Doesn't bother me talking about my car. Probably bothers the people who ask about it though, haha!
For those who would rather drive than talk about it, or don't like the attention, I offer a simple solution. Order fuel by the barrel, have it delivered to your house (or pick it up yourself), fuel up in your garage, then get out of town for some back road driving. Cars like this aren't really in their element in traffic, even though they're more agreeable than ever these days.
dculberson said:I used to have an old ambulance (1966 Pontiac Bonneville "consort," or short wheelbase hearse/ambulance combo) with the Ghostbusters logos on the doors. When I first got it, it had a bunch of Ghostbusters-esque stuff strapped to the roof. It got an enormous amount of attention.
(What it was like without the rooftop stuff.) People would shout at me, a few women flashed me, I had someone get out of line in a drivethrough to come talk to me. I had someone ask to pump my gas. That sort of thing. Absolutely for the wrong kind of person it would be hell but I grew to like it. People always smiled. It wasn't negative attention.
My favorite was selling a 1972 Corolla to a nice guy from Florida, of Indian descent. I picked him up at the airport in the Pontiac, and as we drove through downtown Columbus, I kind of noticed him sinking lower and lower in his seat. He finally said "This kind of car is not for me. I do not like this much attention." I was just so used to absolutely everyone staring at the car it just didn't phase me. It was funny to get that new perspective on it.
I was young when I got it, just 20, and it was a bondo queen. So a few years of actual regular use in Ohio without a garage led to a lot of rust. I mean a monumental amount of rust. I just didn't have the skill to restore it myself or the money to pay someone. When I sold my first house after 13 years of fun with it, I sold the Pontiac. I still miss it but hopefully it's living a good life out in St Louis with the collector I sold it to.
In Lithopolis there's a -- get this -- Malibu Maxx done up Ghostbusters style, with the stuff on the roof and everything. People I used to work with in Lancaster talked about seeing it around town all the time for years. Probably going back to 2014. You want attention? Make a Ghostbusters car.
I'm curious where a Jaguar F-Type R fits into this squishy definition. Loud, fast, fairly rare, beautiful, but doesn't have the over-the-top looks that grab attention. It's more like a sculpture, instead of something looking like it just walked out of Gold's Gym.
Then there was the car I built, Midlana, 1700lbs and 530hp with the boost cranked up, and something of a black sheep at just about any venue. Didn't fit in at import car shows, British car shows, or American hot rod shows, and yet, it was faster than just about anything in attendance, they just didn't know it, so it got little attention.
When I'd come to a light, I'd sneak glances around to see if anyone noticed. Not because I crave attention, but as a character study in human nature. I was amazed by the number of people who didn't notice it. Lost in thought, checking their phones, talking to someone in their car, their world stopped at their windshield. Anyway, it wasn't an everyday car, being open top, no heat, no AC, no windows, no radio, no luxuries at all. While it had supercar performance, for me, it was a constant frustration driving it in traffic. The analogy I used was that it's like having spent a lot on a thoroughbred race horse, yet only being allowed to walk it.
Lastly, totally agree about how it depends - a lot - on where you live. In SoCal, 911s seem a dime a dozen, so frequent that they register about the same reaction as Tesla's. Even Maserati sedans are invisible. Only true and rare exotics really get the attention, and even then, people are so into their own worlds, it doesn't happen much at lights.
kb58 said:I'm curious where a Jaguar F-Type R fits into this squishy definition. Loud, fast, fairly rare, beautiful, but doesn't have the over-the-top looks that grab attention. It's more like a sculpture, instead of something looking like it just walked out of Gold's Gym.
Then there was the car I built, Midlana, 1700lbs and 530hp with the boost cranked up, and something of a black sheep at just about any venue. Didn't fit in at import car shows, British car shows, or American hot rod shows, and yet, it was faster than just about anything in attendance, they just didn't know it, so it got little attention.
When I'd come to a light, I'd sneak glances around to see if anyone noticed. Not because I crave attention, but as a character study in human nature. I was amazed by the number of people who didn't notice it. Lost in thought, checking their phones, talking to someone in their car, their world stopped at their windshield. Anyway, it wasn't an everyday car, being open top, no heat, no AC, no windows, no radio, no luxuries at all. While it had supercar performance, for me, it was a constant frustration driving it in traffic. The analogy I used was that it's like having spent a lot on a thoroughbred race horse, yet only being allowed to walk it.
Lastly, totally agree about how it depends - a lot - on where you live. In SoCal, 911s seem a dime a dozen, so frequent that they register about the same reaction as Tesla's. Even Maserati sedans are invisible. Only true and rare exotics really get the attention, and even then, people are so into their own worlds, it doesn't happen much at lights.
Yes definitely depends on where you live. Almost every day in South Florida I see brightly colored new Lamborghini's driving around in traffic or in parking lots. I doubt people are approaching these drivers to talk about their cars.
kb58 said:I'm curious where a Jaguar F-Type R fits into this squishy definition. Loud, fast, fairly rare, beautiful, but doesn't have the over-the-top looks that grab attention. It's more like a sculpture, instead of something looking like it just walked out of Gold's Gym.
My wife DD's an F-Type R. It's a neat car. Certainly one of the prettiest cars ever created, so much so that she often has people comment on its looks in the grocery store parking lot, gas pumps, etc. We were in Orlando this past weekend, heading up I-4 when a teenager in the backseat of the car next to us took a few pictures of the car. It really is stunning. And crazy fast and loud when you want it to be. 0-60 was quoted at 3.7 when the car came out. That's plenty quick for me!
So many times I have read stories on various P-cars here and the first one with a "douchebag owner" warning is about a Viper? wow :-)
“The Lucas electrics meant you could only have lights or wipers, but never both. So we’d just turn the lights on and try to drive fast enough to blow the rain right off the windshield.”
QFT.
As an aside, I've found it's usually good to be kind to inquisitive people; you never know which one of them will have the "whatever-it-is-you-need" to get a recalcitrant vehicle moving again when you're miles away from home.
In reply to ConiglioRampante :
Yeah, you never know. On the way home from The Amelia this year, we stopped at a BBQ joint. An older gentleman asked me a seemingly simple question about our 911, like what year or what was the official name of the color.
I watched them then get into the newer 911 parked out front. It wore PCA stickers.
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