Why is it rare to see "fast" cars being driven "fast"

[pops and bangs]

Bit random but I very rarely see fast cars actually being driven fast on the roads.

Now before anyone says it I know that the roads aren't a racetrack but without fail when I see a nice car that is actually capable of being driven fast it is always being driven in the "slow" lane of the motorway.

Yet you'll always have someone in a base spec diesel pushing well over a ton right up your ass on the motorway...

Or you'll find a random escort giving it some down a country road, but a "proper" sports car will be doing about 20mph.

I suppose to be fair it's not strictly true, there are exceptions on quickish cars driving fast, I'll always find a supercharged range rover up my ass

Hmmm not sure what the point of this thread is, must be the boredom.......

But seriously I can't remember the last time I actually saw a nice car being driven "enthusiastically"

[Laurel Green]

They have nothing to prove.

[Sam1990]

The owners are too tight to waste petrol?

[PedoBear]

Drivers have more money than tallent when it comes to buying cars.

[StottyZr]

In my experiance if a fast car is being driven fast you only see it for about 2seconds. This could be why you don't notice as much

[Hugo a Gogo]

cos they're so fast, obviously

[LuS1fer]

Some people like to keep their cars nice and there is no doubt that there is a negative side to your car being peppered by debris at 100-plus. Even flies are enough to hack you off on a bad day...

However, think of it from the scamera point of view - two cars come round onto an epically safe 30 mile straight and one is a Porsche and one is a Focus. Both are travelling at 80 - which one gets targeted?

[NORTS]

Less morons drive fast cars? Or fuel may be a consideration?

[lodgy]

i notice this too

was driving on some local backroads the other day when a car in the distance pulled out of a junstion, when i came up behind him it was an M6 doing 45 in NSL,

dont see why you would buy such a car to simply tootle around

[Garlick]

Laurel Green said:

They have nothing to prove.

This.

You don't have to go fast all of the time simply because your car is capable of it.

It's like saying a Polo Bluemotion should always be at 56mph trying to achieve optimum MPG.

I have seen fast sports cars, I have seen fast normal cars and it also works the other way around. This post seems to be a sweeping generalisation (in the nicest way).

[pops and bangs]

lodgy said:

i notice this too

was driving on some local backroads the other day when a car in the distance pulled out of a junstion, when i came up behind him it was an M6 doing 45 in NSL,

dont see why you would buy such a car to simply tootle around

I'm assuming (probably wrongly) that some owners are simply posers

I just think it's a waste to buy a fast car and never get past 3500rpm...

[briers]

Because most of us choose to do it away from built up areas and dangerous roads in favour of clear country a roads.

Unlike the 2 complete cretins i saw the other day in an old scooby and some remapped alfa diesel who floored it up to at least 60 down an inner city dual carriageway with a 30 limit in a really built up area.

[ewenm]

You're looking in the wrong places. Go to an autobahn (if straight line speed is your thing) or some mountain passes or trackdays to see fast cars being driven fast.

This thread is similar to the "convertibles with the roof up" threads that appear regularly. It's someone's choice whether they want to drive fast/economically/roof up/roof down/etc - there's no requirement for someone to use all of their car's performance/attributes all the time.

[R12HCO]

What is fast?

Are we talking 200+ hot hatches to ferrari's?

I use to drive my 'fast' car very hard.

[pops and bangs]

Garlick said:

This.

You don't have to go fast all of the time simply because your car is capable of it.

I know, I'm not suggesting that if a car is capable of speed, it should be pushed all the time.

And yes my post is a generalisation, obviously not everyone who owns a fast car drives slow, but in my experience it's very rare to see a fast car being driven fast.

I'd bet my life on it that if you were to sit on the side on the side of a motorway for a day, the majority of fast cars are being driven slow.

But yes my post is a generalisation, like with my reference to range rovers, although again while not every range rover owner is the same, the majority of range rovers are always up my ass on the motorway.

[Zod]

It does seem to rile some people. Some dick in a Honda tried to overtake me on the cross-hatching approaching the Holloway Road railway bridge this morning in rush hour traffic. Pulled out from behind me twenty yards short of the bridge and put his foot down. Didn't make it (of course), had to brake for the bridge and then tried the same thing when the lights changed, this time using the bus lane on the other side.

Probably the same prick who shouted "nice car, but you don't know how to drive it" when I was driving my first-born home from hospital five years ago.

[ADM06]

Because it's illegal and many wish to keep their driving license.

[Grovsie26]

Because not everyone is a moron.

I just wish they'd floor it for a second or two so i could hear the engine, there was a 360 Modena in front of me the other day and even pulling up alongside him and nailing it didn't entice him lol.

[XJSsometimeSoon]

lodgy said:

i notice this too

was driving on some local backroads the other day when a car in the distance pulled out of a junstion, when i came up behind him it was an M6 doing 45 in NSL,

dont see why you would buy such a car to simply tootle around

Maybe an engine management issues and it was in 'limp home' mode

[ewenm]

pops and bangs said:

I just think it's a waste to buy a fast car and never get past 3500rpm...

How do you know they never get past 3500rpm? Because they are sitting at 70 on the motorway? Are they on the way home from a euro-hoon/track day/spirited b-road blast? Do they have a passenger with them who might not appreciate speed? Can they just not be bothered with the potential hassle from the numpties on our motorways (pulling out without looking, trying to race, tailgating, etc)? Maybe they already have 9 points on their licence so need to be careful they don't accumulate more.