Are you still a car enthusiast?

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Yeah, I fucking well STOLE Sierraman's idea from Ortoshyte.

I wish Sierraman would come back. Junkman fucked him off and then fucked off himself.

So are you?

I am but only really from the moneymaking perspective.

I've had some right cars. I inherited my Dad's 911 C4. I've had a 944, 928S, V12 Jaguars, BMW's of E30 M3 and Alpenis flavour, E28 Alpina B10, Escorts Mexico II and RS1600i (wank), a few big/proper V8 Mercs, more Jags, proper Cooper S, 3.0 CSL, Alfa 75 3.0.

I've driven lots more.

I couldn't care less about supercars. The last interesting Ferrari was the 512BB 'Boxer'.

Anyone spending Porsche 996 Turbo money on a fucking RS2000 needs their head feeling.

I'd rather have a Hockey Stick Avenger 1250DL than a Mitstositotoshobi Evo IIVX.

My favourite Alfa is the cheapest, the Sud.

Goodwood can fuck off.

I like 1100's and Princesses.

I hate driving now.

Nearly as much as working on cars. Nearly.

I like cars but not enough to spend remotely serious £££ on one.

[xtriple]

Dunno is the quick answer. I was always more into bikes than cars but had cars as well, usually interesting. Had loads of posh shit back in the day (TM) and sporty shit as well but... bikes are much more fun!

Nowadays, can't ride anymore and can't do much on cars either but I still like them, love the SLK and the Jag, would prefer a monstrous V8 preferably with a fuck off great turbo or supercharger but they seem to come with rock hard suspension and I crave comfort in my declining years

[angrydicky]

Yes. I love cars but hate dealing with cretins trying to sell them. Also very sentimental about them and hate the idea of selling a car only for it to fall into the wrong hands and get ruined or scrapped.
Hence why the fleet is out of control and I’ve got a couple of unfinished projects I’ve completely lost interest in, but at the condition they’re in they’re prime breaker/banger fodder.
Both were on the road and Motd when I got them, albeit in poor condition.
I would definitely let them go at sensible money to the right people. But being fairly undesirable saloons, there aren’t that many enthusiasts for them out there and even less who have the skills and inclination to get them back on the road.
I do enjoy driving but not in large towns or cities. And only enjoy driving the oldies on quiet country lanes.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

My dislike of driving is the biggie for me.

I live in a city so it's quite unpleasant - the aggression, ignorance and stupidity combined with potholes imported from Mercury. A trip to Aldi and back is enough to piss me off. A nice long trip somewhere pleasant can be ok.

If I had an old Iveco truck I'd be ripping the side out of something most days.

[Jerzy Woking]

Yes, I am BUT not owned too many. I'm a bike enthusiast really, having owned too many to count since my first bike in around 1971 (which I had to hide from my parents).

I am considering buying a TVR, so that might qualify me. Which would be nice to drive here, as the roads are well surfaced and, mostly, empty.

[AutoshiteBoy]

Yes, I'm still a car obsessive. Really obsessed. But this life long, utter against-the-odds obsession is diminishing for several reasons.
1) Current cars leave me cold. I've no interest in the vast majority of consumer durables out there. I think on one hand I can count the cars I'm interested in which are still being manufactured.
2) The other thing that's got away from me is my career in the motor trade. After working for GM Europe and getting made redundant one Christmas (along with 150 others), going back into the franchised dealer network was a nightmare. So I left the motor trade.
3) Current car magazines. They're all wank and hold no interest for me (sorry Reverend). There's no enthusiasm or in-depth knowledge in them. Its either trendy or woke with no grit, genuine investigative journalism or criticism.
4) Road network. Full of cunts, congestion and political interference designed to piss you off AND tax you. No filth/police mind you.

[59Impala]

I still am but as I'm getting older I have found that I'm beginning to loathe driving much because cretins allowed out who can operate a vehicle but cannot actually drive one. It seems that every time I go out in my Focus I either get some bellend racing up behind me, quite often in a wanker tanker, because I'm doing 30 in a 30. Or I get to follow those that have a modern vehicle which cannot go faster than 40 in a 60 limit and for whom a bend is something to be navigated at walking speed. But I still like old stuff, have owned my Impala for 34 years and my Anglia 105E for 22 so there's that, would have loads more if I had the money and somewhere to store them safely. But no modern supercars because as an owner of a Dino 246 put it 'they're vulgar'. Nail hit on head.

I have owned quite a few, mainly a mix of British and American with a Swede thrown in plus some cars of Nippon. Plus I do still buy way too many model cars because I enjoy doing so. Oh and books and magazines. Never ridden a motorbike and that's why I'm probably still alive, my late mum told me not to after two of my cousin's friends were killed at about 16/17yo. So I never did. Rode pillion once and hated it. But hey that's just me, I get that folks enjoy them.

[LynehamHerc]

Nicked from AutoshiteBoys post (sorry):

Current cars leave me cold. I've no interest in the vast majority of consumer durables out there. I think on one hand I can count the cars I'm interested in which are still being manufactured.
3) Current car magazines. They're all wank and hold no interest for me (sorry Reverend). There's no enthusiasm or in-depth knowledge in them. Its either trendy or woke with no grit, genuine investigative journalism or criticism.
4) Road network. Full of cunts, congestion and political interference designed to piss you off AND tax you.
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I still enjoy driving the MG and camper but they're only used relatively locally and often first thing on a morning before the roads get busy.

I don't consider myself to be a true enthusiast, whatever one is, as my family comes first and helping with deposits on the flats for the boys is far more important than me swanning about in a 911 or F-Type, much as I'd like to.

[mercrocker]

I'm enthusiastic enough to have more than I can afford to have but apart from that I don't really know....

Autojumbles, Car shows, Car clubs and all the other things I used to enjoy completely leave me cold now, if not outright piss me off. I still get massive pleasure from seeing something tasty being used on the road though - things such as DB4/5/6s, proper Italiana and well-kept un-fucked up Bentleys and the like.

I never discuss cars with people I don't know and nothing made since the beginning of this present Century actually interests me. I only tolerate the Focus because it gives me a quiet life domestically, I almost resent putting petrol in it whereas I'd happily go without dinner to keep the others above the "E".

As for driving, I really don't know.....There are some great back roads throughout the New Forest which I use as arterial routes but as for actually going out just for the hell of it - that's long gone. Having said that, I have planned some hopefully enjoyable runs for later in the year - the proper way using maps. We have to go to the places concerned so we may as well make an adventure out of it and see some of the country instead of vein-opening Motorways and their denizens.

I can see a time coming when I can no longer drive - it seems five minutes ago I was longing to be old enough - and it has every chance of being coincidental with none of us being able to, at least not in the way that we know and love. I'm glad I've had my time when I did, I never owned anything interesting, rare or fast but I've had more fun in knackered old cheap shit than most kids today can understand and that is frankly the only motoring I'm likely to continue.

A litmus test, I suppose, might be the eternal Lottery question....Would I spend the money on cars? Well, hell, yes I bloody would. Lots...

[SiC]

I've probably said this before but I'll repeat it.

The analogy I give is that it's like my wife baking cakes. She loves baking and decorating them. Doesn't mind eating them but definitely gets more enjoyment out of the creation. So she happily makes pretty fantastic cakes for friends/family. She will never eat those cakes but it doesn't matter to her.

For me, I have zero interest in making a cake. However I love eating them.

Cars are the same thing. I really enjoy fixing them. Driving is okay (eating the cake) but I rather be diagnosing and solving problems on them (baking the cake). Of course, for many "car enthusiasts" though they have zero interest being under a car and rather behind the wheel (like me eating cake).

Growing up my dad got me into programming and electronics. I started to program when I was 5 and never stopped. Likewise I would start fiddling with electronics at the same age. None of these skills were useful at school however stood me in good stead at university. Basically it's all I really know.

I really really wanted to be a mechanic. However when I told my dad this, he sat me down and told me in no uncertain terms that was a bloody stupid idea. If I really wanted to work on cars, get a decent job in software/electronics after uni and do it for fun in my own time.

Back when he was young my dad trained up as a plant hire mechanic (he just had bailed out of the Royal Marines just after basic training). From there he worked up the ranks in different jobs, changing his trade numerous times. His peak was probably when he ran Northern Europe for a large Telco. So he knew the difference doing hard physical graft and being a pen pusher.

I thankfully listened to him (rare time I did ). So I deliberately buy cars with problems and solve their issues while holding down a reasonably well paid professional job. Sounds daft to many but it's how I get my kicks.

I do ponder about buying something really nice. However there are too many dickheads about. Whether risking getting a ticket, someone up your arse risking you getting whiplash or the knob-end who smacks their door into yours and not giving a fuck. Cheap disposable moderns stress me out less as, even though it's annoying, at least any damage is less of a concern.

It's why I've spent a fair bit more on classics projects than moderns (except Mrs SiC car but that's a special exception). Classics give me more to fiddle with and I enjoy the history behind them. Driving them is fun given the right moment and time but they're both limited windows. If I had the room, I'd simply stash all my previous projects and not sell them.

So I'm enthusiastic about cars but probably not like how most people are or expect how one is.