Is car culture naturally arrogant?

"Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer)
07/22/2018 at 14:13 • Filed to: None

Theres a car show in Pontevedra every year called “The Beautiful Car” I was invited to attend by the owner of the Ferrari 458 I had the honour to drive a couple of days ago. But they warned me that “it’s not a nice place”

I encountered one of the people that went there in a cafeteria today and spoke about a few cars. I showed him the pictures of the 993 and he was fascinated. He let me drive his SLS too

Hes an older C uban gentilmen, good friend of the regimen and the owner of an engine reconditioning factory in Spain that sells back to Cuba. He said he owned a 55’ gullwing back in Cuba as well.

Must be 60 or 70 and he was smoking a thick, long cuban cigar as he sipped a gin and tonic. His accent was a mix between Galician and Cuban; made him perfectly understandable. He was joined by the owner of a luxury car dealership that would discuss the intricacies of 959 with the same ease as he’d talk about the price. I talked about the Ferrari 288 with them, “I have flipped a few; good investment” they’d answer. I spoke about the 911R. “Terrible, Porsche ruined it” they said. Echoing that the GT3 turing reduced the value of the 911R significantly.

These people were incredibly well versed in their trade, and while I understood their fascination with cars, their monetary interests were shown rather noticeably.

I don’t know how The Beautiful Car went, but I’m convinced that the nature of the event could be pretentious beyond the comfort of some people. In a sense car culture can be arrogant because a car is a naturally expensive object, and it is pretentious in its own nature. Its better than public transport and its better than walking! It’s also exclusive, the same price is also exlusionary in a way.

I’m not trying to say all car culture is arrogant, or that these people were insufferable or bad, they were quite nice with me and let me drive a fantastic car that I would’ve been unable to drive otherwise. But maybe they represent the few rather than the most. Neither am I trying to suggest I’m not arrogant or less arrogant than them...I barely know car culture... but the glimpses I’ve had are suggesting I’m right.

I don’t know, I solely ask for your opinions.

Also, if I don’t answer some comments it’s because I don’t have good internet access here.

Enjoy the ass.

This car sounds so nice. It’s in fact the first car in which I enjoyed the noise it made more than I was annoyed by it.

DISCUSSION (18)

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Spanfeller is a twat
07/22/2018 at 14:51

All about the people.

The love of money is the root of all sorts of evils.

It isn’t the cars, it isn’t the money itself, it is the LOVE of the money.

Most of the downfall is the exclusion of all else in the pursuit of the loved money...

A servant cannot serve two masters, and can’t serve their love of money AND something else simultaneously, so things become markers of money, and people become either a source of revenue, competition for revenue, or distraction and potential loss of revenue.

When people start dealing with each other that way, the love of money eclipses the loving one’s neighbor as one’s self... which is only simply treating people the way one would be treated... simple golden rule kind of stuff.

Spanfeller is a twat > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
07/22/2018 at 15:02

that’s deeper than I thought this thread would go....

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Spanfeller is a twat
07/22/2018 at 15:08

The trick is... it is deep, and it is fundamental...

But it is also the basics that kids are taught, or at least should be taught, in Kindergarten, and re-enforced throughout educating people into being good adults. However, adults often forget amongst the “complexities” of adulthood.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Spanfeller is a twat
07/22/2018 at 15:12

This kind of seems like a long humble-brag post?

Spanfeller is a twat > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
07/22/2018 at 15:46

Why do you feel that way?

DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
07/22/2018 at 15:56

I don’t think it is. Just sounds like he’s telling us about an event.

fintail > Spanfeller is a twat
07/22/2018 at 18:14

Just rich old men, usually with old/ inherited money they pretend they earned themselves, involved in another contest.

Spanfeller is a twat > fintail
07/22/2018 at 19:10

Perhaps in this case. I’m a bit glad I skipped it... from the pictures it looked like a very gaudy C&C.

CarFanatic > Spanfeller is a twat
07/22/2018 at 20:45

Thanks for sharing your observations.

I attend an occasional private gathering of car collectors/enthusiasts hosted by a friend who is the owner of a rather large collection. While I don’t deem myself as economically disadvantaged, I do feel as though I am when I attend these events and listen to the conversations . I am certainly the lowest income earner present .

I can talk cars and tracking all day long with this crowd , but when the conversations get into cap venture investing, serving in a Chief——Officer capacity, or flipping companies anywhere from $10 mil to $50 mil, I have nothing to contribute. Yet, none of these individuals come off as arrogant. They are simply talking at a level that is beyond my personal experience.

I am fascinated the most with those who were raised with humble beginnings and somehow took the risk to create a niche business that propelled them into their current tax bracket. I admire their intelligence and drive.

Despite their advanced business sense and more distinguished lifestyles , most are still car enthusiasts at heart. When I asked one attendee to start his Ferrari 488 up for me, he got a big boyish grin and said, “Sure!”

Spanfeller is a twat > CarFanatic
07/22/2018 at 20:48

That sounds nice!

Assuming richer folk are arrogant is arrogant itself maybe, but it’s hard to tell when someone is going to the car show to show off their car or their wealth.

I found the Cuban guy very interesting. He’s lead quite a life! (and can go deep into conspiracies about Castro being from Galicia too!)

fintail > Spanfeller is a twat
07/22/2018 at 20:51

That’s what maybe 8o% of the closest thing to C&C in Seattle is like - restricted entry, and a showoff contest between techbros, luckyboomers, and the devilspawn of “investor visa” purchasers. Not my scene.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Spanfeller is a twat
07/22/2018 at 22:54

Ive run into this a few times in the porsche club. I try to find the folks with a boxster or older aircooled car who don’t take themselves too seriously.

There was one prick always talking about everyone cars value and he brought his son. Son had a poped collar and vineyard vines, and I thought “oh crap its too late, he’s reproduced”

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Spanfeller is a twat
07/23/2018 at 02:23

I may have missed the mark. It read to me like how you're rubbing elbows with affluent folks with shiny things. I've been wrong before.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > fintail
07/23/2018 at 02:25

This drives me bananas about this area. Why are there no normal car meets?

Spanfeller is a twat > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
07/23/2018 at 08:02

Maybe it underlines why car culture can be arrogant.

fintail > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
07/23/2018 at 13:19

I think it is linked to the cool (as in cold, distant) social scene in general. People here just aren’t into it. There could also be a lack of venues.

Someone tried to put together a legit C&C somewhere in north Seattle, I think, but it didn’t appear to have panned out - last time I checked, the fb page hadn’t been updated in a year.

What grinds my gears is calling Exotics at RTC a C&C type event - it is anything but.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > fintail
07/23/2018 at 13:59

E@RTC has cooler cars in the parking lot than the ones on display. There’s something unsettling about a trust fund boy standing next to his LaFerrari as though he’d accomplished something. Spending money isn’t really a skill...

fintail > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
07/23/2018 at 14:13

Kind of sums up the scene in many areas around here.

Maybe the closest thing to a bring what you’ve got meet I have experienced has been the “Leavenworth Drive” - but it is for Euro cars and primarily VW/Audi-bros. There can be a little douchery on the drive, but there’s no bouncer there to reject people based on the value of their car.