yee har flag waving yahoos.......
Discussion
anyone else get sick of the assumption that when owning an American car you are also a blind flag waver, intent on dressing everything up with stars and stripes bunting and elvis memorabilia?
it seems to me that the American car scene is full to the brim of unrealistic people that seem to think everything American is everything good, as if its ALWAYS better in the states...
Are there any normal people out there that own yanks? do other mustang owners drool over Maseratis Mercedes and Alfas?
i drive an American car because i like it, not because its a statement of some sort of lifestyle that does not really exist. Don't get me wrong, i have friends in the states, and love the relaxed pace of life there, but i'm not so blinkered as to thinking i need to live some sort of plastic copy of a faux American lifestyle..
hell, i even know people that buy Skippy peanut butter simply because its made in the US, no other reason than that..
sometimes it can make owning American car embarrassing...
it seems to me that the American car scene is full to the brim of unrealistic people that seem to think everything American is everything good, as if its ALWAYS better in the states...
Are there any normal people out there that own yanks? do other mustang owners drool over Maseratis Mercedes and Alfas?
i drive an American car because i like it, not because its a statement of some sort of lifestyle that does not really exist. Don't get me wrong, i have friends in the states, and love the relaxed pace of life there, but i'm not so blinkered as to thinking i need to live some sort of plastic copy of a faux American lifestyle..
hell, i even know people that buy Skippy peanut butter simply because its made in the US, no other reason than that..
sometimes it can make owning American car embarrassing...
Edited by philoldsmobile on Tuesday 13th November 20:46
I think I know what spawned this post... 
I think there is a certain assumption by some people that because you've bought an American car, you want a full "off the peg" lifestyle to go with it.
Of course, being pro-American in one [or even several] area(s) of life doesn't mean it has to be to the exclusion of all others. It's not good when people become "blinkered", but then American car owners certainly aren't unique in becoming that way.
As for drooling over those Euro makes you mentioned, they wouldn't be my first choices, but point taken
I think there is a certain assumption by some people that because you've bought an American car, you want a full "off the peg" lifestyle to go with it.
Of course, being pro-American in one [or even several] area(s) of life doesn't mean it has to be to the exclusion of all others. It's not good when people become "blinkered", but then American car owners certainly aren't unique in becoming that way.
As for drooling over those Euro makes you mentioned, they wouldn't be my first choices, but point taken
Are these the same people that always seem to play 50's rock and roll over the tannoy's at Hotrod and American carshows...
I am a petrolhead and unfortunately have an affliction. I love all kinds of motors. Always been into hotrods and customs and I guess always will. Have owned M3's, TT's, Golf's etc but luckily my work allows me to be able to drive an American car which I love.Still love to own exotica like a Gallardo or Saleen S7 as well though. I can appreciate other marques
So, sorry, you will not find me in denim jeans and jacket with a wolf or Indian embroidered on the back nor a cowboy hat.
I am however partial to a can or two of A&W Rootbeer....
Edited by evolutionvalet on Tuesday 13th November 21:15
Yeah but Phil you live Billing and the yeehar heroes that populate it.
Personally, I drive American cars because they have buckets of personality that only a good V8 can bring to the table. I've had a Corvette C4 which squirted character all over the place. Not the greatest car in terms of handling or performance (although it dished up plenty of cold comfort to many so called European "fast cars"but guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. Same goes for the 3rd gen Z28, 4th gen Z28, C5 Z06 and my current blown Mustang.
It's not the fact that they are phenomenal cars although I'm bound to say that the C5 Z06 and the Mustang are as good as just about any car out there and the 4th gen Z28 was a great GT in it's own right and still competitive 10 years on. No, the fact is these cars are just plain honest. You get fantastic value, a good powerful V8, tidy handling and all for a fistful of dollars. Right now you can buy a new 300hp Mustang V8 Premium for £25k on the road via a UK importer, fully specced.
I'm certainly not blind to European cars and their abilities but sometimes more really is more and sometimes less really is less. A long time ago, many European cars had real character - Fiat, Alfa, Triumph, even Fords. Now they all wear the same knickers under different dresses and it's hard to get excited by a fat and banal means of transport. Then again, I'm finding that as American cars get better and more accomplished, they too are losing that character as they become more polished and ....sorry....less fun.
Still love Lambos but they've been anaesthetised by the Germans. Never much liked Ferraris. Recently went in a Maserati 4200Gt and was pretty underwhelmed so it comes down to money again - why pay £50k for a car the Americans will make you for half that? That's why I love them. I love the recipe - simple, honest, brutal.
I look at Ferraris and they leave me cold as do 911s. Respect, yes, desire, no. Then again, not all Americans do it for me either. I hate the styling of the C6 Z06 and can't wait for the C7.
As for country and western, American gun-toting idiots, the drawl, the cliche, the bandanas, the cowboy hats...no, thanks.
Personally, I drive American cars because they have buckets of personality that only a good V8 can bring to the table. I've had a Corvette C4 which squirted character all over the place. Not the greatest car in terms of handling or performance (although it dished up plenty of cold comfort to many so called European "fast cars"
but guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. Same goes for the 3rd gen Z28, 4th gen Z28, C5 Z06 and my current blown Mustang.It's not the fact that they are phenomenal cars although I'm bound to say that the C5 Z06 and the Mustang are as good as just about any car out there and the 4th gen Z28 was a great GT in it's own right and still competitive 10 years on. No, the fact is these cars are just plain honest. You get fantastic value, a good powerful V8, tidy handling and all for a fistful of dollars. Right now you can buy a new 300hp Mustang V8 Premium for £25k on the road via a UK importer, fully specced.
I'm certainly not blind to European cars and their abilities but sometimes more really is more and sometimes less really is less. A long time ago, many European cars had real character - Fiat, Alfa, Triumph, even Fords. Now they all wear the same knickers under different dresses and it's hard to get excited by a fat and banal means of transport. Then again, I'm finding that as American cars get better and more accomplished, they too are losing that character as they become more polished and ....sorry....less fun.
Still love Lambos but they've been anaesthetised by the Germans. Never much liked Ferraris. Recently went in a Maserati 4200Gt and was pretty underwhelmed so it comes down to money again - why pay £50k for a car the Americans will make you for half that? That's why I love them. I love the recipe - simple, honest, brutal.
I look at Ferraris and they leave me cold as do 911s. Respect, yes, desire, no. Then again, not all Americans do it for me either. I hate the styling of the C6 Z06 and can't wait for the C7.
As for country and western, American gun-toting idiots, the drawl, the cliche, the bandanas, the cowboy hats...no, thanks.
philoldsmobile said:
LuS1fer said:
Yeah but Phil you live Billing and the yeehar heroes that populate it.
ya think? i haven't set foot in an 'organised' show for nearly 2 years... (NEC not included)This is an interesting thread, having had a few yanks now, and gone to a few shows, bought the mags, etc.. it's a really strange scene. It seems to be 2 entirely different groups of people that like american cars:
1. Car nuts, who just like cars and are attracted to (as Lusifer points out) the brutal honesty of the Camaro, Corvette, Mustang etc. but who probably also like TVR's, old Alfas, Healeys, etc..
and
2. Americanos - who think they're buying into the american dream, drive old buicks, Dayvans with too many lights, flags etc, do line dancing, wear cowboy hats/boots/tassles/waistcoats and probably live in W Midlands.
I'd like to think that anyone that makes it to this Forum falls into category 1.
1. Car nuts, who just like cars and are attracted to (as Lusifer points out) the brutal honesty of the Camaro, Corvette, Mustang etc. but who probably also like TVR's, old Alfas, Healeys, etc..
and
2. Americanos - who think they're buying into the american dream, drive old buicks, Dayvans with too many lights, flags etc, do line dancing, wear cowboy hats/boots/tassles/waistcoats and probably live in W Midlands.
I'd like to think that anyone that makes it to this Forum falls into category 1.
Catagory 1 here! Did all the shows when I had a 65 Mustang fastback and an 89 Camaro Z28 IROC Z some time back. To begin with it was good fun seeing such a great variety of cars and even the music was ok sometimes but after a while I decided I had seen enough and would rather go out for a drive for the day and enjoy the cars the way they were meant to be enjoyed - out on the road rather than sitting around in various fields.
I love cars generally and particularly American Muscle cars but I have just got rid of a Monaro and seriously looked at Maserattis,M3's and various other bits of metal. I have actually gone for a Mustang which I hope to be collecting soon but I won't be putting a flag on the radio antenna any more than I will be trading my Triumph for a Harley!
I love cars generally and particularly American Muscle cars but I have just got rid of a Monaro and seriously looked at Maserattis,M3's and various other bits of metal. I have actually gone for a Mustang which I hope to be collecting soon but I won't be putting a flag on the radio antenna
any more than I will be trading my Triumph for a Harley!Huffy said:
..... after a while I decided I had seen enough and would rather go out for a drive for the day and enjoy the cars the way they were meant to be enjoyed - out on the road rather than sitting around in various fields....
Exactly why i like places like pistonheads, cos you get to meet people who want to drive the damm things, not polish em' up and talk about matching numbers restorations .... My money goes in modifications not car polish 
chevy-stu said:
The Iroc does (or use to have) a certain white trash image in the states. Bit like the XR3i used to over here.
Good comparison. Both are cars whose owners certainly have [or had] a bit of a reputation shall we say.Or alternatively, as Clarkson put it during the US "Special" episode of TopGear:
"The Camaro... very popular with murderers!"
Though I seem to remember he bought an RS rather than an IROC
i won't be putting a yank flag on my dodge nor a u/jack to say i've bought to the uk. it's just my dream car tha so happened to have come from another country. my head turns for any decent sound or unique look but my dodge stands out above everything else in my taste books (maybe because i've never had/taken the chance to drive anything else 'special')....maybe considered amazing that i don't have a longing for anything else more expensive, more popular, faster, etc.... perhaps because there's plenty that can done to the dodge to make it even more special. i do like many american traits and would love to live there for a while i'm sure (maybe because i take many things in britain for granted...or maybe not). the only smallish american styling i sometimes follow is wearing a cap. many of the people i met/saw at a recent CanAm meet in Poole seemed british styled - just a few slicked back quiffs, but they were the owners of the more extreme yank aircraft-carrier cars.... but i like that.
if i did have a radio in the Tiger i'd play chuck berry but my hair's staying G4
if i did have a radio in the Tiger i'd play chuck berry but my hair's staying G4
Ayup Phil,
I was almost scared away from my first Billing nationals by some pair of twunts dressed up in the full fonz gear, draped across each other in the front bech seat, clearly living the dream.
Well
off and live over there.
Only good point was Paul Hastie's missus boobies. Sorry no pix.
I was almost scared away from my first Billing nationals by some pair of twunts dressed up in the full fonz gear, draped across each other in the front bech seat, clearly living the dream.
Well
off and live over there.Only good point was Paul Hastie's missus boobies. Sorry no pix.
LuS1fer said:
philoldsmobile said:
LuS1fer said:
Yeah but Phil you live Billing and the yeehar heroes that populate it.
ya think? i haven't set foot in an 'organised' show for nearly 2 years... (NEC not included)Copped you polishing the Z28 rims at Billing about 4.5 years ago.
p.s. Did I see it on ebay recently.
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