Own a drivers car but no interest in cars!
Discussion
Some great posts from real driving gurus. Can just picture them sporting their top of the range Pilotis, frantically trying to post as they peer through their helmets and LFB through roundabouts in their Westfields or Integras on their way back from Sainsbury's. Spectacular.
I feel a little useless compared to some posters as I've never even handbrake turned into a parking space!!
I like the GTI, I think it's a pretty decent car.
Thought the nice garden example was bang on.
I feel a little useless compared to some posters as I've never even handbrake turned into a parking space!!
I like the GTI, I think it's a pretty decent car.
Thought the nice garden example was bang on.
Edited by eddharris on Sunday 28th June 22:33
av185 said:
bristolracer said:
I suspect a lot of Porsche Boxsters have been sold on their looks and status rather than their ability.
The slight flaw in your reasoning is that the Boxster is widely regarded as consistently one the best cars in its class.Some years ago a friend was looking to replace a rusty Honda CRX Convertible after many years of Honda ownership.
She went into her regular Honda dealership to see what convertible they could offer her and they showed her an S2000. She said she'd buy it if it fitted in her garage!
It did, so she bought it and probably never got past 4,000rpm - what a waste, but she got her Honda convertible.
I have some cars that would legitimately be called drivers' cars. Yet, when my son comes to stay the car he chooses to drive is my 15 year old Smart Fortwo. He has driven the fast cars but sees the whole car thing as blah. Doesn't hate them, just not interested, and sees my interest and enthusiasm as a bit quaint. Zero interest in tracking or taking track lessons.
I have several friends who have the same experience. I tend to keep my cars, and would assume he will get whatever is in the garage when I pop off, but I imagine he will just get rid of them.
It's not a shame..it just that people have different passions.
I have several friends who have the same experience. I tend to keep my cars, and would assume he will get whatever is in the garage when I pop off, but I imagine he will just get rid of them.
It's not a shame..it just that people have different passions.
RDMcG said:
I have some cars that would legitimately be called drivers' cars. Yet, when my son comes to stay the car he chooses to drive is my 15 year old Smart Fortwo. He has driven the fast cars but sees the whole car thing as blah. Doesn't hate them, just not interested, and sees my interest and enthusiasm as a bit quaint. Zero interest in tracking or taking track lessons.
I have several friends who have the same experience. I tend to keep my cars, and would assume he will get whatever is in the garage when I pop off, but I imagine he will just get rid of them.
It's not a shame..it just that people have different passions.
Bad parenting. You should have taught him to change brake pads by the age of 5 I have several friends who have the same experience. I tend to keep my cars, and would assume he will get whatever is in the garage when I pop off, but I imagine he will just get rid of them.
It's not a shame..it just that people have different passions.
I think there are just quite a lot of casual car enthusiasts.
People who like to have something a little bit sporty that makes a nice noise and goes quite well.
I know quite a few people with cars that you would assume means they like cars, but simply they like nice things. Nice house, clothes, watch etc Aston Martin on the drive just goes with it.
My wife probably counts doesn’t like cars except for having a complete b
h fit if I try and suggest something a bit cheaper than hey Model S. She drives at 50 mph Max.
Just to be clear. Good for them if they are happy with it. Not taking your car to the limit doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have it.
People who like to have something a little bit sporty that makes a nice noise and goes quite well.
I know quite a few people with cars that you would assume means they like cars, but simply they like nice things. Nice house, clothes, watch etc Aston Martin on the drive just goes with it.
My wife probably counts doesn’t like cars except for having a complete b
h fit if I try and suggest something a bit cheaper than hey Model S. She drives at 50 mph Max. Just to be clear. Good for them if they are happy with it. Not taking your car to the limit doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have it.
My father in law is a bit of a case of this. He has had a lot of really nice cars, 2 x M4's, 2 x C63S (flip flopped between them as he couldn't decide which he preferred!), Audi RS3, AMG GT, V8 Vantage and is now eyeing up a 911. However he lives just outside central London, works around 6 miles from his house and says that he rarely gets above 20mph in any of them other than when he gets on the motorway to see us at which point anything above 70mph starts to get a bit unsettling having only travelled at low speed for most of the time.
I said why don't you just get a C250/320/Audi A3 etc? He said that he likes the look of the quicker versions and sports cars but doesn't have any inclination to drive them how they were intended. Madness!
I said why don't you just get a C250/320/Audi A3 etc? He said that he likes the look of the quicker versions and sports cars but doesn't have any inclination to drive them how they were intended. Madness!
ntiz said:
I think there are just quite a lot of casual car enthusiasts.
People who like to have something a little bit sporty that makes a nice noise and goes quite well.
I know quite a few people with cars that you would assume means they like cars, but simply they like nice things. Nice house, clothes, watch etc Aston Martin on the drive just goes with it.
My wife probably counts doesn’t like cars except for having a complete bh fit if I try and suggest something a bit cheaper than hey Model S. She drives at 50 mph Max.
Just to be clear. Good for them if they are happy with it. Not taking your car to the limit doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have it.
If companies sold cars exclusively to the reasonably small sub-culture known as "petrol heads" or "Enthusiasts" etc.they would be in for a bit of a bad time. Especially at the top end. As you say, many people just like having nice things. Others buy into a lifestyle, some like the "look at me" of it all. Some are easily taken in by salesmen. Some are massive petrol heads. People who like to have something a little bit sporty that makes a nice noise and goes quite well.
I know quite a few people with cars that you would assume means they like cars, but simply they like nice things. Nice house, clothes, watch etc Aston Martin on the drive just goes with it.
My wife probably counts doesn’t like cars except for having a complete b
h fit if I try and suggest something a bit cheaper than hey Model S. She drives at 50 mph Max. Just to be clear. Good for them if they are happy with it. Not taking your car to the limit doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have it.
rustfalia said:
A 5 door mk5 Golf gti is hardly a drivers car.
85Carrera said:
Exactly what I thought. Not a driver’s car at all. Presumably just what was within her monthly PCP budget like the other sheep.
You've both clearly not driven one then. No it's not a 'corner on the doorhandles with your hair on fire' sort of car, but it's got a cracking chassis and does a passable impersonation of steering feel and chassis feedback. And no, I'm not an owner / ex-owner - my wife had one for 5 or 6 years. I DO tend to go for the hardcore stuff that you're professing that we all should own, but I still enjoyed many a drive in the Mk5...probably the best chassis VW have ever done, and comparable to the Mk1 Focus (which I believe they used as a benchmark).
BTW - "PCP" / "monthlies" ...on a 13y.o. car?!? F**k's sake man, have a word with yourself...
kambites said:
A Golf GTi is a great car for an enthusiast who needs family-car practicality; but it's not an "enthusiast car" in the sense of being a car aimed solely or even primarily at car enthusiasts. My wife drives an Octavia VRS and she has no interest in cars whatsoever; to her it's just a comfortable, enormously practical family car which has a decent turn of speed for pulling out of junctions or motorway slip-roads. The main reason we got a VRS over the other moderately powerful petrol models? She liked the two-tone seats.
85Carrera said:
rustfalia said:
A 5 door mk5 Golf gti is hardly a drivers car.
Exactly what I thought. Not a driver’s car at all. Presumably just what was within her monthly PCP budget like the other sheep.But you have decided that lady in her old Golf GTI is one, she may just not be a car weirdo and do loads of other stuff, maybe sailing, writing, music, parkour, fly a microlight, study languages, dance, martial arts etc. We already know she prefers to cycle, which to be fair keeps you fit and it more fun than driving most of the time.
What about owning an old 911 makes you something other than a sheep, or are you just a sheep with an old Porsche ?
GrizzlyBear said:
Loads of people like to own the GTi for the image, but drive them quietly down the road, they just like the idea it is a GTi as they are usually stuck in a traffic jam at 5mph. Hence why marketing is so important to get people to buy sufficient numbers of the sporty one to make it viable.
Then you get boy racers in fiestas adding additional tiny "fins" to the roof "cos it will make it go fast, like, init!" oh yes, the best one was "alloy wheels are like, well heavy so it weighs the car down in the corners"... I could barely stop myself from laughing in his face at that one, I couldn't be bother to explain it to him as I am guessing I would have to speak slowly and repeat myself a lot.
Lots of people: Go to car dealer, look at cars, they find one they like the look of in a colour they like and those wheels look nice... then buy it. Nothing wrong with that, pay your money and take your choice...
What's a GTi?Then you get boy racers in fiestas adding additional tiny "fins" to the roof "cos it will make it go fast, like, init!" oh yes, the best one was "alloy wheels are like, well heavy so it weighs the car down in the corners"... I could barely stop myself from laughing in his face at that one, I couldn't be bother to explain it to him as I am guessing I would have to speak slowly and repeat myself a lot.
Lots of people: Go to car dealer, look at cars, they find one they like the look of in a colour they like and those wheels look nice... then buy it. Nothing wrong with that, pay your money and take your choice...
RDMcG said:
Zero interest in tracking or taking track lessons.
That’s not a definitive benchmark, though. I’ve been a lifelong enthusiast and much of my free time is spent planning and executing road trips and opportunities to drive spiritedly pn the road. I’ve done 15 or so track days but never got the bug, and wouldn’t be bothered if I never did another one. However my road blats are as important to me as food and water.Track driving is certainly becoming the default as fast-road is becoming more difficult to enjoy without attracting attention. But if you’re lucky enough to live in a country where it’s still possible and make the effort to plan accordingly, it’s still the purest way to enjoy driving imo.
Al U said:
My father in law is a bit of a case of this. He has had a lot of really nice cars, 2 x M4's, 2 x C63S (flip flopped between them as he couldn't decide which he preferred!), Audi RS3, AMG GT, V8 Vantage and is now eyeing up a 911. However he lives just outside central London, works around 6 miles from his house and says that he rarely gets above 20mph in any of them other than when he gets on the motorway to see us at which point anything above 70mph starts to get a bit unsettling having only travelled at low speed for most of the time.
I said why don't you just get a C250/320/Audi A3 etc? He said that he likes the look of the quicker versions and sports cars but doesn't have any inclination to drive them how they were intended. Madness!
That is interesting and I get that. Buying something for aesthetics and to enjoy the pleasure of owning it is not madness in my mind. At age 51 I have just secured my first steady job with steady income (been self employed one man band consultant and trainer up till now) and im thinking of a 'nice' car in a year or so. I really like 370z Nissan...but it would have to be the Nismo. Why? It just looks right to me. I dont drive fast.. i can..but i don't. But I would feel cheated if I bought a standard 370.. so, I get your fil point.I said why don't you just get a C250/320/Audi A3 etc? He said that he likes the look of the quicker versions and sports cars but doesn't have any inclination to drive them how they were intended. Madness!
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