now famous penchant for showing off. The Gulf is after all one of the places we have most frequently heard that people want to move too; just below the US on a list of desirable work/live destinations. Whatever the reason though, the sheer diversity and interesting detailing makes being stuck in traffic a far more entertaining experience in Amman.

*for on goingphoto updates on the Cars of Amman, visit our photo page!