Why do we really buy and drive fast cars fast?
Discussion
Don Palmer said:
I'm really interested to know about what it is that causes us to drive fast.
What do we get out of it?
Is it the satisfaction of being in control?
Nearly out of control?
Is it being better in some way than our peers?
Driving fast could release endorphins which could contribute to the feeling of being happy (and people generally like being happy).What do we get out of it?
Is it the satisfaction of being in control?
Nearly out of control?
Is it being better in some way than our peers?
Challenge/Satisfaction of getting it right or improving.
Simple pleasures, acceleration beyond the normal. The noise.
The feeling of dynamics at play. Corner transitions, crests,braking zones etc.
I don't think I tend to drive 'fast'. I prefer to keep well within a safety margin but I certainly enjoy feeling the car develop some load on the chassis.
The actual numbers are meaningless.
Simple pleasures, acceleration beyond the normal. The noise.
The feeling of dynamics at play. Corner transitions, crests,braking zones etc.
I don't think I tend to drive 'fast'. I prefer to keep well within a safety margin but I certainly enjoy feeling the car develop some load on the chassis.
The actual numbers are meaningless.
So, given that there is this acceleration stuff (or whatever else you need) going on, and you get some of that. What does that do for you? that is to say you get your short term goal but whats the ultimate benefit?
Is it fun you/we seek? - confidence?
I'm trying to imagine a scenario where I can write a story about specific parts of driving and I want it to appeal to people's ultimate desires and needs. Otherwise its just a collection of stuff ABOUT driving that's of little interest to the world, or at least most of it.
Is it fun you/we seek? - confidence?
I'm trying to imagine a scenario where I can write a story about specific parts of driving and I want it to appeal to people's ultimate desires and needs. Otherwise its just a collection of stuff ABOUT driving that's of little interest to the world, or at least most of it.
at its core, the sense of speed is exhilarating. It doesn't matter how much, walking fast, running, cycling, driving, breaking the land speed record, being shot into space.
So if it's not been done (which it must have been), there's a thesis there on why!
So that's why some people choose to get their "speed exhilaration" from fast cars.
BTW nice to have you on here Don!
Bert
So if it's not been done (which it must have been), there's a thesis there on why!
So that's why some people choose to get their "speed exhilaration" from fast cars.
BTW nice to have you on here Don!
Bert
johndoe669481 said:
i think its because you're not supposed to, anything outside the law gives us that rush that people enjoy so much. and i don't know why but putting your foot down just seems to be fun
Absolutely nothing to do with it for me. That is an anxiety I would happily do without. A lot of the 'fast' driving I do is well within legal limits.A big factor for me is the sense that you are becoming linked to the car. It is an extension of your limbs onto the road. That is why cars with good primary controls satisfy so much more.
plenty said:
In that moment, on the open road, behind the wheel of a suitable steed, anything is possible: the world revolves around you, and you alone. Nothing can rival fast driving to stimulate the senses, make you feel totally alive, in control of your destiny.
Apart from motorcyling & skiing! 
Other than the "nothing" I agree with the sentiment.
Crumbs the hairy-one has de-lurked.
I'm not sure that speed in and of itself is that thrilling. I mean: 90 on the Hill Route at Millbrook is a lot more fun than 120 on the main runway at Brunters (forwards, Don), and a well-executed overtake on a public road, very satisfying indeed.
Speed is something which makes driving harder. It reduces space, it reduces time. As a result it can be the product of driving very well - collecting all the observations, mechanical skill and mental skills together and producing a drive which is quick. And also it can be a result of driving very badly.
I think there's a real satisfaction in driving really well. A thrill of absolute control. Of mastering a machine. A trip to the zone where concentration is heightened and focus improved; other cares suspended and a meditative state induced. Approbation of ones peers. A eudaimonic pleasure from living in accordance with ones values and goals.
I'm not sure that speed in and of itself is that thrilling. I mean: 90 on the Hill Route at Millbrook is a lot more fun than 120 on the main runway at Brunters (forwards, Don), and a well-executed overtake on a public road, very satisfying indeed.
Speed is something which makes driving harder. It reduces space, it reduces time. As a result it can be the product of driving very well - collecting all the observations, mechanical skill and mental skills together and producing a drive which is quick. And also it can be a result of driving very badly.
I think there's a real satisfaction in driving really well. A thrill of absolute control. Of mastering a machine. A trip to the zone where concentration is heightened and focus improved; other cares suspended and a meditative state induced. Approbation of ones peers. A eudaimonic pleasure from living in accordance with ones values and goals.
It's not quite answering the question but to me one pleasure from driving a fast car is the knowledge that I don't have to drive it fast to emjoy it but when the mood takes me, or if I need to make progress, then with a mere flex of the ankle, I can. It engenders a different and a more relaxed frame of mind compared to when driving an underpowered car that needs to be driven hard just to keep up with the traffic. There's a subtle psychology at work along the lines of "I'm driving this powerful car and I don't have to prove anything to anyone".
That said, there's a different satisfaction involved in getting the most from a low powered car. It's all about maintaining momentum which in turn means reading the road and traffic to anticipate and plan. Come to think of it, perhaps the best "advanced" drivers all drive low powered cars (while making as much progress as possible)!
That said, there's a different satisfaction involved in getting the most from a low powered car. It's all about maintaining momentum which in turn means reading the road and traffic to anticipate and plan. Come to think of it, perhaps the best "advanced" drivers all drive low powered cars (while making as much progress as possible)!
7db said:
A trip to the zone where concentration is heightened and focus improved; other cares suspended and a meditative state induced.
I've recently come to the conclusion that on those all too rare occasions when I'm in the zone, it is quite a lot like meditation. Total focus and calmness, despite rates of progress of an order that might induce the opposite state in unprepared passengers. 
Another thing that compares in terms of concentration and absorbtion is computer games, but if you tell someone you like driving fast because it feels like a computer game, they'd almost certainly get the wrong end of the stick.
Goes off to look up the other words in 7db's post...
gdaybruce said:
It's not quite answering the question but to me one pleasure from driving a fast car is the knowledge that I don't have to drive it fast to emjoy it but when the mood takes me, or if I need to make progress, then with a mere flex of the ankle, I can. It engenders a different and a more relaxed frame of mind compared to when driving an underpowered car that needs to be driven hard just to keep up with the traffic. There's a subtle psychology at work along the lines of "I'm driving this powerful car and I don't have to prove anything to anyone".
That said, there's a different satisfaction involved in getting the most from a low powered car. It's all about maintaining momentum which in turn means reading the road and traffic to anticipate and plan. Come to think of it, perhaps the best "advanced" drivers all drive low powered cars (while making as much progress as possible)!
I know exactly what you mean.That said, there's a different satisfaction involved in getting the most from a low powered car. It's all about maintaining momentum which in turn means reading the road and traffic to anticipate and plan. Come to think of it, perhaps the best "advanced" drivers all drive low powered cars (while making as much progress as possible)!
Once upon a time I had a Caterham with a full house BDG in the engine bay 247 bhp it was traction limited up to 90mph on a dry road. God I loved that car and yet sometimes it was just delightful to potter around in it.
Nothing could live with it to a hundred and yet I still loved the thing at fifty.
The satisfaction that I was in control of it (for a change) was what it was all about. I might have been able to ring its neck but I chose not to.
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