can i ask you something? you are a car enthusiast or you wouldnt be here fair enuff? so how comes you drive a 1.4 skoda diesel? as noxide says its an old grannys car if we are honest here. how tedious can a car get?
Being a car enthusiast doesn't just mean liking/wanting fast cars.... you only have to look at the multitude of motorsports to realise that... in addition speed isn't and never has been the be-all and end-all of motoring - there are several others on here who also enjoy "driving" and, sometimes, the challenges that it produces (for instance econmy driving (which isn't slow driving btw!) or driving in foreign countries). In addition there is my interest in 60s and 70s "practical" classics - ie the "bread and butter" cars of yesteryear.
I have also raced F2 stockcars (and once bangers) as Bamford will confirm - but a tight budget put a stop to that so I only occassionally mechanic for a couple of drivers I know from work...
As for my choice of car, no its not a "granny" car, if i owned the basic hatchback version of any supermini I would agree that I'd lost it, but its not that, its a mid range car with a huge boot for its size and suits my other pursuits extremely well, as well as being, as you say, very econimical - with the current cosy of consumer goods I don't see that as a bad thing....
Anyhow, thats justified me, what about you, why do you think that I cannot be an enthusiast just because I drive a sensible car? BTW I have taken the trouble to reply to your post because I feel that you were genuinely interested, though very ignorant of what a car enthusiast is, if similar post had come from a certain other person you mentioned I'd have treated it with the contempt it deserved, which I must be honest I was very close to doing with your posts!
Actually its interesting that I have twice been recently asked to justify my choice of car and whether I am a true car enthusiast and both times from people whose main interest is fast cars...
I would suggest that it is they who need to question themselves.... and perhaps take their blinkers off...
I have to say that b308's car is not what i would call 'an enthusiast's car' either, far from it, but then it serves a/his purpose. I can see what you're saying, Chaz, but not everyone wants/can afford a sports car/rally track refuge. I, myself, have recently taken the decision to, finally, ditch road sports cars, which lose hundreds of pounds a week in value and can be used properly, less than 1% of their time on the public road. Unless you fancy losing your life or your licence. Or risk killing someone else. The Westfield will do maybe 2,000 miles a year on the road. It's really a vehicle to provide kicks at Santa Pod, Donington, Bruntingthorpe, etc.
Bottom line. Nobody will claim that a 75 bhp derv estate car is 'exciting to drive', but then HOW OFTEN can you extend your 500 bhp Skyline on our roads? I mean properly extend? Hmmmmm?
And what is a "Car Enthusiasts" car? - I would still like an Austin Maxi, and I would strongly argue that it is a Car Enthusiasts' Car, as would any other car enthusiasts who own and run classic cars...
It goes back to what I said before, enjoying cars in not just about speed, just as much as being a Rail Enthusiast is not taking numbers - is it, Ian?!!
A car enthusiast can own any car in my opinion. It's about enjoying the act of driving although the car which you drive will obviously have an effect on how much enjoyment you experience.
I think slower cars can be appealing in their own right as you can often use 100% of their performance on the road. As I said before I even enjoy driving the double decker I'm using at the moment - having to plan ahead to ovetake or get the power in early when approaching hills and all the other types of problems faced with driving a vehicle such as this.
Yes speed and performance plays a part in enjoying cars, of course, but it's not everything.
Air Medic - Mobile Automotive Air Conditioning Service
I still say a car enthusiast doesn't have to actually own a car, or even drive - or are you saying that we were not car enthusiasts when we were kids?!
Originally posted by JET BLACK 81: can i ask you something? you are a car enthusiast or you wouldnt be here fair enuff? so how comes you drive a 1.4 skoda diesel? as noxide says its an old grannys car if we are honest here. how tedious can a car get?
You really have no idea do you? Your post is so irritating in a variety of ways. I am amazed that B308 has answered this in such a civil manner. I could go on at length about not everyone being able to afford a boy racers car. And there are those who can afford it but need more practical transport. And then there are REAL car enthusiasts like Big G, who generally only spends a few hundred pounds on his cars (from what I gather) and has had such an eclectic mix of cars that puts your comments to shame.
Well said B308. Unfortunately some car enthusiasts can be very childish in their tedious one upmanship and pathetic 0-60 competitions, but it is a public forum and you must accept some people are gonna be 17 or mentally locked at 17, live and let live. Car enthusiasm does not have to validate your existence through something different or better than the next guy, it is just appreciation of different stuff. I prefer beetles/2Cv/Minis,/Topolinos to “supercars” some of which are so wide, and so low you cant drive them on roads and have poor visibility. 1.4td skoda is an excellent yet practical car, can be driven briskly cross country and yet gets 70mpg. It cruises at 85 mph all day from its 3 cylinders, the question is why buy anything else, it is just suckling ego dependence. If people on here don’t want 70mpg with oil at $127B when it was $15B 2 years ago, then they must like burning money.
b308 IS a car enthusiast and has a good knowledge of cars, of most types.
Of course, at a car rally, nobody is going to gather round a 1.4 diesel hatchback instead of an M3 CSL or Countache, so in that sense i can see the OP's point.
Spent an enjoyable few hours at the Sandwell Historic Vehicle Rally on Sunday - free entry as well! Lots of older exotica for those who like that sort of thing (E types, MGs, Triumphs and Jensons) and plenty of others (including a couple of Maxis!) and some Lorries and Buses including one of those old coaches with the curved glass roofs!
I must say that Blair confuses me. He does at times come across as extremely dour and lifeless, there have been times in the past I have just wanted to see a bit of "go" in the chap.
HOWEVER he obviously is an enthusiast of some sort, as he attends these various car meetings and museums and enjoys the world of motoring. I have come to understand that while we are polar opposites in our enjoyment of cars, we can both appreciate different aspects, so live and let live. I will never understand who somebody can bring enjoyment out of driving a 1.4, 3 cylinder Diesel but then he can probably not see the point in enhancing performance cars and would hate driving my car (I do sometimes with sub 20mpg!).
We all enjoy different areas and should celebrate our differences.
I have added a diesel hatchback to the household, as it happens. A new Fiesta 1.6 Ghia. Main reason was the price. £8K new,an incredible buy. The Panda 100HP is as good as sold. The Westfield is getting a new clutch and better tyres next week.
