So, what makes one an ”auto enthusiast”?

[SSSnail]

I see that term thrown around here quite a bit, and quite a few smugly claim membership while denouncing others. So really, what makes anyone an enthusiast? Is there a club somewhere you can join? Do they have membership cards?

Yeah you, I'm looking at you, the ”stick shift only” person, or you ”my car has more HP than your curb weight” crew...

 

[mmntech]

To me a car lover is anyone who sees vehicles as more than just a tool.

 

[phucheneh]

"I likies the carses"

You don't have to be a mechanical genius. You don't have to have enclyopedic knowledge. You just like cars, and you pick them apart in ways that the standard consumer would not.

You can drive a subcompact. Or a pickup truck. You don't have to own a sports car.

TBQH, I almost use the term in a derogatory sense sometimes. Usually I'm referring to someone with zero knowledge, and no desire to attain any.

But even then, if they're paying someone else to mod their car to meet the desires they have for driving...well, I think that's still enthusiast.

Here's a good way to put it maybe:

-Large base of car knowledge. The history, the constant changes and revisions to car lines, different engines, different designers, ect. Or just a fundamental understanding of how a car functions. Some substantial mix of all that stuff.

-Ability to fix anything automotive-related. Or at least make an effort (and preferably be able to admit defeat/seek help before you destroy something).

-Love of driving, and having a far better than average competency level. This is where the ''manual' thing comes in for me. These types usually like to manipulate things themselves. Saying you like driving your cushy, fullsize, well-equipped automatic is a bit different- enjoying your mobile living room is not really the same as 'liking driving.'

Anyway- pick two of the above. Maybe one if you have an absurd strength in that area (but for that, you'd probably automatically integrate one of the others. E.g. car-fixing savant probably has a pretty good knowledge base)

 

[Zenmervolt]

For me, a lot of what it comes down to is whether you've made tangible sacrifices to enable your car habit. Something more than "I chose the bigger engine instead of the optional 36-way power seats and navigation system."

I'm not saying you can't be wealthy and still be a car guy. Jay Leno is clearly a car guy and he's got more money than I'll ever see. But he's definitely made sacrifices for the cars he has. There are a lot of other ways he could spend his time than convincing Chrysler to sell him a fully-functional Turbine Car. It's clear that Leno puts a lot of time and effort into just finding the rare classics he's so driven to own. And then there's the time he puts in to understanding each of the oddballs that he collects; his cars don't just sit in his garage, but they're all drivable. Even though he's not hurting financially for the cars, he's clearly giving up a lot of other things for them.

For others among us, it's living like a hermit through college so that we could afford to keep our 924S on the road after its clutch exploded. Staying home and saving money or laying under the car coaxing stuck and rusted bolts free instead of going to bars or parties.

Ultimately, this is probably one of the best summations I've seen: http://blogs.insideline.com/straightline/2008/10/kill-the-car-guy.html

You can have all the knowledge and competence in the world about cars and driving but if that's not a priority in your life, then you're not a gearhead. You may be able to double-clutch like Jackie Stewart or drift through a gravel corner like Vic Elford but if such things aren't a major component of what makes you feel alive and big parts of the reason that you want to see the next sunrise, then you're just not a gearhead.

ZV

 

[phucheneh]

Well then our schools of thought differ, sir. I'm the 'lots of knowledge/competency at work' coupled with 'likes to blast through corners and test a car's limits' kinda guy.

But I do not make sacrifices so I can afford to maintain and/or modify a 'tuner' (in the general, non-Japanese sense) car.

Perhaps buying what I felt was the economy car with the best driving experiences lets me back in the club? ;(

 

[JulesMaximus]

So really, what makes anyone an enthusiast?

If you own a BMW, more particularly, an M3, you are an enthusiast.

I own a Nissan so I can't be a car enthusiast.

Besides, if I called myself an enthusiast I'd probably have herpaderp or someone else in here telling me why I'm not really an enthusiast. Kind of why I'm not posting much in here anymore and certainly why I'm not posting anything motorcycle related. Who needs the aggravation.

 

[vshah]

I made it a precondition to marriage that I'd be allowed to spend up to 50k on an NSX one day. Does that count? :awe:

 

[JulesMaximus]

I made it a precondition to marriage that I'd be allowed to spend up to 50k on an NSX one day. Does that count? :awe:

Only if you actually follow through on it. Otherwise, no. :sneaky:

 

[Zenmervolt]

Eh, it's not really a "club" or anything special.

I used to be a computer guy a decade or two ago, but I'm not anymore. There was a time when I could tell you all about the next processor and what the tradeoffs were between a Cyrix MIII, a K6-III, and a Pentium II, but right today I couldn't tell you whether Cyrix is still in business or how the current generation of processors compare against each other. I can still build a computer and I know my way around them, but the gathering of information about them just doesn't have a significant place in my life anymore. Hell, I don't even know what the current RAM standard is (DDR-3, 4, how many pins?) anymore and I don't care unless I'm building a new computer, in which case I just look it up.

In any case, I don't think anyone would call me a "computer guy" anymore. They're just a tool to me now. Something that can be fun, but not something that's a background presence in my life all the time.

In any case, what this rambling is intended to convey is that I haven't actually "lost" anything. It wasn't a badge of honor or anything at the time either. It was just something that I spent a lot of time following and paying attention to. Not just something to be dispassionately competent about as I am now.

Not being a "gearhead" isn't shameful. It's not anything at all really.

The whole "gearhead/not gearhead" distinction is nothing more than a passably decent way of looking at things that helps illuminate why some people see things differently. A person who loves cars is going to view things differently than someone who is dispassionately competent with them.

ZV

 

[MagickMan]

Some people love driving, some are obsessed with mechanicals, others are into both. There are degrees of enthusiasm, to be sure, but I consider anyone an enthusiast if cars inspire them in substantial way. I know people who can't turn a wrench but can tell you the specs for every Aston Martin ever made, I consider that person "enthused".

 

[tcG]

"Pomp and circumstance"?

 

[halik]

m3

 

[videogames101]

I see that term thrown around here quite a bit, and quite a few smugly claim membership while denouncing others. So really, what makes anyone an enthusiast? Is there a club somewhere you can join? Do they have membership cards?

Yeah you, I'm looking at you, the ”stick shift only” person, or you ”my car has more HP than your curb weight” crew...

i lol'd

 

[vshah]

Only if you actually follow through on it. Otherwise, no. :sneaky:

hoping to get one in the next 2-3 years

 

[exdeath]

I'll add someone that can love a beater as much as their Veyron. Leno still has his first car, he doesn't care if it is a POS or not.

Basically anybody who sees it as more than a car or a status symbol, who has feelings towards that inanimate material object as strong as feelings for another person.

 

[hans007]

i consider myself an auto enthusiast.

but i've never owned a manual car, and i could probably just get by with a manual if i had to. I do want one as a second car. I admit i'm just too lazy to drive one all the time because seometimes i just want to zone out to music while just having to do nothing but hit gas and steer.

that said i love driving. i like driving road trips. i get up in the morning and see my car and i'm happy that i get to drive 15-20 min to work. i'm happy that the onramp near my place is a huge curve and not a straight one. i read about cars all day, and i'm afraid of the day that we will all be forced to drive heavy vehicles with lots of batteries and hybrid stuff and pray that we find an alternative rather than have cars that are heavy.

i complain about the fact that a lot of cars understeer. I love rwd. I guess its just caring about the actual driving.

I think it makes you an auto enthusiast if you really care how the car drives, not just how it looks. like how it makes you feel to be driving it not just owning it.

I guess i like to think im a actually a "driving a car enthusiast". i mean theres people who are crazy about their hybrids like people who comment on autoblog green. hybrids for the most part are awful to drive, but they do care about a thing which is an automobile so they are also auto enthusiast. auto enthusiast is probably too broad a term.

 

[KentState]

If you spend any time in this sub forum, you probably are an enthusiast.

 

[Throckmorton]

You have to love cars and driving. Why does manual vs automatic matter? Because if you buy an automatic, you are depriving yourself of a huge portion of the fun of driving. If cars were available without steering wheels and just steered themselves, would you buy one?

 

[Throckmorton]

i consider myself an auto enthusiast.

but i've never owned a manual car, and i could probably just get by with a manual if i had to. I do want one as a second car. I admit i'm just too lazy to drive one all the time because seometimes i just want to zone out to music while just having to do nothing but hit gas and steer.

that said i love driving. i like driving road trips. i get up in the morning and see my car and i'm happy that i get to drive 15-20 min to work. i'm happy that the onramp near my place is a huge curve and not a straight one. i read about cars all day, and i'm afraid of the day that we will all be forced to drive heavy vehicles with lots of batteries and hybrid stuff and pray that we find an alternative rather than have cars that are heavy.

i complain about the fact that a lot of cars understeer. I love rwd. I guess its just caring about the actual driving.

I think it makes you an auto enthusiast if you really care how the car drives, not just how it looks. like how it makes you feel to be driving it not just owning it.

I guess i like to think im a actually a "driving a car enthusiast". i mean theres people who are crazy about their hybrids like people who comment on autoblog green. hybrids for the most part are awful to drive, but they do care about a thing which is an automobile so they are also auto enthusiast. auto enthusiast is probably too broad a term.

You should have bought the manual. You can zone out, the engine will make noise and you'll know to shift... After 2 years with an automatic, I'm not ever going back. Now I finally look forward to driving again, and rowing through the gears is most of the reason why. Mashing a pedal isn't fun!

 

[DietDrThunder]

I'll add someone that can love a beater as much as their Veyron. Leno still has his first car, he doesn't care if it is a POS or not.

Basically anybody who sees it as more than a car or a status symbol, who has feelings towards that inanimate material object as strong as feelings for another person.

Agreed. Although some of us are more car nuts than enthusiasts. You know you are a car nut when you'd rather drive your 1963 Chevy Corvair convertible, no AC, top down in the 100 degree summer heat every day than your SUV with AC and every possible option.

 

[Greenman]

If you own a BMW, more particularly, an M3, you are an enthusiast.

I own a Nissan so I can't be a car enthusiast.

Besides, if I called myself an enthusiast I'd probably have herpaderp or someone else in here telling me why I'm not really an enthusiast. Kind of why I'm not posting much in here anymore and certainly why I'm not posting anything motorcycle related. Who needs the aggravation.

Ignore the haters Jules. You know why dogs like to hang their head out the car window. Those who don't get, can't.

 

[hans007]

You should have bought the manual. You can zone out, the engine will make noise and you'll know to shift... After 2 years with an automatic, I'm not ever going back. Now I finally look forward to driving again, and rowing through the gears is most of the reason why. Mashing a pedal isn't fun!

I left work today early ( so probably 6pm since I normally leave late) and it took me 40 min taking back roads instead of the freeway to commute home. My commute is less than 5.5 miles.

Last summer in Vegas for electric daisy carnival it took 2 hours to go 4 miles. I guess for me its situations like that that always stop me. I live in these places and go to events like this often enough that i think eventually it'd get irritating for my daily driver / only car. I've got friends who do the two car thing. Or one car for sometimes and bike / bus to work normally. Probably what I'll eventually do.

I actually had a cousin who only drove manuals move from Seattle to LA . He gave in after 6 months and bought a Prius . And he loves driving stick

Mashing a pedal is fun. Maybe not quite as much but it in addition to steering etc in a car that does it well is a decent compromise for me.

 

[vshah]

Being stuck in traffic in a manual only makes that moment when the road clears that much sweeter!

 

[manimal]

if youbuy fake air ducts and hood scoops or put on cheesy autozone pedals on your car your an enthusiast.

 

[Fenixgoon]

when the rumble of an engine hives you a funny feeling in your pants. When you purposefully take the scenic route