Conceptions/Misconceptions Over Cars

Grandea GTR

Grandea GTR

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United States
Fort Worth
That_sneaky_azN
So I want to have a discussion with you guys in :gtplanet: about what you would say your biggest pet peeve is about someone's or a group's conception/misconception of a car, or cars of that sort.

I have a feeling some of you might not be able to follow where I am going with this :(
 
Narrow-minded views.

My annoyance is based on people hating on a group of cars for bull**** reasons. We don't have to like all cars (and I certainly don't like all cars), but the ones who hate on muscle cars, or JDM, or EDM, and the like for the aforementioned bull**** reasons are quite irritating (you know who you are).

The opposite side of this annoys me as well. Those who (and you know who you are) ONLY likes muscle cars, or JDM, or EDM, and the like just get under my skin.

Y'know what else annoys me? The "manuals 4 lyfe" types. Sure, nailing a perfect heel-and-toe downshift is extremely satisfying, and the manual transmission has been proven time and again that it is one of the best anti-theft devices you can have.

But...

I don't always want to have to deal with driving a manual car. Sometimes, I just want to go from A-to-B without too much worry.

And don't even get me started on most drag racing and drifting wannabes...
 
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I guess they could be included in the first part, along with muscle cars, JDM, and EDM, etc.

Really, all that needs to be said is that narrow-minded viewpoints are annoying, whether it applies to cars or anything else.
 
AZ's statement was a good summary, I'll try to come up with a couple technical things.

- Significant turbo lag and threshold are things of the past (well, early 2000's). Modern turbos, when properly sized, spool up quickly.

- Big, heavy American V8's are neither big nor heavy. The OHV design keeps them significantly smaller than any OHC V engine.

Tying the previous two statements together, it's worth noting that the muscle vs tuner wars of the 90's are over. Who won? Everyone. The import crowd has embraced the V8 swap as the muscle crowd has embraced turbo charging. Boy, learning is so awesome!
 
Enthusiasts who think Prii and other hybrid vehicles are the worst things in the world. Sure, the development and transport associated with the batteries is a bit antithetical to the green message and some of their more narrow-minded drivers seem to forget that there are other conventional cars which are just as fuel efficient. But overall, they do what they're at least partially intended to do - save fuel - and at the end of the day, that means more fuel left over for enthusiasts of more thirsty cars, technology transfer within Toyota and ultimately more competition (and thus innovation) from other brands for eco-sector market share.

Also, though not really a strongly held fallacy I guess, is that supercars don't actually sound all that super when you're the driver and its being piloted in normal circumstances - i.e., with roof on and windows up. An F430, whilst an aural delight on the outside, sounds like an overexcited, albeit powerful, V6 on the inside (a necessary evil created by the 'luxury' of sound-deadening). It therefore does not surprise me that the Spyder is as popular as it is.
 
JAHHAJ
People who say every Civic is a ricer and hate fwd for no apparent reason, some of the most annoying things I see in cool wall posts.
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Extending on from that, people who give cars (usually ones that they've never even heard of) baseless criticism based on the arbitrary figures presented in front of them. Made all the more ironic and saddening when they blow a gasket and complain about people doing the same thing to cars they like.

My pet peeve is people who think modified car drivers are all useless tools who speed everywhere and will inevitably stuff their car in a ditch or around a tree. Car enthusiasts baby their cars like nothing else; sure, some will get driven in anger on occasion, and there is always the one d:censored:head who does floor it from one set of lights to the next. But for the most part, they just drive like any average person would.
 
AZ did a pretty good job summing it up, but I'll throw my two cents in.

People who think....
  • you need a V8 in everything in order to achieve big horsepower or make a car fast.
  • FWD is some how inferior and makes a car understeer into a ditch, tree, house, playground full of school children.
  • that all vehicles should be more or less the same thing and hates choice.
  • they sound intelligent by talking about chassis codes for obscure Japanese cars they never heard of until they played Gran Turismo.
  • Grand Turismo is the ultimate source of truth on cars.
  • a manual transmission is the be all to end all feature on a car are annoying. There's nothing wrong with an automatic and having a manual in a car doesn't always make it more fun.
  • technology in cars is a bad thing and makes people "lazy".
  • electric cars and hybrids are going to ruin automotive culture...news flash, they won't.
 
Azure Flare
Narrow-minded views.
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This. It's the number one reason for all ****ed up ******** you can ever read or hear regarding any subject.

Other misconceptions...well here's my list.

  • "V8 = power/torque". Those numbers have nothing to do with cylinder number or configuration.
  • I've heard people compare VVT and turbocharging. Yeah. They are completely different systems that are not equivalent to each other. Must be a byproduct of people taking MDMA MCM too seriously :lol:
  • "You don't have to maintain a car as long as it runs." You know the drill...
  • "Cold air intakes" and pod filters. No, they do not make your 1.3 econobox go faster.
  • "1/2'' impact is the torque spec for oil filters and and drain plugs". Or the conception that each and every thing that can be screwed onto a car has to be screwed on gorilla die tight.
  • "My husband/dad/neighbour/cousin/gardener/mailman says that it's supposed to make this noise". No. Your gearbox is out of oil and you have a rod sticking out of the block. Also, there is a cat locked inside the car.
  • "I need a large SUV to take my kids to school and accomplish my goals in life". No, you don't.

Rant over :grumpy:
 
Zenith
AZ's statement was a good summary, I'll try to come up with a couple technical things.

- Significant turbo lag and threshold are things of the past (well, early 2000's). Modern turbos, when properly sized, spool up quickly.

- Big, heavy American V8's are neither big nor heavy. The OHV design keeps them significantly smaller than any OHC V engine.

Tying the previous two statements together, it's worth noting that the muscle vs tuner wars of the 90's are over. Who won? Everyone. The import crowd has embraced the V8 swap as the muscle crowd has embraced turbo charging. Boy, learning is so awesome!
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I want to kiss you.
 
Common ones I see

-HP/displacement made more important than it really is
-More complex/expensive = better by default
-downforce being treated like extra mass instead of extra weight
-Using CD while ignoring frontal area
-Using frontal area while ignoring CD
-F1 cars are the best possible cars you can build
-Engine spins in reverse when you shift into R (thankfully not as common as some of the other stuff, but probably more amusing).
 
People who think all racecars and concepts are absolutely the worst thing to ever be made.

Other than that, nothing really bothers me.
 
I was more specifically referring to the people who talk about how certain cars actually produced like 500 horsepower* and the insurance companies/government/Arabs/The MAN were holding them down, but either one is problematic.





*with extensive engine modifications.
 
Tornado
I was more specifically referring to the people who talk about how certain cars actually produced like 500 horsepower* and the insurance companies/government/Arabs/The MAN were holding them down, but either one is problematic.





*with extensive engine modifications.
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I'm not really sure if they fudged the numbers or not, but I find it hard to believe V8's from that time period were pushing God-Awful amounts of power stock. They were powerful for their time, no doubt, but come on! Modern Mustangs don't push that unless it's a Shelby and maybe the most powerful non-Shelby, And most Camaros don't (I know the Z/28 does, not sure on the ZL1).

What makes the old V8s so good, is they're easy* to modify to eventually make that much power.

* I can't claim to have ever worked on one, or anything like that. I'm just going by what I've heard.
 
One pet peeve of mine is when people force their values upon others in the name of "objectivity", or conflate the most outspoken (and immature) examples of a particular viewpoint with everyone who shares that viewpoint. This subforum has a tendency to crowd out valid opinions/observations in pursuit of stamping out the narrow-minded misconceptions this thread is meant to address.
Azure Flare
The "manuals 4 lyfe" types...

I don't always want to have to deal with driving a manual car. Sometimes, I just want to go from A-to-B without too much worry.
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I'm always willing to deal with it -- if I'm disinclined to work the clutch, it's because I'm in a state of mind/health where I probably shouldn't be driving at all. If you feel otherwise, that's your preference, and I have mine.
Joey D
People who think...a manual transmission is the be all to end all feature on a car are annoying. There's nothing wrong with an automatic and having a manual in a car doesn't always make it more fun.
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There's nothing wrong with preferring an automatic. I feel every car would be better served by a manual transmission, even if it's objectively inferior (slower, not as efficient), because I enjoy it. So what?

IMO, what you should have said is something like, "People who think...manual transmission is always faster, more efficient, that anyone who refuses to operate one isn't 'manly' enough, etc."
Joey D
People who think...FWD is some how inferior and makes a car understeer into a ditch, tree, house, playground full of school children.
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The fact is that FWD, by definition, will never ever spin the rear wheels. It can be made to grip like mad, it can be faster around a track, and it can almost eliminate understeer with clever engineering...but it will never do things that RWD/AWD can do by sending power to the rear wheels. It's fundamental. Whether that makes it "inferior" in some way is a matter of opinion, on which we can disagree.

How about, "People who think...FWD cars aren't capable of being quick, don't make sense for any application, will always be beaten by RWD/AWD cars, etc."
Joey D
People who think...technology in cars is a bad thing and makes people "lazy".
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New technology is not always better by default. Sometimes it does contribute to habits that could be considered "lazy". Maybe someone prefers to drive something that's simple and lightweight. Maybe they're a geek for old-school mechanical solutions.

A better way to put it might be, "People who think...new technology is automatically bad by default, no one really needs the convenience, any 'true enthusiast' would prefer a simpler car, etc."
 
TheCracker
I think you misunderstand why 'people' automatically vote Seriously Uncool for race cars or concepts. :rolleyes:
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I understand why, I was actually told in the thread for the Mazda concept recently, but it still doesn't make sense.
 
Dagger311
I understand why, I was actually told in the thread for the Mazda concept recently, but it still doesn't make sense.
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I don't quite agree with it, but the idea makes plenty of sense. Only a few select people will ever drive them, and what's cool about a car you'll never drive?
 
Turtle
I don't quite agree with it, but the idea makes plenty of sense. Only a few select people will ever drive them, and what's cool about a car you'll never drive?
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I'll never drive a Nascar, they're still cool. Lotus 97T? Awesome car, but I'll never drive it. No different with concepts. I'll actually be going to see a bunch of them soon.
http://www.high.org/Art/Exhibitions/Dream-Cars-Innovative-Design-Visionary-Ideas.aspx

I'll never drive any of those, but they're all awesome.

Of course, however, everyone has an opinion. Doesn't mean everyone has to agree with it. They're awesome in my opinion.

But wait, I think is a thread for misconceptions about cars, not what views that people take that you hate.

So, all classic muscle cars being big, heavy, lumbering cars that can't turn at all. They're not. Some of them also have really stiff suspension, contrary to popular belief.
 
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