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Being content and thankful for what you have is a good way to stay positive. Unfortunately, not all people can afford a fancy, sporty, or exotic car. It isn't always easy to be content with your humble or merely average car.

Steps to keep you and your car happy!

* Think about what your car does for you. Does it get you to work, school, and other events on time? Be glad that you have a car. Back when there were no cars, you would have had to travel by horse or on foot. Some people cannot afford a car at all.
* Look at your car's exterior. Do the doors open properly? Does the car have all four wheels? Learn to accept the way you car looks on the outside. Don't be too concerned about what other's think of the car. Chances are you don't know them, so they probably don't really care. Now look at the interior. Do the windows open? Does the car have air conditioning and or heating? What about a radio? Think of all the positives about your car.
* Think about what would having a fancy, fast, sporty, or exotic car do for you. People won't like you for your car. In fact, instead of admiring your car, it would probably just make them jealous. What good would that do?
* Think about the downsides of owning a nice car. If you got a dent or a burn hole, it would be a big deal. With a beater, it does not matter.
* Customize your car. It does not have to be expensive. Add action figures on the dash, quotes on your ceiling, or pictures of friends/family on front of your glove box. There are also some inexpensive things you can buy at most auto shops such as seat covers or fuzzy dice.
* Assuming it's legal in your district, opt for a cheap manual custom spray job and/or neons. Research first, through Google or otherwise, to make sure that your car isn't going to be drooping paint in the rain for a week or blow up when you switch on the neons, and be sure to check with a legal professional or your local police station first.
* Name your car. Talk to him or her when he or she acts up or pulls through in the clutch. Random names such as "Slippery Pete" are good as well as names that identify funny things about your car such as "Rusty".
* Go on a spontaneous road trip with your friends. Memories will help you appreciate your car better.

It’s probably too early to know if open-source software design principles can translate to hardware–in particular, automobiles–but it is a sign of the cultural power of that ideal that two different teams of designers have arisen to attempt to build “open source automobiles.” Anyone is invited to contribute ideas and talent, and the process requires open sharing and collaboration at all stages of design and construction. The big question is, will it work? Can open-source principles work in a radically different, physical medium?

Markus Merz, the German founder of the OScar project, states his goal as follows: “Building a car without an engineering center, without a boss, without money and without borders. But with the help of the collective creativity of the Internet community….” The project started in 1999, and by 2006 announced that it had prepared version 0.2. This meant that the designers had agreed upon a design concept that would be the basis for future planning and building.

That year, there were three core people managing the project, with about 110 people from around the world contributing to it, and another 1,000 who were registered users on the site. Merz estimated he spends two days a week on the project. For more, see the Business Week article on OScar and New Assignment.

Another open-source car design project known as “c,mm,n” (“common” without the “o’s”) was launched in March 2007 by The Netherlands Society for Nature and Environment. This project has some serious backing—three technical universities in Delft, Eindhoven and Twente; partners such as the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Transport; and two corporate sponsors, Athlon Car Lease and Rabobank.

The c,mm,n invites designers and users to help develop a “car of the future” whose blueprints will be freely available as “open source” design plans. There will be no formal “end” to the project; it will be an ongoing project carried on by a community of volunteers. All improvements to the design will be available to everyone.

The sponsors of the c,mm,n want to design a car that holds answers to the following questions: *What kind of system do we need to ensure our freedom to move in the future?

* How do we make the system truly sustainable to people and planet, and ensure that everyone profits from it?
* What kinds of vehicle would function best in this system?
* What steps do we take towards creating this system?
* In the meantime, which elements or ideas can we already put into practice?

 A non-working concept version of the c,mm,n was introduced at an Amsterdam car show in March 2007 AutoARI It is hoped that a proof-of-concept c,mm,n will be presented at the AutoRAI in 2009.

There is a touch of zaniness to the idea of an open-source automobile. But then, that’s also what was said about Richard Stallman in 1984 when he started the Free Software Foundation, whose work initiated key elements later resulting in the GNU Linux operating system. So who knows if open-source principles can be folded into the manufacturing process?. So why not an open-source car?