There was a time in my childhood when I was mad about cars. I wanted to buy a dream/luxury car one day. I had almost memorized specification of all cars in market.
Even until few years back I remained up to date with is happening in auto industry.
But sadly, in last few years, I started to lose interest in cars! Even in this forum I mostly browse non-motoring section lately.
Nothing major happened in my life. I am still young (in late 30s). Although I now have a toddler to take care for and certainly life has become busier with time.
Earlier I used to despise people who knew nothing about cars and considered myself superior because I could explain others what AWD/ESC/ABS/differential/chain cam etc meant.
Once upon a time, those who drove automatics, I used to consider them "disabled".
What the heck - last few years I'm driving an auto myself (and very unlikely to return to manual again).
I used to laugh at people who treated cars like washing machines or fridges because I thought they were unable to realize how cars had souls too!
Now even I am using my car as white goods :(
Also, at this point I am able to afford a luxury car (a used Porsche or Merc E class etc.) but it feels like a waste(!) to spend that much on car (which is a depreciating asset).
Have you ever felt the same?
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Same here, movi. Was eyeing up replacements in the 1.2-1-4 litre engine range (I'm early 30's). I used to be out every week cleaning and polishing, now it its to the local hand wash and that's my care taken of externally. I still love getting oily hands but as for the choice of car now - its comfort for me.
I miss my old V6 engined car but seems almost irresponsible for me to have a sub 30mpg car again!
EDIT - I find it amusing hearing the 18 year olds sprouting all the technical talk, I was the same from 14 onwards reading Top Gear magazine.
Last edited by: nice but dim on Sat 25 Oct 14 at 22:26
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Its just changing priorities as you mature and age, it happens to us all. You nave the basic knowledge, it will need updating at some stage but you will never lose it, and never look on a car as a domestic appliance.
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Yep. When I was younger I used to change my cars every 3 to 6 months. Bought & sold privately so never lost much money in depreciation. Nowadays it's too much hassle and current car getting on for 6 years ownership. I still check fluid levels, and tyre pressures weekly, but clean when necessary. Which isn't very often.
Changing priorities
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What exactly is the difference between a Toyota Yaris and a fridge? :-)
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You can't keep milk in a Toyota.
Stupid boy Pike.
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>> What exactly is the difference between a Toyota Yaris and a fridge? :-)
You can see when the interior light goes off
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The Yaris has slightly bigger wheels.
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There is beer in my fridge.
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>> What exactly is the difference between a Toyota Yaris and a fridge? :-)
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The motor in a fridge has a deeper rumble.
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I am not stuck in the kitchen if I want to cool my feet.
Last edited by: henry k on Sat 25 Oct 14 at 23:23
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>> What exactly is the difference between a Toyota Yaris and a fridge? :-)
>>
You can buy a fridge in stainless steel.
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>> Its just changing priorities as you mature and age, it happens to us all.
Yes ON. Once you've been there though you can never just revert to being an ordinary mimsing ignoramus. You still have a gleam in your eye if you're alive.
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I'm not sure I ever liked working on cars. It was something I could do and either save money for myself or make a little doing stuff for others, but I don't think I really liked it.
'Course, I didn't have a garage or anything so luxury was a drive and all too frequently it was at the side of the road - be it a service or an engine change.
I did enjoy the sense of satisfaction at the end of a job. I also like to understand stuff, so I was always interested in how they worked.
I never really dreamed of luxury cars, I never imagined I'd be able to afford one. To this day I think my favourite car was my Mk3 Cortina, albeit most certainly not the best car I've owned.
I mostly only ever changed cars when the existing one broke. I think I was probably late 20s before I could afford a decent car, and even that was a 2.0l Cavalier. Where "decent" means newish, reliable and in good nick.
Now I think about it, I think I lost close interest in cars when I reached the point where I could both afford to buy one and afford to pay someone else to look after it.
Ditto driving. Its something that doesn't bother me, and I like the freedom and control, and driving at night or long distances also doesn't bother me. But "like"? I don't think so. Or at least, very rarely.
Bikes, on the other hand, I both loved and still love, to ride and to work on. A bike I will ride even if I haven't got anywhere to go.
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>> never really dreamed of luxury cars, I never imagined I'd be able to afford one.
I did, among literally hundreds of dream cars of every conceivable sort. But I couldn't afford any of them. And when I did get a chance I usually screwed it up. Frankly, er...
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>> >> never really dreamed of luxury cars, I never imagined I'd be able to afford
>> one.
>>
>> I did, among literally hundreds of dream cars of every conceivable sort. But I couldn't
>> afford any of them. And when I did get a chance I usually screwed it up.
What about the Bentley AC?
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>> What about the Bentley AC?
There was that. Bizarrely, I wasn't thinking of it as a luxury car... but it's true that I couldn't really afford it.
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>> I mostly only ever changed cars when the existing one broke.
Yeah, that's about the size of it.
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I have never liked driving but always loved cars, but then I love all forms of transport (but hate flying). I actually think transport is my hobby rather than cars. My car is just a form of transport that does the job for me. I do miss changing cars though, until my Panda I bought a new less than every year, hence my nick name rattle and smoke.
My parents never had much money so that meant I had an interesting motoring up bringing. My parents always wrongly believed old cares were nothing but trouble, so when they discovered Ladas they could finally afford motoring. A few hundred quid would buy you a 30k 4 year old car but to be fair those Ladas would last us several years. I think all those sheds my parents owned is where I got my interest in cars from.
.*******
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Sun 26 Oct 14 at 03:29
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I agree.
We recently downsized our house, so I'm in the fortunate position that I can trade in my eight year old land cruiser for pretty much anything I want to buy. The only requirement is that it has to be able to tow our caravan safely (1.5 tonnes).
After looking at the market at middle and premium cars - Audi, LR, Volvo, etc, I'm thinking of just sticking with my LC for a few more years. Its agricultural and slow, drinks fuel and wallows in the corners - but it does the job well. Lots of others could do it better but I'm inclined not to bother changing.
I'm taking a CR-V out for a test drive next weekend, but the lure of a brand new car probably isn't enough to get me out of my eight year old one.
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I've always liked cars and still do. I won't deny either that I especially enjoy any opportunity I get to drive an interesting or luxurious or high performance one.
However, I would say that while I like cars I love driving and the type of car used, while not irrelevant to the experience, only enhances or detracts from it in a minor way.
I still get a buzz from the prospect of a long journey on the open road, once clear of the cities and the log jammed motorway network there are still thousands of miles of great driving roads to be enjoyed. An especially good car adds to that but even the most basic of vehicles still allows you to access most of the experience.
I count myself lucky that I have rarely been office or other specific workplace based, and as such haven't had to endure a daily slog on the same roads at the same time for months or even years in succession, so maybe I've been a bit protected from the boredom that must surely encourage.
Most cars can please you if you let them, it's just as possible to have fun in a Fiat as it is in a Ferrari if you're on the right road in the right mood.
So no, I've not lost interest, on the contrary, I still love having a car but within reason, provided it meets my fairly specific practical needs, I'm not not hugely bothered what it is, how cool it looks, how fast it is or how old it is. So long as it holds me, my stuff, my family when required, is comfortable, is at least moderately pleasing to drive and above all reliable I'll be happy with it.
I'd hate to be without one.
Last edited by: Runfer D'Hills on Sun 26 Oct 14 at 10:26
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>> I'd hate to be without one.
>>
I think that despite all of the hassle of driving in the 21st century and the expense of car ownership these days what most of us love about our cars is the freedom and independence they give us to go where we want when we want. I dread the day coming when I have to hang up my keys for good, though hopefully that will be a few years away yet (am 52 !)
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At 67 I value reliability and comfort now above driving thrills. And ease of driving in stop/start conditions.. and easy parking..
I am begging to sound like Victor Meldrew.
I can't believe it..
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I think we can kid ourselves that we don't like driving because most of our journeys are on familiar, repetitive roads we know well enough to be bored with. I do about 300 miles a week, all work related and not mega distance by any means. Mostly I'm on autopilot, but every now and again I'll come home along the A487 in the late evening, a rolling road with plenty of gentle bends and virtually traffic free after what passes for a rush hour down here. The foot goes down, bends are straight lined and even the fifteen year old Astra feels like a sports car as the needle stays north of 60 for mile after mile and peaks at a massive 90ish every now and then. I get home with a broad grin and the reason I've always liked owning a car and driving comes flooding back.
Similar at the beginning of September, a long weekend back in London had me excited at the prospect of the journey and I enjoyed every minute of both legs, even though it was almost all M4 and the North Circular. Even the pie and chips at Reading services tasted like a gourmet meal (Not bad for £4.99 actually).
I'm a cyclist, have been a motorcyclist on and off many times, but the one vehicle I would never want to be without is a car. if I live long enough the day will come when I'll have to hang my keys up, but I just know i'm going to feel like a prisoner when that happens. The thought of not being able to walk out of the house any time of day or night and go where I please is horrifying.
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>> I'd hate to be without one.
Yup. Nothing makes one feel more naked. Rather have a jalopy than trousers frankly.
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>>I am losing interest in cars!<<
Me too.
Been there, driven that...
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I share the OP's sentiment, and I believe it is because modern cars are harder to be interested in.
They start and stop with the predictability of a domestic appliance.
They will do 20,000 miles between services, often with no more than fuel and screenwash refills.
Nothing, apart from the absolute basics, is user serviceable. Replacement parts have to be coded to the car with equipment and expertise that cost more to acquire than the car itself. If you can't fiddle with a car, you stop being interested in the oily bits. And once you stop being interested in the oily bits, a part of any car enthusiast dies, in my opinion.
They are idiot-proof. Almost anyone can get into any modern car and drive it very fast indeed with no familiarisation or skills. Electronic safety nets can recover the most ham-fisted mistakes. I've got a RWD car with 380NM of torque on 205 section tyres that I can throw into a corner too fast, snap the throttle shut, then stamp on it again without so much as a twitch (just a blinking yellow light to indicate the plethora of individual wheel braking and power cutting going on out of sight). If it were a similar car of 20 years ago I'd be writing this from the afterlife.
For people who see cars as a tool or appliance (most people, in fairness) this is all great news. Cars are safe, reliable, and barely need any workshop attention at all. As an enthusiast, it means I don't get any more out of it than someone who isn't an enthusiast, and that means I bond with a modern car in the same way I bond with a power tool. It's a step above a washing machine in terms of satisfaction to use, but I don't find myself looking for an excuse to use it.
Last edited by: DP on Mon 27 Oct 14 at 12:42
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I think DP has it spot on; but also Runfer has.
It all depends on what you're doing (or trying to do). I spent four hours behind the wheel on Saturday in a return trip to the Cambridgeshire fens. There's no pleasure to be derived from the M11. The car is dull and comfortable and it cruises effortlessly; it's not as though you can break the speed limit anyway with the volume of traffic. So I want my car to be as reliable and efficient as a washing machine.
Round London it's a bit big, to be honest. For all it has a fair number of scrapes courtesy of living on the street, it's still a bit too nice to push into the gaps, and, frankly, it's a lazy beast. I know I bang on about it endlessly, but the 20-year-old Mk II Polo I once had was super fun in London traffic; in faded red people got out of the way... you didn't have to push in. Personally I always let people with battered cars out first.
But get out onto an open road in the North of England or Scotland and the whole feel changes, doesn't it.
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The question is, Are you loosing interest in Cars? or are you loosing interest in Motoring?
Are they the same, can you enjoy one without the other?
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Cars are in some ways more interesting now than they've been for 20 years or more. Rather than endless evolutions of a basic plan that's been around since the 1950s, the world of hybrids, plug-ins and full EVs is a revolution comparable to the introduction of jet aircraft or home broadband - and it will affect everybody here who's still alive in ten years' time. For those who aren't, I expect Kias will still be available.
'Motoring' is an outmoded concept anyway, belonging to a time when owning and using a car was in some way unusual or distinctive. Now everybody's got one and the alternatives are few, it's as much of a 'hobby' as using electricity.
Driving, on the other hand, can still be enjoyable and satisfying, provided you don't insist on defining it in terms of a number of perfectly-taken corners on the now-mythical 'open road'. I enjoy the challenge of a French city's ring road - unless it's Lyon, which is just awful. Bordeaux last year was fun.
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>> But get out onto an open road in the North of England or Scotland and
>> the whole feel changes, doesn't it.
>>
Oh yes. :))))
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The words "car enthusiast", which appear on here quite often, have made me realise that I'm not one - I'm a driving enthusiast. I've been one since I drove a Fordson Standard tractor when I was 11 years old. When I wasn't allowed to drive it, I'd sit on it and pretend to be driving. In reality, I had to stand up to be able to hold the clutch pedal down. In bed at night, I'd be steering and doing gear changes like my two uncles who were lorry drivers. In my teens, I worked as a tractor driver in the school and college holidays. As a consequence, I needed just 7 driving lessons to get a full driving license - I had no other access to a car and didn't own one until several years after.
I remember my dad going mildly berserk when I announced that I wanted to be a lorry driver. As it turned out, I did something completely different. Neverthelesss, my first "car" was a pickup truck, followed by various small vans, then estate cars. I've not owned a saloon or a two-seater.
I retired early at 51 and did part-time driving jobs for several years, but I still haven't done enough driving. I find it hard to appreciate topics on here where cars are being slagged off for one reason or another. So long as a vehicle is roadworthy, I'll enjoy driving it. I'm not interested in driving fast in cosseted comfort and I avoid motorways whenever possible, because I like going round corners. I definitely prefer the journey to getting there, so I'm always looking for interesting B roads alongside main routes.
I'll be 71 next week and, for various reasons, I now drive a 1.2 mimsemobile with a torque convertor box. I was apprehensive about losing that wonderful man-and-machine synchronisation you get with a manual gearbox, but I needn't have worried. There's enough driving involved, in thinking ahead to keep up with traffic, to keep me happy.
The next time a lunatic in a small car overtakes you on a downhill stretch it'll be me, hoping to get to the top of the next hill without a mile-long queue of traffic behind me.
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Thankfully I'm still in the Runfer frame of mind about the actual driving. Perhaps, like some others here, it's heightened as I'm lucky to still choose my routes and trip times so I drive those largely quiet mythical roads. There is still a pleasure in every corner, gearchange and nicely timed overtake... even the odd bit of nipping on where appropriate brings a smile.
Regarding maintenance I do actually enjoy a good bit of the work undertaken with more effective and proactive methods than the professionals (by and large). Doing repairs for purely the cost of discounted parts leaves more in the retirement pot for other things and that's a reward too.
Where things have changed for me is my previous detailed understanding of the majority of current vehicle specs etc, something that started slipping away from me about a decade ago. I'm pleased life allows me the interest of running an older car at the moment... but what to do when today's new car ages to the point where it is what I should be running in the future.
BTW still miss the Alfa a great deal... guy next door making me quite envious by just getting a 159 2.4 Ti diesel.
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Why did you move the Alfa on Fenlander? Sorry but I can't remember.
My jalopy isn't a 'driver's car' but it drives all right. I'm always up for a drive. Today was utter pants though. Had to get to Brighton racecourse for the 'speed awareness course' I took instead of the fine and points for allegedly doing 36 in a 30, damn nonsense really. I allowed extra time because I hate Brighton, it has crap traffic and if you're late you have to sign up and pay for another course. So I got up at the crack of dawn (9) after sleeping uneasily what with the warm temperature and worrying about the course. Herself and two grandnippes opted to come too, to enjoy the fleshpots of one of the world's most ghastly towns.
The course was all right, personable lecturers and so on, but it was very very basic. I kept wanting to amend what they were saying and make subversive remarks, but managed (usually anyway) to prevent myself. But finding herself and the nippers afterwards was fairly awful. The sea front was nose-to-tail all the way to Shoreham. The route home opened up all right but still seemed longer than usual.
Yesterday I graunched the poor jalopy again, and worse, in the same place as last time on the same nasty bit of sticking-out deer fence. But it's still all right and I think I will get the rear anti-roll bar bushes replaced. Entropy. Nothing lasts for ever except death and taxes.
I'm quite enjoying this medium-sized but well-deserved drink, and already anticipating the next one. Even though all I've had to eat today is a muffin and a banana.
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Mon 27 Oct 14 at 18:48
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Are you suitably automotively evangelised by your course AC?
;-)
Last edited by: Runfer D'Hills on Mon 27 Oct 14 at 18:52
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Not really. The course is for bad stupid drivers, quite unsuitable for me. The others on the course seemed pretty competent too.
I drove home in a restrained fashion. But I always drive like that and have done for the last 20 years at least.
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Mon 27 Oct 14 at 19:31
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Me too. Driving in a restrained manner that is. Of late.
I blame it on this slow old A3 diesel thing I got lumbered with. Stuff the 60+mpg. It was even showing 79mpg t'other day after a gentle 60 mile trip when I never exceeded 75mph. Losing interest in life, let alone cars driving like that.
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Perhaps you should try the opposite experiment LL. As in trying to see how low you can get the mpg on it? Should blow the clinker out if nothing else.
;-)
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I'm not even trying to get high mpg. Only recently I managed to overtake seven cars at once on a single carriageway. The engine was bouncing off the rev limiter in third at oh, say 1800 rpm. That was fun. The inside of the exhaust looks a light silver colour. No soot up my muffler!
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The course is for bad stupid drivers, quite unsuitable for me. The others on the course seemed pretty competent too.
And yet you and they all managed to get caught. *
};---)
* That'll be my turn next, then.
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No worries if you stick to the S60 when you're in a rush. It'll probably just be assumed you're a fellow mason.
;-)
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Went to see someone at the other end of the wood just now, and he made me give him a lift to a nearby (but not that near, 7 miles or so) station where he'd left his car.
On the way back I took the wrong road, but an undulating fast single carriageway. Missed my best turning but I didn't care. Managed to reassure myself by exceeding the speed limit considerably on the way back. Even the annoyingly law-abiding Volvo estate I followed out of Storrington got up to nearly 60 after the NSL sign...
I'm not going out again tonight short of a life and death situation.
:o}
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Mon 27 Oct 14 at 20:54
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For 40 years I bought cheap old cars because I liked them, and did all work on them myself. Nowadays I buy slightly more expensive old cars, and have several, and pay someone else to do the awkward work, like clutches.
I'm not so keen on lying under a car struggling to fit a gearbox as I used to be, but I still love cars.
Not new ones of course. Nothing under 20 years old is of any interest whatsoever. They say that the exemption point for historic vehicle licence and MOT will shortly be harmonised at a rolling 40 years. Good old EU :)
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Further musings on the speed awareness course: it's weird being told systematically, as if you were some fool in the remove, a bit less than you know already having thought obsessively about cars and driving for more than half a century.
I repeat, the lecturers were fine, personable, not patronising, with a good sense of irony and all that English offhand stuff. Likeable. You had to make your own Maxwell House with two or three of those tiny little containers of milk. Not a biscuit to be seen.
The racecourse is at the highest point of Brighton and raked by freezing Channel winds even in warmish weather for the time of year. Long, bleak buildings with dark glass. One door bore the sign for the course. But before that I had brightened at the label 'Owners and Trainers Bar' and hopefully tried the door, to no avail. A sense of entitlement doesn't always work.
I don't notice myself driving any differently today. I notice when other people are annoying me by going through long unnecessary 30 limits at dead on 30. Are they using their CC and wasting fuel I wonder?
Just had to fetch the 18 year old from the station. Kept the booze intake moderate earlier on, but that's all over now tank de lard... brushed the speed limit twice but didn't exceed it except in obvious places where everyone does, or get anywhere near it usually.
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While working with a police traffic team many years ago I was given a visit to their "Black Museum" which was mainly photographs of accident scenes before the clean up, many of which were fatal. It was an experience which I have never forgotten. This material would be good for a speed awareness course as long as plenty of sick buckets were provided. I have no problem with speed in appropriate circumstances, the secret is knowing when. Drink and drug impaired drivers are a menace to all other road users.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Wed 29 Oct 14 at 08:26
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>> Drink and drug impaired drivers are a menace to all other road users.
Well, of course. Two things though: not all drivers who have had a drink or smoked a joint etc are significantly impaired; and drunk/stoned drivers are vastly outnumbered by sober ones who are dangerous for other reasons too numerous to list. Coming down very heavily on them won't make a blind bit of difference to the accident figures or the death and injury figures.
Seems to me that by focusing on drivers who have had a drink or taken some substance, safety wonks are ignoring the important thing - far more important statistically - which is to improve the dangerous driving of the smug and sober. But I suppose it makes the wonks feel good to punish a tiny category of drivers for accidents that might happen in theory. How pathetic can you get?
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>> Had to get to Brighton racecourse for the 'speed awareness course' I took instead of the fine and points for allegedly doing 36 in a 30, damn nonsense really. I allowed extra time because I hate Brighton, it has crap traffic and if you're late you have to sign up and pay for another course. So I got up at the crack of dawn (9) after sleeping uneasily what with the warm temperature and worrying about the course. Herself and two grandnippes opted to come too, to enjoy the fleshpots of one of the world's most ghastly towns.
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"Gran, why isn't Gramps coming round the town with us?
"Gramps has been a naughty boy, darling. He's had to spend a day in detention"
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Why do I get a mental picture of AC proceeding serenely in a cloud of smoke totally oblivious to the trail of chaos and devastation left in his wake? :)
Last edited by: Old Navy on Wed 29 Oct 14 at 15:22
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>> Why do I get a mental picture of AC proceeding serenely in a cloud of smoke totally oblivious to the trail of chaos and devastation left in his wake? :)
Because you're a bigot and fantasist shrivelled by heavy metal poisoning? :o}
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Now then you two....!
Can't have my two favourite posters, who always buck the system, live at opposite ends of the country and who never get the hump, falling out:)
Pat
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I thought heavy metal was music (ish) that made you deaf. :)
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>> Why do I get a mental picture of AC proceeding serenely in a cloud of
>> smoke totally oblivious to the trail of chaos and devastation left in his wake? :)
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I know it's been said before but why do I picture AC as Michael Winner full stop!
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That could well be Ratts in 30 odd years time. :)
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>> I know it's been said before but why do I picture AC as Michael Winner
Because you're dim.
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Nice though.... So I've been told :p
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>> Why do I get a mental picture of AC proceeding serenely in a cloud of
>> smoke totally oblivious to the trail of chaos and devastation left in his wake? :)
>>
I've always seen him as jovial but irascible Rumpole-like character sprawling in his favourite seat in his favourite bar/club, enveloped in cigar smoke, drinking some concoction based on Absinthe.
"AC here yet?" the regulars ask the doorman, and get a nod in the direction of the private lounge. "E's on good form, tonight Sir."
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>>>Why did you move the Alfa on Fenlander? Sorry but I can't remember.
Busy (doing nothing some would say) so don't have time to follow threads hence little time spent here recently.... anyway rude not to answer AC so...
Lack of space in the footwell for the dog, in the glovebox for anything at all, in the back footwell for lanky boyfriends of our teens and in the boot for our boating gear and my collectables.
It's a tribute to it's driving appeal that I kept it 18mths despite it causing problems most weeks spacewise in one respect or another. For example we had to take Mrs F's car as well on both holidays and Uni runs to carry the overspill from the Alfa.
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>> It's a tribute to it's driving appeal that I kept it 18mths despite it causing problems most weeks spacewise in one respect or another.
Not a good holdall for a sporting family. One would suit me very well though I think. High on my dream car list, almost practical too.
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>>>One would suit me very well though I think. High on my dream car list, almost practical too.
I get a little confused as to where you might live AC... sometimes seems like London but other times quite rural. Anyway if you are anywhere down a potholed road and/or access drive then the Alfa may have to come off your list. Their ground clearance is very poor and on mine the lowest point was the lovely finned alloy sump which I'm somewhat ashamed to say had far fewer fins after my 18mths of ownership.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Tue 18 Nov 14 at 11:17
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>> a potholed road and/or access drive then the Alfa may have to come off your list. Their ground clearance is very poor
Our access drive is quite potholed but it's possible to drive down it without threatening the sump. You just have to go gently and know where the worst bumps are.
Anyway some wear and tear is inevitable. I just like the idea of a 156. I've never driven one. But although the car I have is a good one and not unpleasant to drive, it isn't a 'driver's car'. I haven't had enough of those.
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>> I just like the idea of a 156. I've never driven one.
>>
Unless you get a cooking one you might wish you hadn't. I test drove an Alfa GTV before buying my FIAT Coupe, loved the sharp handling but the lack of oomph from the 2.0TS engine switched me over to the 5 pot FIAT which also had a turbo to make it interesting.
One time my FIAT was in for a service and they gave me a 156 2.0TS courtesy car. It was as flat as a flat thing. The 2.4td or a V6 would probably work.
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Hi: I think the problem might be the coverage of cars. When I was about 20 (two decades ago) I was very much into individual cars and had a huge enthusiasm for Alfa Romeo and Saab. In the meantime I became a Citroen enthusiast and still own a 1989 XM. Now I am not a Citroen enthusiast. Some cars I like, some I don´t. If Jaguar made a three wheeler, I wouldn´t care.
Over the last five years my interest has changed. I don´t aspire to own any particular car (other than mild yearnings for a Peugeot 604 that I never get around to dealing with). I found the media I was reading - mostly Car magazine on-line and the magazine - were just not stimulating. Top Gear is generally self-congratulatory junk. And Octane is for the millionaire crowd who can buy £100,000 Astons. What I did was to start reading news closer to the sources such as automotive news which covers China and Europe, for example; the Truth About Cars is another good one as the user comments are often first rate. I was invited to join a motoring blog called www.driventowrite.com and ended up writing the kind of items I wanted to read. Now while I think I might not be up to speed about which features come with which trim level of BMW, I am more informed about cars all around the world. China is amazing (like it or not) and S. American is a home to some wierd vehicles and has some odd history (Google the Ford Corcel which was a 70s coupe based on the Renault 12). So, if you want your mojo back, read up on material away from the standard outlets. Also, try buying some old magazines from before, say, 1999. They all seemed to get crap after that point. "Car" held out until 2004. I find an old copy of Car from the 70s is more enjoyable and cheaper than the crap put out each month.
All the best,
Richard
Last edited by: richard h on Mon 10 Nov 14 at 22:21
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I got the Triumph and the LandRover through their MOTs in the past few weeks, so there's another year of fun lined up.
So totally different, but each immensely appealing and satisfying to me.
I've lost count of the number of people who have said to me "My dad used to have a Triumph 2000. Fantastic cars!"
We then have a conversation about overdrives, long-stroke torque, SU v. Stromberg, and exhaust burble.
Losing interest ? Never !
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Always had a interest in cars used to buy the various car magazines for a good read.
My first little car was a Blue Hillman Imp what a temperamental engine.Cheap on petrol.Also owned three VW Beetles I like aircooled engines they are easy to work on and so reliable.
I would love to own one of the earlier Porches not many about.Our current car is a Citroen G/Picasso.Comfortable drives like a barge in rough weather.>:)
Comfy seats and plenty of room .
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To many people, cars were a lot more interesting than today because we didn't have such things as: innumerable cable & satellite tv channels, the internet, iPhones and phablets, Facebook,... etc. Too many other things commanding our attention nowadays.
Made me smile when picking-up my new car last month: the first and most important function the salesperson wanted to show me was how to connect my phone to the car..!
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>> Too many other things commanding our attention nowadays.
Most of those things aren't really as interesting as cars. Indeed many if not most of the channels are mainly schlock for halfwits and children, although they do have occasional uses.
In any case, virtual on-line carp is radically different from the real thing, and no substitute.
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In answer to the original question, I suppose I have pretty much lost interest in cars.
I bought a copy of AutoExpress this year (first car mag) I've bought in ages, just to see what is on the market these days. I also had a good browse through a copy of What Car? in the dentist's waiting room. But these things failed to stir any great passion.
Similarly, it's been almost 11 months since I last posted here, and I don't visit other motoring websites either.
It's nothing to do with modern cars being uninteresting. It's just that I've lost interest.
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>> It's nothing to do with modern cars being uninteresting. It's just that I've lost interest.
You'll be interested again when it comes to change your car for whatever reason.
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You're right. Which, I guess, is one of the reasons why I did make the effort to look at a couple of car mags this year just to see what was on the market. But I am hoping that won't be for several years.
I'll probably also be interested if one of my cars starts doing something odd!
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I am losing interest in cars! - nice but dim
