Ask Lemmy

I can start by saying that I'm a tech "guy". The evolution was simple: Puzzles, Lego, bikes, model R/C cars/planes, computers, motorcycles then cars. Add to that motorcycles and cars give you freedom of movement to go anywhere anytime in a whim, it is difficult to not geek about them.

Then, during a brief period of my life I lived in a big (for me) city and had to use the public transport and it was horrible. This only exacerbated my dreams of owning a motor vehicle. Car magazines helped fuel these dreams.

My dad loved sports cars, that didn't help the addiction ;)

I-I'm not? Am I? Oh god what kind of car am I?

Here's one who always liked customising the daily driver computers - Sway, custom configs, painting the laptop cover with very permanent enamel paint. Reasons are to make it run reliably, serving my preferences and looking nice and cared for.

Similar reasons apply with the car and motorcycle, only with the car it's not cheap fun (bike stuff is actually very reasonably priced). But I figured since I get paid every month, I'm going to use money on what sparks joy. And I'm keeping it sensible, only one car and bike at a time :}

I just think they’re neat honestly. feel similarly about boats and trains and well executed meals and nice interior design.

It's a blend of art and engineering. I don't appreciate a lot of traditional art. Music, movies and TV, but not theater or paintings or most sculpture. But a good looking car just draws your eyes to it like an attractive person, but it's rude to stare at people. It's almost rude to NOT stare at a Porsche 911 GT3 RS.

Then there's the beauty of the engineering. Thousands of parts working together to make one beautiful machine do what it's supposed to do. It's like how society is supposed to work. But instead of a GT3 RS, we've got a '96 Dodge neon with no working starter, only two working forward gears, a door that won't open and electrical issues.

In today's world it's harder and harder to justify being a car guy, but I've loved em since I can remember.

Edit: I would add to that, the same feelings I have about cars being a blend of art and engineering, is the same reason I have a great respect for architecture. True great architecture is also a blend of art and engineering. You can replace the Porsche with Notre Dame, while the F-150 can be replaced with a modern factory. Utilitarian garbage.

I was a car guy, more or less. I enjoyed driving them, I enjoyed tinkering with them. I like going fast, I like shifting gears. I did some incredibly cool road trips, I did some autocross, I did some commercial driving too and enjoyed the challenge of finding the most efficient routes across the city.

But there are too many cars on the road, designing our cities around them was a potentially civilization-ending mistake, and we should all stop burning fossil fuels like right now and also stop spreading microplastics, oil, and road salt all over the land. There are better ways to commute. These days I'm more of a "fuck cars" guy.

Car go vroom. Modded car go vroom faster. Simple as.

(It’s also a socially acceptable autistic fixation.)

I like hearing them purr and watching their zoomies

Do you like to drive?

A family member was a mechanic and spent all their time in the garage working on barely functioning cars. In retrospect, it’s probably their autism hyper fixation.

My second car was pretty nice, but it was murderously expensive to have services done, and the internet community around it was fairly firm about doing specific preventative maintenance. So I did that.

I’m not really a car guy anymore, because I don’t have the time to work on the cars like I want to, and I don’t have the space either. There’s too many other cars on the roads, which makes spirited driving dangerous. Now, I live vicariously through YouTube channels and mainly drive a toaster EV.

I love cars because they're part art and expression, and part joy/relaxation. They're as unique as an individual's personality, and can be customized to suit. Driving on the open road is this synchronized dance of metal and flesh that propels you far faster than nature ever intended (less so if you drive an automatic). It's a testament to human progress. As someone who loves engineering in every specialty, cars blend mechanical, electrical, electronics, robotics, design...every engineering specialty there is, into 1 complete package that utilizes them all. Every inch of a car is meticulously crafted and lovingly sculpted by engineers, and its one of mankind's crowning achievements of modern society. It is singlehandedly the most complex, and most beautiful thing many of us will ever own.

Racing in and of itself has just as many forms, each pushing the limits of this engineering to new heights, and is a wonderful test bed for people to wring the most out of the world around us.

And each year, I marvel at the concept cars and the art of cars to come. It just tickles so many of my fancies.

This doesn't even begin to touch on the wide range that it's given me and others to travel and experience new places.

When I was a kid, I watched Ayrton Senna drive a McLaren F1 car. Not long after that, my dad showed me an AC Cobra.

I'm not. I don't drive and never want to drive. I hate it.

Why do you like your hobbies? I am not a car guy but talk to me about hunting rifles and I'll never shut up.

I grew up in a big city so I didn't learn to drive until I was 23, and once I did, I realized how much I had been missing. A car with a full tank of gas really does feel like freedom to me, so I enjoy having a car that is good at being a car. I'm not particularly interested in aftermarket modifications, but I am willing to pay more for a car that is fast, handles well, and looks good.

I never said I was a car guy/gal.

I thought cars were awesome as a kid and teenager, and couldn’t wait to pass my test. Had my license within 6 months of being old enough to drive.

But then as soon as I went to uni I didn’t have the money for a car or a use for it in a major city.

And then I started to view cars way more negatively due to their impact on society and the environment and never became a car guy.

I love cars in computer games, but in real life I’m more of a “fuck cars” guy these days.

Cars are a symbol of wealth and social status. That’s why people obsess over them, but they will rarely admit this to themselves.