What defines a petrolhead?

[Blown2CV]

Bit existential this one... but I have been thinking about whether or not there is such a thing as a 'real' petrolhead, and what it is about cars/bikes that draws us all in. There seems to be a hell of a spread of walks of life on here, right from Veyron owners down to new drivers in corsas, and all manner of skinted and minted in between.

On the face of it, you might say well a petrolhead is someone that likes fancy cars. Well then how do you explain the rat-look, or sleepers? You might say someone that likes fast cars, but then you have all the vintage enthusiasts etc. Is a petrolhead someone that spends a lot of money on cars? Probably not - bangernomics. Maybe it is proportion of income, and preparedness to allocate a larger percentage of money to this hobby we have; but is it just about money? I mean, owning a lot of cars, a posh garage shrine to cars and all that is only made possible by money. Possibly it is car geekery - knowing all the facts and figures about your car and others. I can't imagine this is common to all though, some genuinely aren't bothered.

Personally, I have always loved cars, and I used to draw pictures of them from when I could hold a pencil, copying the old morris, vauxhall, austin brochures my dad used to bring home from the dealerships where he worked at the time. Even Lada ones! Nowadays, in my spare moments I always seem to end up on car websites, or figuring out what cars I might be able to afford. However at the moment I can't seem to be able to justify spending money on changing my car from my old stbox mondeo. I wonder if that means I am no longer a petrolhead?

[matty_doh]

A person who derives enjoyment from motoring and whatever comes bundled with it, whether it is all-out track driving or tinkering with a car in a garge.

If you enjoy cars, whether it be drawing them, driving them or fixing them, you're a petrolhead IMO.

Edited by matty_doh on Sunday 23 May 16:56

[sdmurray]

Wow, really deep man! You really do need to get a more fun car and get out in it on a day like today! It's not about money (although that helps) but about . . . well, hard to say really, just that feeling you have when out in a car you like or just looking at it if it is still not roadworthy. Fun to tinker with, clean, polish and, most importantly, drive.

They just make you feel -

[Ry_B]

According to clarkson, if you own or have owned an alfa

[james_gt3rs]

matty_doh said:

A person who derives enjoyment from motoring and whatever comes bundled with it, whether it is all-out track driving or tinkering with a car in a garge.

If you enjoy cars, whether it be drawing them, driving them or fixing them, you're a petrolhead IMO.

Edited by matty_doh on Sunday 23 May 16:56

Yep. End of thread.

[Ferg]

matty_doh said:

A person who derives enjoyment from motoring and whatever comes bundled with it, whether it is all-out track driving or tinkering with a car in a garage.

If you enjoy cars, whether it be drawing them, driving them or fixing them, you're a petrolhead IMO.

I think it's important to realise that you are allowed to NOT like some of these aspects without being ostracised, though.

[sonny.j.h]

Somebody who "gets off" on the sound of an engine.

[ewenm]

Enthusiasm.

[nsmith1180]

I love for the car in all its guises.

An interest in motorsport, even just a passing one.

The ability to extract enjoyment out of any car, be it a 8c or a c8 (citroen).

A username on the most hallowed of petrolhead websites - www.pistonheads.com/gassing

[Dick_Phallus]

nsmith1180 said:

A love for the car in all its guises.

This. The ability to appreciate all things motoring is basically all you need. People who only 'get' RWD sports cars aren't really petrolheads if you ask me.

[Ferg]

Dick_Phallus said:

People who only 'get' RWD sports cars aren't really petrolheads if you ask me.

This is where the argument will kick off.
I don't 'get' the Veyron, nor do I 'get' people who can't fix their own car, but I think you just have to live with it.

[soad]

Ry_B said:

According to clarkson, if you own or have owned an alfa

Some would say that being a petrolhead isn't down to a loyalty or affinity to one particular brand or country, it's a state of mind.

Being a petrolhead means you love cars and are prepared to compromise on fuel economy and running costs to have a good car (or bike)...or anything else with an engine.

[otolith]

Someone who values cars far above their usefulness as a means of transport.

[Dick_Phallus]

Ferg said:

Dick_Phallus said:

People who only 'get' RWD sports cars aren't really petrolheads if you ask me.

This is where the argument will kick off.
I don't 'get' the Veyron, nor do I 'get' people who can't fix their own car, but I think you just have to live with it.

Can you appreciate the Veyron though? It might not stir you, but if you can appreciate the engineering behind it, then you're a petrolhead.

[heebeegeetee]

Dick_Phallus said:

nsmith1180 said:

A love for the car in all its guises.

This. The ability to appreciate all things motoring is basically all you need. People who only 'get' RWD sports cars aren't really petrolheads if you ask me.

I do get dismayed at people who set their parameters too narrow, or people who think they can 'buy hardcore', or particularly people who see the car they own or their level of petrolheadism as some form of competition while being too scared to actually do any actual competition. That I find fraudulent.

I hate that term 'hardcore' too. What is hardcore about a car bought off the shelf, even if it does have 600bhp (plus a host of driver aids)?

The bad thing about petrolheadism is that it attracts some people with unfortunate personalities, who think that a big wedge of cash or debt thrown at a car will make a man out of them.

The great thing imo is just what such a big world it is, from VSCC to competitive polishing to Le Mans to sprinting an MX5 up Shelsley to fwd and rwd and all that huge world in between. I like it all, tbh.

[Twincam16]

Someone who likes cars or 'bikes - I'd leave it at that.

I do get rather put off by some assertions of petrolhead 'passion' by some magazines though. I don't find engines 'sexy', nor do I feel compelled to 'drool' at the sight of any particular car, no matter what some magazine caption-writers might think. I am a huge car enthusiast, but I don't find they cause me to lose control of my bodily functions.

[Ferg]

Dick_Phallus said:

Can you appreciate the Veyron though? It might not stir you, but if you can appreciate the engineering behind it, then you're a petrolhead.

Sort of, I suppose, but I don't think it's a great feat of engineering. I may be wrong, but I feel it's a fairly straightforward solution to making a car go really fast. Shedloads of power.
I'm infinitely more impressed with clever engineering solutions. Some of the tricks on Thrust SSC and the like to control a car at land speeds almost beyond comprehension. Or even stuff like the Formula One 'F' duct.
Like I said, I think you just have to go with the flow.

[Emubiker]

Questions like these do seem to do the rounds a lot dont they, think theres two running atm and not so long ago: http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0... many Pistonheaders are petrolheads?&mid=161015

[GreigM]

otolith said:

Someone who values cars far above their usefulness as a means of transport.

On one hand I agree with this - but then you get far too many people who loves cars as a status symbol and for what the car says about them, rather than for the car itself...these people also value the cars higher than just transport.

[sdmurray]

Interestingly, the Wikipedia site does not list "petrolhead" apart from as an albumn title of some popular music artist. The only real reference I foudn in that tome was in the list of British/US English differences.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_words...