Performance cars driven by non petrolheads?
Discussion
aka_kerrly said:
I really don't get this thread.
If you had to qualify as a petrolhead in order to buy a performance car then there would be significantly less performance cars on the road ergo far less second hand ones available which is frankly a terrible thought.
I am happy for Miss Daisy to buy a AMG/M/RS or whatever if she treats it right and sells it to me at a good price.
I don't think anybody is really complaining. It's more a debate of why somebody would buy a very expensive car when they could have one more suited to them or cheaper to run for a lot less given the fact they probably don't care about its performance. I've got nothing at all against somebody going from a Honda Jazz to a CTR but it is remarkably out of the ordinary.If you had to qualify as a petrolhead in order to buy a performance car then there would be significantly less performance cars on the road ergo far less second hand ones available which is frankly a terrible thought.
I am happy for Miss Daisy to buy a AMG/M/RS or whatever if she treats it right and sells it to me at a good price.
ModernAndy said:
aka_kerrly said:
I really don't get this thread.
If you had to qualify as a petrolhead in order to buy a performance car then there would be significantly less performance cars on the road ergo far less second hand ones available which is frankly a terrible thought.
I am happy for Miss Daisy to buy a AMG/M/RS or whatever if she treats it right and sells it to me at a good price.
I don't think anybody is really complaining. It's more a debate of why somebody would buy a very expensive car when they could have one more suited to them or cheaper to run for a lot less given the fact they probably don't care about its performance. I've got nothing at all against somebody going from a Honda Jazz to a CTR but it is remarkably out of the ordinary.If you had to qualify as a petrolhead in order to buy a performance car then there would be significantly less performance cars on the road ergo far less second hand ones available which is frankly a terrible thought.
I am happy for Miss Daisy to buy a AMG/M/RS or whatever if she treats it right and sells it to me at a good price.
J4CKO said:
I don't think there are many who are totally oblivious to what they are buying, I suspect a lot, even if they arent interested are egged on by family or friends who are petrolheads, maybe they like the look and to be honest most performance cars these days are very benign, double clutch autos, nice and politely mapped power delivery, esp etc, my mum could get in any modern performance car and drive it with minimal instruction.
My wife isnt really a petrolhead but will cope with anything, to be honest she had the hardest car to drive we have ever had in her Fiat 500's (old school) which make modern supercars look laughably easy to drive, no synchro, crap brakes, no power, no electronics etc.
Engine power is the easiest facet of a car these days to control, a feedback loop between brain and foot, it is just a reserve of power that you can choose to use or not, real petolheads are not just obsessed with power, my uncles buy and sell lots of 30s to 50's cars, they live it day to day, try driving a 2 Cyl Jowett Bradford Pick up or a 30's Rover and a lot of so called Petrolheads will come unstuck very quickly.
There are real petrolheads everywhere, just because someone is Middle Aged, Gay, Elderly, Black, Asian, or Female doesnt mean they arent petrolheads, and conversely, just because someone is young, male, and enthusiastic, doesnt mean they arent just a grown up Top Trumps player using a spreadsheet to see what the fastest thing is they can lease for £300 a month.
More importantly, just because someone doesn't drive fast doesn't mean they don't love cars, or their car. I know of plenty of what people here would call petrolheads who know how to mash their foot in to the carpet but couldn't care less about looking after their car or loving it, or even driving well. Most so called petrol heads are only really interested in going fast in a strait line and bragging to mates in the pub.My wife isnt really a petrolhead but will cope with anything, to be honest she had the hardest car to drive we have ever had in her Fiat 500's (old school) which make modern supercars look laughably easy to drive, no synchro, crap brakes, no power, no electronics etc.
Engine power is the easiest facet of a car these days to control, a feedback loop between brain and foot, it is just a reserve of power that you can choose to use or not, real petolheads are not just obsessed with power, my uncles buy and sell lots of 30s to 50's cars, they live it day to day, try driving a 2 Cyl Jowett Bradford Pick up or a 30's Rover and a lot of so called Petrolheads will come unstuck very quickly.
There are real petrolheads everywhere, just because someone is Middle Aged, Gay, Elderly, Black, Asian, or Female doesnt mean they arent petrolheads, and conversely, just because someone is young, male, and enthusiastic, doesnt mean they arent just a grown up Top Trumps player using a spreadsheet to see what the fastest thing is they can lease for £300 a month.
king stupid middle aged men &women who cant work out what lane to be in., usually a Carrera 4s auto.monthefish said:
As the performance variant is usually the most expensive of the range, and often has the most toys, and so non-petrolheads will blindly seek this model out.
IIRC, Deborah Meadon (the eco-warrior from Dragons Den) has an Audi RS6 avant.
How do you know she doesn't like cars? Prior to her RS6, she had a 997.IIRC, Deborah Meadon (the eco-warrior from Dragons Den) has an Audi RS6 avant.
aka_kerrly said:
I really don't get this thread.
If you had to qualify as a petrolhead in order to buy a performance car then there would be significantly less performance cars on the road ergo far less second hand ones available which is frankly a terrible thought.
I am happy for Miss Daisy to buy a AMG/M/RS or whatever if she treats it right and sells it to me at a good price.
My thoughts exactly - and I'm guessing most of us would feel the same. I've lost count of the amount of cars that I bought over the years that seem to have been owned by the wrong person prior to me.......... I say good luck to the salesman, they can get a deal out of someone who hasn't got a clue then it's all well and good for us a couple of years down the line.If you had to qualify as a petrolhead in order to buy a performance car then there would be significantly less performance cars on the road ergo far less second hand ones available which is frankly a terrible thought.
I am happy for Miss Daisy to buy a AMG/M/RS or whatever if she treats it right and sells it to me at a good price.
My old Business Studies teacher in 6th form was a mid 50's woman with a bubble-perm and a penchant for Marks and Spencer brown skirts, seemingly made from hessian.
She had an Estoril blue E36 M3 Evo Convertible. It was about a year old at the time.
Being 17 year old petrolheads, this was the coolest thing we had ever seen, but she just drove it around like she would a Nissan Micra.
I think we established that her husband owned an IT company and bought it for her to run around in, perhaps so he could use it at weekends. Fair play to him.
She had an Estoril blue E36 M3 Evo Convertible. It was about a year old at the time.
Being 17 year old petrolheads, this was the coolest thing we had ever seen, but she just drove it around like she would a Nissan Micra.
I think we established that her husband owned an IT company and bought it for her to run around in, perhaps so he could use it at weekends. Fair play to him.
aka_kerrly said:
I really don't get this thread.
If you had to qualify as a petrolhead in order to buy a performance car then there would be significantly less performance cars on the road ergo far less second hand ones available which is frankly a terrible thought.
I am happy for Miss Daisy to buy a AMG/M/RS or whatever if she treats it right and sells it to me at a good price.
My thoughts exactly - and I'm guessing most of us would feel the same. I've lost count of the amount of cars that I bought over the years that seem to have been owned by the wrong person prior to me.......... I say good luck to the salesman, they can get a deal out of someone who hasn't got a clue then it's all well and good for us a couple of years down the line.If you had to qualify as a petrolhead in order to buy a performance car then there would be significantly less performance cars on the road ergo far less second hand ones available which is frankly a terrible thought.
I am happy for Miss Daisy to buy a AMG/M/RS or whatever if she treats it right and sells it to me at a good price.
There is a cycle, sales men talk people into buying the very high performance model which is completely unsuitable for them, because they are generally the most over priced and profitable. Then 3 years later they will sell them the next model up but not the performance model for about the same amount with the promise of much lower maintenance bills.
schmalex said:
monthefish said:
As the performance variant is usually the most expensive of the range, and often has the most toys, and so non-petrolheads will blindly seek this model out.
IIRC, Deborah Meadon (the eco-warrior from Dragons Den) has an Audi RS6 avant.
How do you know she doesn't like cars? Prior to her RS6, she had a 997.IIRC, Deborah Meadon (the eco-warrior from Dragons Den) has an Audi RS6 avant.
The RS6 isn't the most eco friendly model in the range.
ModernAndy said:
I suppose about 25 years ago you would generally have a top of the range, suitable for anybody type car with all the luxuries that would be either a saloon, a hatchback or an estate. Nowadays there's relatively few cars that at the top-end are just a hatchback, saloon, etc without a performance slant. Taking Audi as an example, nearly all their top of the range cars are S's or RS's. The same with a few of the Fords like the Fiesta ST, the Focus RS. Mercedes have AMG at the top of a lot of their range. Even Skoda have the VRS badge on the cars that are likely to appeal to the older buyer.
In addition (and I know this isn't really what people mean by sports cars- because a 2.0 TDi with S-Line suspension isn't exactly a Ferrari), sporty trims are now above SE trims (or the equivalent) and depending on manufacturer also offer luxuries that aren't on the SE so if you want that widget on your car, you've got to get the S-Line/R-Line/M-Sport,etc.
I guess if you have a fair whack to spend on a car and want the best one, the chances are you'll be directed to something quite/overtly sporty rather than something conservative.
also you no longer see 'CD' / 'ghia' / 'VandenPlas' modelsIn addition (and I know this isn't really what people mean by sports cars- because a 2.0 TDi with S-Line suspension isn't exactly a Ferrari), sporty trims are now above SE trims (or the equivalent) and depending on manufacturer also offer luxuries that aren't on the SE so if you want that widget on your car, you've got to get the S-Line/R-Line/M-Sport,etc.
I guess if you have a fair whack to spend on a car and want the best one, the chances are you'll be directed to something quite/overtly sporty rather than something conservative.
you fggo back tothe mid to late 90s you could get both a CD or CDX version and a GSI all the way through the vauxhall range from Nova / Corsa to Omega
ditto with ford and Ghia and XR / RS fiesta - escort / focus / mondeo
There's a woman nearby who takes a new (14 plate) M5 on the school run. I've seen it for a few weeks now - it's got a dent in the back and the n/s wheels are kerbed to buggery. I would assume the owner is a non-petrolhead, given that the car's remained in this condition for a few months.
I did chuckle to myself a few years ago when sitting in some traffic on the motorway and an old bloke in an M3 drove past. On it's own there's absolutely nothing wrong with that - except the old bloke had (assumedly accidentally) pinned the throttle and was sitting, wide-mouthed, with a look of sheer terror on his face as the BMW caned it past my lane and down the motorway.
I did chuckle to myself a few years ago when sitting in some traffic on the motorway and an old bloke in an M3 drove past. On it's own there's absolutely nothing wrong with that - except the old bloke had (assumedly accidentally) pinned the throttle and was sitting, wide-mouthed, with a look of sheer terror on his face as the BMW caned it past my lane and down the motorway.
F1GTRUeno said:
J4CKO said:
Boydie88 said:
An Audi R8 is definitely your average non petrol head's dream car.
I must admit I thought that, until I drove one and came away very impressed.I can see how Audi is an aspirational brand and the R8 is the "top of the range", plus its fairly approachable as supercars go, so I can see what you are saying, but I wouldnt let that put me off, the thought of Top Gear disciples in A4's giving respect is due would irk a bit though.
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