Anyone else bored of high-end cars?

"CB" (jrcb) 11/16/2018 at 19:47 • Filed to: Being an adult and the death of childhood joy

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Growing up, supercars and hypercars were what caught my eye when flipping through car magazines. Now, I’m at the point where, whatever crazy new model or stats show up, I just... don’t get excited. I’ll never own or drive one, and the stats they throw out just feel meaningless. Anyone else feel the same way?

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > CB 11/16/2018 at 19:58

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KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > CB 11/16/2018 at 20:00

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You and me both. I am interested in learning about Supercars/Megacars/Hypercars etc. but I am no longer genuinely excited. I care more about affordable cars I could actually afford now, five or ten years from now. A good GT car is somewhere where the excitement peaks for me when it comes to a dream machine- possibly when I am close to retirement. Like this one:

I know this costs $198,995 which is solidly Supercar territory but still I wouldn’t say it is a Supercar.

A C7 Corvette Gran Sport is another one. I literally don’t give a damn about the mid life crisis stigma. If I can afford a decently used one when I’m 50 (It’ll probably be a C8/9/10 by then), I’d buy that in a heartbeat. Lightly used ones are around $50K now

jimz > CB 11/16/2018 at 20:04

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yes. I know that for the most part, these are unobtanium which I will never be allowed to sit in (with one exception) let alone drive. I just don’t care anymore about anything the latest McLaren does, or how much more horsepower Lamborghini’s latest creation has. I know that- barring a highly improbable win in the lottery- I will never be able to afford one of these.

yet I still have people scoff at me when I say that. for the most part they’re people who’ve bought into the Boomer lie and think they’re just a bit of hard work away from being rich.

it’s why I don’t bother with mags like Road & Track anymore.  the vast majority of their reviews and comparos are of cars that are $100k+.  

TheJWT > CB 11/16/2018 at 20:07

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Supercars, hypercars, sports cars, new cars; I haven’t kept up with any of them in years.

Urambo Tauro > CB 11/16/2018 at 20:13

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Yes. For me, thei r   unobtainability renders them irrelevant. And even if I could afford them, so many of them have such ridiculous blind spots that I really can’t picture myself driving them around anywhere but a racetrack. ... Which makes them even more irrelevant to me.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > Urambo Tauro 11/16/2018 at 20:22

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Even if you have enough money saved to buy a used sportscar (50% depreciated at $60- to $80K for example), that’s just the beginning of a very expensive ownership- Just imagine how much you’ll end up spending for Insurance, taxes, gas, tires, brakes, regular maintenance and unexpected repairs, detailing etc. etc. 

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > CB 11/16/2018 at 20:26

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Put me down as a ‘yes’. I used to read every car magazine around, drooling over the latest high-end machinery, but there came a point where it just didn’t hold any appeal for me. Even when I had money, the fastest thing I bought was used and only had four cylinders, and for the most part, I just preferred being in my small-engined, mid-size sedan instead. Nobody wanted to race me, nobody looked at me like I was some rich asshole. I was in my thirties back when I had a proper sports car, but I’ve always looked years younger than my age  so I’m sure some people thought I was just a punk kid spending daddy’s money when in fact I was a middle-aged IT professional.

When lottery fever was gripping the nation a few weeks back I joined the pool at work. The thought of buying a Lamborghini or Ferrari or Porsche should we have won never crossed my mind, to be completely honest. But then again, I’ve always preferred understatement and stealth in my vehicles. If I were to buy a fancy car it would probably be something older, like a W126 560SEL or maybe an early Ferrari 308. I know that most new cars could blow those out of the water performance-wise, but I don’t care about having something ridiculously fast. Heck, my dad’s Chevy Volt was quick enough for me, and I never tried it in Sport mode which would have made it even quicker. I guess it all depends on what you grew up with. For me, most average cars had less than 100hp and were in the double digits zero to sixty, so anything faster was a rocket. I had more fun in my 90hp Rabbit GTI than I have in most of the cars I’ve had since.

The idea of attracting a lot of attention, and by extension, judgment, is distasteful to me. I wish to remain hidden in plain sight. I figure that if I want the thrills of a supercar I can try some of those driving experiences or rent something on Turo and not have to live with such a vehicle on a daily basis.

lone_liberal > CB 11/16/2018 at 20:31

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Exactly the same. I see the reviews on the FP of the various Bentleys and what not and it’s just meh. Why should I care how great a car is when it costs the same as my house?

Spaceball-Two > CB 11/16/2018 at 20:33

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I feel the same way. Going to C&C has lost me. It’s just a bunch rich dudes and their toys that are more status symbols and investments than actual working running cars. I’m more apt to go to a random custom car show in church parking lot to see folks who work on their cars and trucks to make them their own.

f86sabre > CB 11/16/2018 at 20:36

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Yep. High power cars too. Kei cars are more interesting to me right now. The engineering is more interesting, the designs are fun, they are obtainable and you can work on them. That’s part of why we bought our Mini.

The only exception is the Zonda.  That thing is awesome. 

AestheticsInMotion > CB 11/16/2018 at 20:44

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Yes, but not because of the cost or unobtanium nature.

Seems like nowadays supercars aren’t inspired anymore. You don’t get the beautiful, or jaw-dropping rediculousness that you did prior, because everything is designed in a wjnd tunnel to eek out another bit of performance. And also, the performance jumps nowadays are so small, all these super cars feel the same. The LaFerrari, P1 and Porsche were interesting, but now every supercars manufacturer (of which there seem to be hundreds nowadays) are doing the same thing. Snooze.

I'm short this is why I'm mad at Acura for not just re-releasing the OG NSX lol. 

someassemblyrequired > CB 11/16/2018 at 20:45

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Yep I still like stuff up until the late 90s, but after that, supercars are dead to me.  If I’m gonna pony up the big moneys it’ll be for an XKE or an Alfa Montreal, not some angry decepticon looking thing.

OmerCarrothers333 > CB 11/16/2018 at 20:51

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Yes.

When I see a hyper-super-duper-OMG-car on the cover of a Car and Driver or Road & Track or whathaveyou, I just cannot care to read anything on them. The only one of those things  I could see myself driving, is a Mercedes AMG GT, because they’re so achingly pretty.

MM54 > CB 11/16/2018 at 20:53

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Yes. As an engineer it’s interesting to see what they’ve managed to do from a technical standpoint, but as a car enthusiast I just don’t care. I’ll never have one, nobody I know will ever be in the market for one, so whatever. I’m far more interested in what’s coming out in the ‘everyday’ enthusiast cars. I’m more interested to see what the new mazda 3 has in store than what ferrari’s next bowl of alphanumeric soup can do on a track .

Jetstreamer > f86sabre 11/16/2018 at 20:55

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Mmmm… Zonda *drools*. Even if you win the lottery you'd still not be sure if you could buy it, because then you'd have the decision of which freaking version to buy :D.

fintail > CB 11/16/2018 at 20:57

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I’ve been over it for some time. So much design now is normalized, so little content is really remarkable. This is the new Belle Epoque, and it is bland and sanitized .  

It was more fun in the 80s and 90s.

Chuckles > CB 11/16/2018 at 21:02

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Absolutely. I think when you’re young, you just figure that anybody who graduates high school, goes to college, and gets a good job will be able to afford a Ferrari, Lamborghini or Porsche. But eventually reality sets in. I’m 32. I will never be able to afford a $100,000 car and even if I could afford it I wouldn’t spend that kind of money on a car. Hell, I’ve never spent more than $7,500 on a car and I’ve been driving for half my life.

Urambo Tauro > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 11/16/2018 at 21:11

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Yup. And I’m sure that there are people out there who have done the math and can totally afford to keep up with cars like these. But even then, I wouldn’t want to own a car that required me to hang out the open door every time I need to reverse in or out of a parking space. *coughCountachcough*

Svend > CB 11/16/2018 at 21:18

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Big, brash and fast does nothing for me, you still have to obey the speed limit, only your doing it in a less comfortable, more expensive to buy and operate, less practical, etc... vehicle.

We’ve had two Skoda Superb, a Mk2 1.4TSi, 123bhp estate and a Mk3 1 .4TSi ACT, 146bhp liftback.

My neighbour has just bought a 1.0TSi, 60bhp VW Polo. That to me is more appealing as it's compact, fuel efficient, practical, safe, great daily driver that's inexpensive to own and operate. It can still earning you speeding fines if you want it to. 

The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock > CB 11/16/2018 at 21:22

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Yes & no. Yes as in I see plenty of them at C&C, & after awhile they get stale. I expect to see them there, the odd ball stuff there excites me. No as in if I see one on the road at random I get kinda excited. Once I saw a Huracan street parked in the middle of march. I did not expect to see it at that time, & place. Especially in a tourist town during the off season.

DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever > CB 11/16/2018 at 21:37

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Not just the money and the fact I’ll never drive one that turns me away, but I like to own cars I can drive “fast” while not doing ‘go to jail’ speeds.

My bird IS the word > CB 11/16/2018 at 21:39

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Yea. I really only get excited about cars I think I can afford someday. Unfortunately the 50-100k bracket is pretty barren these days

aquila121 > CB 11/16/2018 at 21:41

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Resounding ‘yes’ from me, for the reasons you mention and one more: super/hypercars have face-mangling performance, but a substantial amount of their owners own them as status symbols that either never see a track, or the driver does obscenely stupid things with the car at speed on the street (until it’s strewn across an eighth-mile of roadway when things go wrong).

If you just want to show off how rich you are, don’t get a McLaren and doom it to life as a garage queen or parading around at 15 mph—get a Bentley, instead. If you’re wealthy enough to get something that’s crazy-fast on a track, wring it out there; and I hope that you’ve worked your way up to the limits of the car with lots of instruction and cultivating skill.

Honestly, I'm more impressed by a car and driver that can punch above their weight class and embarrass more expensive hardware at a track day.

Tripper > CB 11/16/2018 at 21:43

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Nah I don’t get quite as excited as I did in the magazine days but that’s because performance was progressing by leaps and bounds but I still think they’re hella cool.

“ I’ll never own or drive one”

You never know! 

CB > Tripper 11/16/2018 at 21:46

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I live in rural Saskatchewan. The only supercar that would make sense most of the year out here is a Raptor.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > CB 11/16/2018 at 21:55

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Same. I only care about things in my realm of cost

Tripper > CB 11/16/2018 at 22:33

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If you become wealthy enough to go $300,000 on a car chances are you’ll have some real estate other places even if you don’t you’ll Probably do some traveling.

Even if I become very wealthy I might not “own” a super car but I would definitely go for a short term lease every once in a while. Anytime I meet someone with a super serious car I always ask them if I can drive it! Every once in a while they say yes!

Junkrat aka Rick Sanchez: Fury Road Edition > CB 11/16/2018 at 22:41

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It was never supercars it was always unobtainium that got me excited. Growing up around racing, I saw way faster cars than any supercar.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > CB 11/16/2018 at 22:48

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They’re boring because they’re not unique anymore. It seems like everyone’s making a supercar now, and the supercar manufacturers that are making them already don’t really change much from generation to generation.

We’ve already pushed the boundaries of terrestrial vehicles pretty hard... so we have to come back down to earth and make normal cars more interesting.

Future Heap Owner > CB 11/16/2018 at 22:52

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Never really cared for them. I was born curmudgeonly I guess.

Victorinoo > CB 11/17/2018 at 00:57

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Super cars these days are as easy to drive as a Honda CR-V. Gone are the days of heavy clutches, dog- leg gearboxes and no AC. I am not impressed by modern super cars at all. And much less so by “hyper-cars”

Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!! > CB 11/17/2018 at 03:50

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Same. Somewhere around a decade ago they ceased being cars to me and more in the category of neat untouchable objects. When I see a newer exotic I still look but it doesn’t really do much for me. Older stuff is far more interesting. The last C&C had a Diablo among the 488s, Aventador etc. no one was even looking at it. To me it was far more interesting. The old BMWs and Porsches were my style and attainable l. Those are what really got me excited.

pip bip - choose Corrour > CB 11/17/2018 at 05:14

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i want a base model Dacia Logan/Sandero

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > CB 11/17/2018 at 06:32

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For quite some time. Let’s face it. Most of them since the 1970s have been deeply impractical. And prior to that...mostly lethal.

In the end, high end cars aren't aspirational unless you were born to the coin that could afford a 7 Series BMW.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > CB 11/17/2018 at 06:33

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I’m sortof the same way! Not bored, they are interesting and cool to me, but not where my heart lies for several of the same reasons you’ve mentioned (some I’ll probably never see and none I’ll ever get to actually experience).

...which is why I like cheap, basic weird stuff, especially stuff with an interesting history to it (hence why I like FIAT and Eastern Euro [especially Polish] stuff! :P)

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > f86sabre 11/17/2018 at 06:34

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This! Kei cars are awesome! I love ‘normal’ cars designed for the people with clever or interesting (or basic, say, like the Lada Niva) engineering. :)

NYankee1927 > CB 11/17/2018 at 10:50

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I still love the tech and get excited about the specs. If you really want to go fast you’ll just get a full blown Racecar for the track. There is no point in tracking these super cars, they are slower. Not to mention the street cars will be much more unsafe if you have an oopsie.

Having said that exotic cars are awesome because it is a racecar for the street. You get the experience, you get the sound and sensation while doing something as mundane as getting some milk. That is what is fun. There is nothing like the sounds of a Ferrari V8

Longtime Lurker > CB 11/18/2018 at 15:16

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Nauraushaun > CB 11/18/2018 at 17:14

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There was a man behind me in an F-type while I was on the great ocean road. He probably had 8 gears, 7 of which would break every speed limit in the country in 4 seconds flat. Maybe 3 or 4 times the power as my little old NA MR2. Likely an auto too. And he could go no faster than me. But who was having more fun? I’d wager it’s me, trying to rev match down shifts and actually use the power I’ve got rather than being inundated with it.

In other words, yes. I agree.

New Lambos and things are cool to look at and gawk over. But in a world where anything can do 0 to 100 in 3.5 seconds or less, I don't really care what specs they've got.