Car Enthusiast vs Driving Enthusiast

"Wobbles the Mind" (wobblesthemind)
08/17/2016 at 18:44 • Filed to: Questions

If we were to separate these two terms simply for the sake of being able to better describe aspects of enthusiast culture, how would you describe these two terms? Maybe give an example that would favor or be unique to one term over the other.

I know you don’t want to separate them, however I’m the type of person that enjoys describing metaphysical matters in the auditory equivalent of stick figures. I also like to hear other people’s thoughts on strange questions before I share my own choreographed routine. So, create a difference between car enthusiast and driving enthusiast. Please and thank you!

If you’re in a hurry then let me ask you this instead...

Do you remember that cartoon Stickin Around ? Theme song popped into my head just now.

DISCUSSION (23)

E90M3 > Wobbles the Mind
08/17/2016 at 18:50

I don’t consider it to be car enthusiast vs driving enthusiast, it’s more car enthusiast vs collector for me. Because I think anyone who truly loves cars loves more than just one aspect, driving, talking about them etc. If they never see the light of day and just sit in your collection, you’re not an enthusiast, you’re a collector. Cars are meant to be driven, not hidden away forever so you can make money off of them. Life is for living, cars are for driving.

Nimbus The Legend - Riding on air like a cloud > Wobbles the Mind
08/17/2016 at 18:51

I think its fair to seperate the terms.

While Im faily evenly both, some people just like driving and not wrenching.

Some people like wrenching more than driving.

djmt1 > Wobbles the Mind
08/17/2016 at 18:55

Kinja'd!!!

I can’t remember where I learned this from but it’s what I’ve stuck with when defining car enthusiasts. So driving enthusiast would obvious go into the driving sector and I guess where car enthusiast would go is in the sector where collecting and wrenching cross over.

Nauraushaun > Wobbles the Mind
08/17/2016 at 18:55

There are probably millions of ways to separate brands of enthusiasts. Some people like driving above all else, they don’t care if the car looks shit. Some people just like wrenching and not so much driving. Some just want a car that looks good and may or may not wrench at all. Some collect cars, whether to drive, or admire, or just for the sake of having them. And there are many combinations of these.

You can try to lump these into “car” and “driving” enthusiasts but it’s not really that simple.

As long as we keep in mind that when people say things like “a real car enthusiast washes his car every week”, they’re not seeing the whole picture.

Amoore100 > Nimbus The Legend - Riding on air like a cloud
08/17/2016 at 18:58

There’s also me, a third category. I love driving (though I’m not very good at it) but just as valuable to me as the experience is also the history and backstory behind some of our amazing machines. Who knew the original Espace was a Chrysler Simca-turned-Matra-turned Peugeot-turned-Talbot-turned-Renault? Also, another category to look at is simply the act of having the car as a piece of art, to admire the exquisite craftsmanship and skill which has gone into creating such a masterpiece.

EL_ULY > Wobbles the Mind
08/17/2016 at 18:59

Enthusiasts: Knows all the HP number on supercars and hates constantly on anything that isn’t high end. Bugatti is king!

Jalop: Supercharger on a 1998 Corolla? YES PLEASE!!!!!

ttyymmnn > Wobbles the Mind
08/17/2016 at 18:59

I am very much a driving enthusiast. I actually know very little about cars (makes, models, features, etc.), but I’ll happily drive anything with wheels. I spent four hours driving from Galveston to Austin yesterday, through torrential rains, in my ‘03 Odyssey and loved every minute of it. I even enjoy driving to the grocery store. I live for 3,000-mile road trips.

Urambo Tauro > Wobbles the Mind
08/17/2016 at 19:05

I’ve been thinking about this too. I’ve realized that I must care about driving more than I care about cars. That explains why I don’t like supercars with terrible visibility, or cars with bad stance that makes them un-roadworthy.

Wobbles the Mind > E90M3
08/17/2016 at 19:05

So how do you feel about the people that only bring the vehicles out for certain car shows or allow museums to house them for a while? They are still a vehicle that isn’t driven, however they are being shared with the public every so often annually. I look at Pebble Beach and think of some (not all) of those vehicles. That one gathering may be the only time some of those vehicles are off the owners property. They don’t do the maintenance or preparation, however they have skilled people that due and probably love the opportunity. I think as highly of financing the care of a car as the performance of a car. I know condition defeats ability as you talk to older enthusiasts.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > EL_ULY
08/17/2016 at 19:05

I’ve always thought putting the Lotus tuned version a Toyota engine back into a corolla or camry would be fun....

EL_ULY > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
08/17/2016 at 19:11

The Edlebrock supercharger of the Evora 400 in the new Camry.... Oh sweet baby jebus YES!!!!

Wobbles the Mind > djmt1
08/17/2016 at 19:13

I like this! We should make a name for each of the missing sections. I kind of want to call the collectors “purist” since they are the ones that would have a fit watching the Tax the Rich videos, or aftermarket changes to cars and anything that “ruins” the original quality of the vehicle. This gives you driving purists (purist plus driving enth.), wrenching purists (purist plus wrenching), tuners (wrenching plus driving enth.), and the center would be a “car enthusiast.” Something like that, I’d have to think this over some more.

jimz > Wobbles the Mind
08/17/2016 at 19:13

car enthusiast= Gran Turismo

driving enthusiast= Forza

Under_Score > Wobbles the Mind
08/17/2016 at 19:14

I’ve loved cars my whole life, but I don’t know how to drive manual, nor do I care how to. A Hyper Blue WRX with the CVT would be a dream.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > EL_ULY
08/17/2016 at 19:15

burnoutz for dayz, yo!

djmt1 > Wobbles the Mind
08/17/2016 at 19:25

Well you have purists in all the categories. Collecting was all about people who don’t necessarily choose the car for the actual car itself but more for it’s characteristics. So someone who drives exclusively French cars, or someone who only drives cars built before 1993 and of course the brand fanbois.

They won’t work on it or just go for a drive but if they’re gonna own a car it will have to fit into some arbitrary category they have chosen. We have quite a few of them here on Oppo on a surface level since I have no idea if they interact with their cars beyond commuting.

My bird IS the word > Wobbles the Mind
08/17/2016 at 20:29

See, I would consider myself a car enthusiast. Oftentimes these “drivers cars” bore me, I just want something shouty and slidey. I’m not concerned so much about the driving experience so much as the car I’m in. Good enough is good enough for me. A driving enthusiast would drive a camry if it drove like a Miata or an m3.

E90M3 > Wobbles the Mind
08/17/2016 at 21:18

I think letting a museum have it for a while is fine more people get to enjoy it that way. I think only taking the car to pebble beach and nothing else is pretty much just showing off. Unless you’ve restored that car and want to show it there for the first time, as long as it doesn’t immediately go back into storage, it’s fine. Or maybe you’re an old guy who has had the car for 50 years, can’t drive it anymore but you couldn’t sell it, but you’ve actually done something with the car besides just store it in your garage forever, I’m fine with that.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Wobbles the Mind
08/17/2016 at 23:02

One likes owning things. One likes using things.

Zonday > Wobbles the Mind
08/18/2016 at 01:27

To me a driving enthusiast would drive anything that puts a smile on your face regardless of what everyone else thinks. Whereas car enthusiasts are more social creatures as their interest is grounded in car culture.

Tldr: Driving enthusiast sit in the car, car enthusiasts stand outside it

uofime-2 > djmt1
08/18/2016 at 11:58

It would be interesting to number the sections and post this as a poll to see where oppo stands.

djmt1 > uofime-2
08/18/2016 at 12:28

Well let's find out then.

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > Wobbles the Mind
10/20/2016 at 13:18

This... I love cars and eventually building a collection of them but I have 0 desire to wrench in them myself.