Dissapointed from Cambridge
Discussion
Sorry, posted this on "In the News" doh
IMO...
I am not a snob, nor am I jealous of people with money/looks/size/nice car etc.
With this in mind I would like to think I give people the benefit of the doubt, before tarnishing them with the same prejudices that society has kindly pasted firmly on their foreheads.
For example, why is it that most people slag off BMW drivers? We should be congratulating these wise people in picking - some would say - the ultimate in driving pleasure etc etc. And boy racers: I continually see threads on this subject on this website, and others, criticising young spotty oiks on their car choice, mods and driving skill.
Like "we" went from being cute 13 year olds (well some of us, but as I said before I am not jealous) straight to adult hood, mature ness combined with acute driving skills and perfect car choice!
Most of us were boy racers in some shape or form, no matter if we drove a beaten up Ford Capri or a 2 year old Saxo. IMO these boy racers are the PistonHeads of the future, and as such we should guide these youngsters along the path that we also followed, not dismiss, loathe and laugh at.(although I think Saxo's and Corsa's are girls cars.IMO)If we have to just pat them on the head and say "You will understand one day son"
If these boy racers were not hacking around in their cars, or hanging around tescos car park they would be bored and up to other bad things. And the spectators would also be bored etc etc.
Lastly, while on the A14 heading towards Bury StEdmunds last night (Wednesday) I had an interesting race with a Porsche Carrera4 and a yellow Scooby.
There was some traffic, as it was rush hour (and in Suffolk that is more than five cars), so we were all in top gear and waiting for the traffic to clear and just booting it, then slowing down waiting for the traffic to clear etc etc.
I was behind the Porsche and I had to ease off or I would bash into the back of him (honest!)and It was all done in fun and no aggression was meant. When after some 10 mins they started to pull off the A14, I drifted past and looked at the Porsche guy and he just blanked me and pretended to play with something on his passenger seat, the Scooby guy and his passenger smiled, waved and finished off with a thumbs up.
Now I am thinking all Porsche drivers are snobs. After all that's what society calls them so it must be true.......
(FYI I am 32, drive a Pulsar GTIR with 291 BHP and lots and lots of torque, and one day I want a 1980 Guards red 911 please)
IMO...
I am not a snob, nor am I jealous of people with money/looks/size/nice car etc.
With this in mind I would like to think I give people the benefit of the doubt, before tarnishing them with the same prejudices that society has kindly pasted firmly on their foreheads.
For example, why is it that most people slag off BMW drivers? We should be congratulating these wise people in picking - some would say - the ultimate in driving pleasure etc etc. And boy racers: I continually see threads on this subject on this website, and others, criticising young spotty oiks on their car choice, mods and driving skill.
Like "we" went from being cute 13 year olds (well some of us, but as I said before I am not jealous) straight to adult hood, mature ness combined with acute driving skills and perfect car choice!
Most of us were boy racers in some shape or form, no matter if we drove a beaten up Ford Capri or a 2 year old Saxo. IMO these boy racers are the PistonHeads of the future, and as such we should guide these youngsters along the path that we also followed, not dismiss, loathe and laugh at.(although I think Saxo's and Corsa's are girls cars.IMO)If we have to just pat them on the head and say "You will understand one day son"
If these boy racers were not hacking around in their cars, or hanging around tescos car park they would be bored and up to other bad things. And the spectators would also be bored etc etc.
Lastly, while on the A14 heading towards Bury StEdmunds last night (Wednesday) I had an interesting race with a Porsche Carrera4 and a yellow Scooby.
There was some traffic, as it was rush hour (and in Suffolk that is more than five cars), so we were all in top gear and waiting for the traffic to clear and just booting it, then slowing down waiting for the traffic to clear etc etc.
I was behind the Porsche and I had to ease off or I would bash into the back of him (honest!)and It was all done in fun and no aggression was meant. When after some 10 mins they started to pull off the A14, I drifted past and looked at the Porsche guy and he just blanked me and pretended to play with something on his passenger seat, the Scooby guy and his passenger smiled, waved and finished off with a thumbs up.
Now I am thinking all Porsche drivers are snobs. After all that's what society calls them so it must be true.......
(FYI I am 32, drive a Pulsar GTIR with 291 BHP and lots and lots of torque, and one day I want a 1980 Guards red 911 please)
i acknowledge nice sportscars with a nod (learnt from bikers) and a smile, especially if its a trevor, a seven, a lotus or similar!. the reactions i get (a 22 year old in a fiesta) acknowledging their fine choice of automobile is ridiclous!
yeah, i get the nod back and the guy is safe in the knowledge that i respect his car.
others think i want a race, which when you see the fiesta is a laughing matter!.
i'm sure some think its a chat up line and others give a variety of unpleasent hand gestures.
yeah, i get the nod back and the guy is safe in the knowledge that i respect his car.
others think i want a race, which when you see the fiesta is a laughing matter!.
i'm sure some think its a chat up line and others give a variety of unpleasent hand gestures.
I agree - mostly.
I think most people on this site agree that we should encourage and support others who love their cars. I think I speak for a lot of people here when I say that the reason I get offended by the bolt on boys is when they've spent 30k of their hard earned to turn their corsa into a metallic pink travesty that drives and and handles much worse than the original car.
Surely if these people really appreciated cars, they'd save the cash and buy a nice car instead?
However I think it's a vast generalisation to suggest that everyone was a boy racer. Yeah I used to drive fast, in my unmodified 1.2 astra merit for 7 years. Didn't need any mods (apart from plastic over the windows every time some tw*t broke into it. I saved shedloads of cash during those years when i coudn't afford to buy/insure something better. Now years later I've got some cash to spend on the kind of car I always dreamed of owning.
Sad thing is all the boys/girls who spent their cash on their corsa will point at me in whatever I buy now, and say l*cky b*stard. Sad thing is I'm not lucky, they could have done the same thing...
I think most people on this site agree that we should encourage and support others who love their cars. I think I speak for a lot of people here when I say that the reason I get offended by the bolt on boys is when they've spent 30k of their hard earned to turn their corsa into a metallic pink travesty that drives and and handles much worse than the original car.
Surely if these people really appreciated cars, they'd save the cash and buy a nice car instead?
However I think it's a vast generalisation to suggest that everyone was a boy racer. Yeah I used to drive fast, in my unmodified 1.2 astra merit for 7 years. Didn't need any mods (apart from plastic over the windows every time some tw*t broke into it. I saved shedloads of cash during those years when i coudn't afford to buy/insure something better. Now years later I've got some cash to spend on the kind of car I always dreamed of owning.
Sad thing is all the boys/girls who spent their cash on their corsa will point at me in whatever I buy now, and say l*cky b*stard. Sad thing is I'm not lucky, they could have done the same thing...
Real enthusiasm should never be dampened. I've seen some lovely modified cars. In fact, a friend of mine and Scottster's had two Revs cover cars; one was a 4x4 Cossie powered Golf Mk2 (wolf in sheep's clothing!) and the other was a 4X4 400bhp Cosworth E36 M3.
I have nothing but respect for the guy that did these cars. The BMW was far quicker than a standard M3, and actually a tad quicker than a F355. I kid you not. It also had the kind of wet weather traction either would kill for. Not to all tastes, but when I mentioned the car to a BMW dealer I knew, he just laughed. He wouldn't have been laughing if he'd seen the BMW Cossie take on a new Z8 or M5 and trounce it. That's snobbery.
But this is one side of the coin... you know the other side? It's the side that has blue LED windscreen washer jet thingies on.
People who fit these are not performance enthusiasts (extra weight and drag, no performance benefit ;-) nor, IMHO, do they have much taste. To these people, a car is for show, to impress the girls at the cruise (assuming the girls are impressed by them), and I hold their car in the same regard as a sheikh's gin palace on wheels with blacked out windows and gold plated umbrella aerials. Sure, sheiky's Merc may have cost a fortune, but it shows the same fundamental lack of taste.
So as far as I can see, someone that puts a sports exhaust and a KN on a Savo VTS is fine by me. But someone who spends 2 grand on a heavy, OTT bodykit for a Saxo 1.1 (complete with twin tailpipe trim to fit on single tailpipe outlet) should be fed into the impellor of the biggest Garrett turbocharger they make.
All IMHO, of course.
Domster
I have nothing but respect for the guy that did these cars. The BMW was far quicker than a standard M3, and actually a tad quicker than a F355. I kid you not. It also had the kind of wet weather traction either would kill for. Not to all tastes, but when I mentioned the car to a BMW dealer I knew, he just laughed. He wouldn't have been laughing if he'd seen the BMW Cossie take on a new Z8 or M5 and trounce it. That's snobbery.
But this is one side of the coin... you know the other side? It's the side that has blue LED windscreen washer jet thingies on.
People who fit these are not performance enthusiasts (extra weight and drag, no performance benefit ;-) nor, IMHO, do they have much taste. To these people, a car is for show, to impress the girls at the cruise (assuming the girls are impressed by them), and I hold their car in the same regard as a sheikh's gin palace on wheels with blacked out windows and gold plated umbrella aerials. Sure, sheiky's Merc may have cost a fortune, but it shows the same fundamental lack of taste.
So as far as I can see, someone that puts a sports exhaust and a KN on a Savo VTS is fine by me. But someone who spends 2 grand on a heavy, OTT bodykit for a Saxo 1.1 (complete with twin tailpipe trim to fit on single tailpipe outlet) should be fed into the impellor of the biggest Garrett turbocharger they make.
All IMHO, of course.
Domster
quote:
To these people, a car is for show, to impress the girls at the cruise (assuming the girls are impressed by them), and I hold their car in the same regard as a sheikh's gin palace on wheels with blacked out windows and gold plated umbrella aerials. Sure, sheiky's Merc may have cost a fortune, but it shows the same fundamental lack of taste.
Summed it up beautifully, Domster.
quote:
To these people, a car is for show, to impress the girls at the cruise (assuming the girls are impressed by them)
This, in a nutshell, and IMO is the cause of much of the bad feeling that this issue raises.
I've read max power. That's right, i wanted an exhaust and didn't know where else to turn.
This publication encourages impressionable young women to show their appreciation for the efforts on display. They lower their own suspension for the camera, then proceed to answer the sort of questions that deserve a white stilletto in the goolies rather than another seriously degrading revelation.
This sort of association has been going on for years, with custom bikes, etc. Now the sexual objectification has taken centre stage.
I find any sort of parallel between my driving enthusiasm and such beastly behaviour to be shameful.
I love and respect cars, and women mean so much more to me than even that. Max power and his weasly friends will get no waves from me.
Yup, I've 'been there done that' with the whole max power lark too. Got it out of my system.
Not really so long ago either. I never spent more than a grand in modifications on my escort though. It just wasn't worth it. (put alloys, suspension on it)
If I hadn't been into the 'modified car' thing as a teenager, I would probably know very little about cars now. I still can't afford to buy or run a TVR or Ferrari as a student now.
I was never a boy racer in the sense that I would 'race people' and do silly stunts on public roads.
But your first car is 'fast' whether it be 50BHP or whatever when the nearest thing you've experienced is a BMX bike. so we can forgive them for thinking they have fast cars.
Its just that the 'Boy racer' fraternity don't seem to have grasped the whole grand-scale of things in terms of performance. They all think they are invincible and are really good drivers. Which in all honesty anoys me as much as anyone else. I remember when I was learning to drive, as soon as I passed my test I would be stuck behind a learner and I would curse them for being so bad and for driving stupid looking micra's. So in my opinion it's natural to look down on other people when A). you used to be there yourself and B). are much more priviliged now.
Time will teach them the errors of their ways. Just like time did for me.
In the meantime, it's still fun to take the pi
.
>> Edited by nmlowe on Thursday 25th April 19:40
Not really so long ago either. I never spent more than a grand in modifications on my escort though. It just wasn't worth it. (put alloys, suspension on it)
If I hadn't been into the 'modified car' thing as a teenager, I would probably know very little about cars now. I still can't afford to buy or run a TVR or Ferrari as a student now.
I was never a boy racer in the sense that I would 'race people' and do silly stunts on public roads.
But your first car is 'fast' whether it be 50BHP or whatever when the nearest thing you've experienced is a BMX bike. so we can forgive them for thinking they have fast cars.
Its just that the 'Boy racer' fraternity don't seem to have grasped the whole grand-scale of things in terms of performance. They all think they are invincible and are really good drivers. Which in all honesty anoys me as much as anyone else. I remember when I was learning to drive, as soon as I passed my test I would be stuck behind a learner and I would curse them for being so bad and for driving stupid looking micra's. So in my opinion it's natural to look down on other people when A). you used to be there yourself and B). are much more priviliged now.
Time will teach them the errors of their ways. Just like time did for me.
In the meantime, it's still fun to take the pi
. >> Edited by nmlowe on Thursday 25th April 19:40
quote:
People who fit these are not performance enthusiasts (extra weight and drag, no performance benefit ;-) nor, IMHO, do they have much taste. To these people, a car is for show, to impress the girls at the cruise (assuming the girls are impressed by them), and I hold their car in the same regard as a sheikh's gin palace on wheels with blacked out windows and gold plated umbrella aerials. Sure, sheiky's Merc may have cost a fortune, but it shows the same fundamental lack of taste.
Very much definitely.
I find extremely unpleasant to be harassed by those
in their...cars, if ever these things could be called cars, who tried through very dangerous driving to get noticed by the drivers of "normal" performance cars, and it really p****s me off to be called a rich b*****d by these brainless stupid numpties pseudo road heroes Mad Max in their four-wheeled wheelbarrows Clarkson would not even call them ploughs, because I paid my car much less than the standard version of their shopping trolleys GTI turbo diesel 385/14 at the front wheels.Some people don't have the money to buy a real sportscar, if not for the insurance premiums alone. When I was 17 (about 4 years ago) I was paying £1800 for a years premium for my 1990 Ford Escort 1.4. That was the cheapest quote I could get too!. Shrewsbury is even a low crime area, so I have no idea how much inner city kids were paying.
Then you get the snotty tor with the rich mummy and daddy who gets a brand new car at every whim, never paying for insurance or anything. They were the sort of people that had sportscars around my town, and most people looked upon them as being prats that had too much money. THEY MADE NO DISTINCTION BETWEEN HARD WORKING INDIVIDUALS SUCH AS YOURSELF, THOM.
Although there were no glowing washer jets at the time, people who fitted that kind of tack to their cars never really took it that seriousley anyway.
Yes, some of them think that they're really cool in their car, but everyone of their age group thinks they are too, so who are we to criticise.
They'll grow out of it in their own time.
It's unlikely that they would bother to race someone in a fast sports car and be taking it seriousley (unless they are really stupid). Most of them wouldn't have a chance and they know it. Especially in France, where engine modification is prohibited.
It's all about doing the best with what you can afford.
>> Edited by nmlowe on Thursday 25th April 19:54
Then you get the snotty to
r with the rich mummy and daddy who gets a brand new car at every whim, never paying for insurance or anything. They were the sort of people that had sportscars around my town, and most people looked upon them as being prats that had too much money. THEY MADE NO DISTINCTION BETWEEN HARD WORKING INDIVIDUALS SUCH AS YOURSELF, THOM. Although there were no glowing washer jets at the time, people who fitted that kind of tack to their cars never really took it that seriousley anyway.
Yes, some of them think that they're really cool in their car, but everyone of their age group thinks they are too, so who are we to criticise.
They'll grow out of it in their own time.
It's unlikely that they would bother to race someone in a fast sports car and be taking it seriousley (unless they are really stupid). Most of them wouldn't have a chance and they know it. Especially in France, where engine modification is prohibited.
It's all about doing the best with what you can afford.
>> Edited by nmlowe on Thursday 25th April 19:54
quote:
THEY MADE NO DISTINCTION BETWEEN HARD WORKING INDIVIDUALS SUCH AS YOURSELF, THOM.
I can see you are one of these
as well. It's not my problem if you are afraid to put 6 grands in a decent, relatively unexpensive to run Porsche.
Excuse me but I can't afford to buy crap.
quote:
They'll grow out of it in their own time.
That is so easy to say this and that's what is wrong with the young: they use the excuse they are young to behave like tossers.
quote:
It's unlikely that they would bother to race someone in a fast sports car and be taking it seriousley (unless they are really stupid). Most of them wouldn't have a chance and they know it.
No. If ever some of them appear to be not stupid, I have never seen them yet. I keep to say it's pointless to spend money in a four-wheeled dustbin. I didn't buy anything before I could afford the Porsche because I had the opportunity not to need a car on daily basis.
quote:
Especially in France, where engine modification is prohibited.
Hoho, because you think it's prohibited they don't do it? Nice boy you are. Please come back on earth.
quote:
It's all about doing the best with what you can afford.
Absolutely, but all is not about ruining oneself into bad taste experiments
quote:
I can see you are one of these
It's not my problem if you are afraid to put 6 grands in a decent, relatively unexpensive to run Porsche.
Excuse me but I can't afford to buy crap.
Listen, I never thought a subject as trivial as this would get nasty!
I'll bet you were young once?, Never made any mistakes before??
Ok, our opinions differ on some issues, but that what makes a forum work. If everyone had the same views there would be no point replying.
When I said: THEY MADE NO DISTINCTION BETWEEN HARD WORKING INDIVIDUALS SUCH AS YOURSELF, THOM. I was simply explaining that the 'boy racers' could not tell the difference between people who worked hard for their cars such as your good self, and people who were just plain rich public schoolboys who were given everything by mummy and daddy.
I don't have anything against you. I'm sorry if i've offended you in any way.
I can't afford £6000 for a porsche, And I have no need to buy one when a sh
y £3000 vauxhall gets me to where I want to go (servicing is much cheaper than your porsche I'll bet). I would love a nice car, maybe a TVR one day in the near future, but in the meantime I'll make do with my astra because I can't do without a car while I save up and finish my degree. There's always two sides to every story, and it's always useful to have a sense of humour handy when dealing with people of a different opinion. Lifes too short and stressful not to.
>> Edited by nmlowe on Thursday 25th April 21:04
>> Edited by nmlowe on Thursday 25th April 23:08
>> Edited by nmlowe on Thursday 25th April 23:09
Well said nmlowe
The 'kid' next door, was given a 1100 red Escort from his gran on passing his test – J reg. – it was hers – she got a Cerbera – no, that's a joke – she got a new Saxo.
Anyway, three months down the line he's got the red gear lever, spots on the front from Halfords, the ICE, the trashy girlfriends with spots on the front
and now he's got in a bit of bother cos he's crashed it several times already – usually little things like went straight thru a roundabout, hit the back of his mate's AX at a T-junction 
knocked both the spots back a bit that did
Anyway, he's totally smashed the front in now, and it sits forlornly on his drive, a bit crab-like. When I first got the Chim I was in our garden (out of sight) when he went by with his mate saying 'the bloke next door (me) has a nice car, a green Aston Martin DB7 "
Nuff said.
The 'kid' next door, was given a 1100 red Escort from his gran on passing his test – J reg. – it was hers – she got a Cerbera – no, that's a joke – she got a new Saxo.
Anyway, three months down the line he's got the red gear lever, spots on the front from Halfords, the ICE, the trashy girlfriends with spots on the front
and now he's got in a bit of bother cos he's crashed it several times already – usually little things like went straight thru a roundabout, hit the back of his mate's AX at a T-junction knocked both the spots back a bit that did Anyway, he's totally smashed the front in now, and it sits forlornly on his drive, a bit crab-like. When I first got the Chim I was in our garden (out of sight) when he went by with his mate saying 'the bloke next door (me) has a nice car, a green Aston Martin DB7 "
Nuff said.
Ok nmlowe, all apologies for having not correctly understood your post. I really thought you had taken me for one of these spoilt children you talked about, which is usually the kind of comments I receive from people in general and which really make me boil.
Cheers
>> Edited by thom on Friday 26th April 11:26
Cheers
>> Edited by thom on Friday 26th April 11:26
quote:
Ok nmlowe, all apologies for having not correctly understood your post. I really thought you had taken me for one of these spoilt children you talked about, which is usually the kind of comments I receive from people in general and which really make me boil.
nmlowe
No problemo
Ahh, glad to hear that.
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