Why Do We Love 'Em?

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slashfan7964
It's a question that's pondered my mind for a long time. Why is it that us men (and some women), are drawn to hunks of shaped steel that move? Why do we have that longing and desire for them?

For me, it's something I can't really explain. I look at cars like I look at women. Some are really attractive. But why?

I think it's the way it's designed. The way it performs. It's the looks in general. The way it feels to drive. The freedom they provide. The sense of control. The way they make me look. The attention I get. I could go on a for a long time.

What's your reason?
 
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I like them because it like technical things that go fast:D
 
I wouldn't be able to tell you. I've been into the car scene for as long as I can remember. Like a hobby right? You can't explain to someone why you're into said hobby but it's just a thing that's of interest.

On a side note.

Slashfan
I look at cars like I look at women. Some are really attractive.
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You might want to talk to someone about that.
 
Ever look at a car and think "DAT ASS"?


Well, it's like that lol.

Like this.

2003_ford_mustang_svt_cobra_2_dr_10th_anniversary_supercharged_coupe-pic-348047982502652457.jpeg
 
OK, Slashfan, I'll bite.

Firstly, I like many modes of transport. Planes, trains, boats, cars, and bikes. As for why, partly it's the mechanics of it, partly the design, and a good part of it is the engineering, thought, and/or heart put into something. When I'm at lunch, I watch the road to see what passes by. When a plane flies overhead, I try to identify it. Show me something being built, I'll watch it.

However, sight, feel, and thought still pale in comparison to one thing. Driving. I like a lot of things, I love driving. My truck, a '97 Ford F-250, doesn't handle like a sports car, it doesn't accelerate with crushing force, it isn't pristine, and it doesn't have the best sound, but when you get in to go for a drive, just to drive, it does exactly what I want it to.
 
Slashfan
Ever look at a car and think "DAT ASS"?


Well, it's like that lol.

Like this.
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But without that thing men (usually teenage boys) do with images of women after thinking things along the lines of "Dat ass." :lol:


There are many reasons that one may feel passionate for their cars. They act as a form of escape, a way to escape the world and take part in something they can enjoy. They can make a car their own and personalize it. And it can give a lot of joy when you need it, the car can create enjoyment through driving, pride in the knowledge that you own the car, or have added that new supercharger yourself. Just the same way as toys do for children (cars effectively are toys for adults).

For me personally, it's probably the fact that I don't need creativity to enjoy it, something to enjoy that keeps far away from music. Because in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle, you have to have diversity in your activities. Or you become like my father, who is stuck in the life of working always. He's either doing work, or he's at home talking about it. He hasn't really turned off his work mind in about 5 years. That really isn't diverse. Living is about doing things, and the more things you do, the more you live. Driving is one of those "things" that make us feel alive.
 
For me it's a fascination with just what exactly is going on with a car.

Suppose you were able to have a reasonable conversation with a Mesopotamian...

"Wait, how does one make a car?"
"Oh it's simple really. Melt various bits of rock into this heavy element that you'll later call "Iron". Make it any shape you like. Then use some of the leftovers to make into like a rectangle shape and drill some round holes in it..." And so on.

All a simple, older car is made of is bits of melted rock and tree product (assuming Cork gaskets and really garbage rubber tires, with no interior or windows), you pour in some decomposed animal remains from the floor of the ocean, and it takes you places. What?

Same with planes. Just some metal in varying shapes, put fuel in. Bam. You can fly. Off the ground. Like birds.

Of course they can be made more user-friendly with cowhide, modern composites, glass, and the like. But really? The possibilities are endless. And that's so cool.
 
Why do we love them? Eh, I dunno. "They're cool." :lol:
 
Freedom. Technology. History. Culture. Aesthetics. Speed. Noise. Feeling. Camaraderie.

Those are just a few reasons, and if I put them all on a radar chart their importance would vary depending on the car. Muscle cars? History, aesthetics, speed, noise are most important. A quirky old Citroen? Technology, culture, aesthetics. An open-topped sports car? Freedom, noise, feeling. A race car? Speed, noise, aesthetics.

It's why I can't bring myself to dislike any particular category of cars (or indeed, judge any car by just one of the criteria above). Whether I like a car or hate a car they all fascinate me too much to simply dismiss an entire genre. Same applies to any other wheeled vehicle, any engine, any gadget, any flying machine and so on.
 
The best thing I can come up with for me is it was the next best thing to airplanes when I got my pilot's lessons taken away. But anymore I couldn't really tell you why I love them, it's just become a way of life and I haven't really thought about why I love them because I've loved them for so long. It would be like asking why I love my mom. It's kind of obvious why I love her.
 
To me it's a rhetorical question I really dont even know.
 
I'm sure covering distance, even if you retread the same ground again, is satisfying on a deep-rooted biological level. Then there's all of the things @homeforsummer mentioned. Being strapped into any machine that moves by your command, almost becoming an extension of yourself, is also gratifyingly empowering. That's probably linked to why styling matters -- it's better for anything that becomes an external part of your "self" to represent you in a way.

By the laws of physics, the time you spend at speed also lengthens your lifespan by a tiny amount relative to everyone and everything at rest. So by driving, not only do you get to see more of the world, you get to see (a slight bit) more of history.
 
For me it's the overall experience you get from driving/riding a vehicle. Take for instance that Cobra you posted: 6-speed, one heck of an exhaust note and the blower whine :drool:.
 
The looks, the sound and that feeling of power under your feet. It's hard to explain but this ad explain the passion very well.

 
The way they feel and look are the reason why.

I love the control you have in your car. You hop in. You have a bunch of gauges, three pedals and a couple of switches for the accessories. You are in control. It just reminds me of a fighter pilot so much too me. When you slow down the car makes you move up in your seat and when you floor it you get pinned in.

Then some of the cars I like just remind me of jets and look so nice like the Ferrari f40 and Mazda FD Rx-7 (sprit version). Both two seaters and have big wing for downforce.

I don't know, just the fact they remind me of jets makes me like them a lot.
 
It's a primeval thing. It is imbedded in the male DNA to travel, to go a find food, to not stay in one place. Women on the other hand stayed in the caves with the children.

We still want to travel and leave our house. It is also a male ego thing. If cars were boring and very slow, we wouldn't car less and only look at women.

Would you still want a Ferrari when it's as slow as a 2cv and sounds like a vacuum cleaner?
 
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In general our love for vehicles isn't always about speed. Classic examples of this: "Hella Flush", lifted trucks, low riders, luxury vehicles (i.e. Rolls Royce Phantom), etc.
 
I actually got into cars because of Gran Turismo - I owed it to Kaz for starting my obsession. I think the reasons everyone else mentioned probably filled up what my reasons are. Additionally whenever I think of cars as something more than a hunk of metal on wheels, I think of Magnus Walker. Obviously a film about an odd man restoring Porsches won't tell everything, but the guy's determination and addiction to it is ridiculously profound.
The lines, how all the parts go together, the noise, the speed, the tech, the history... From the gorgeous XJ13 to the common Camry, all of them I appreciate quite well. The driving especially, too..
 
My parents and I went to the 1996 German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring, when I was just 2 months old. Jokingly, they tell me the flybys and exhaust notes is what sparked my interest from that point on. The thing is though, they're probably right.

There have been many outside influences since then; the toy cars I played with have affected my views on what I consider these days to be the best; simple things like the Fiat Cinquecento, to the more performance-orientated like the C5 Corvette. Gran Turismo needs a mention, and not just because it's a forum dedicated to it. Without that, I wouldn't be aware of half the cars I know if it wasn't for the first 3 games. The reason why I would honestly take a Kei car or any other Japanese car over something exotic is down to GT. My dad had a Version V Impreza STi Type R for a while, which was a rare car back then as grey importing into Germany was expensive. The Boxer rumble, mixed with the feeling of hitting boost whilst I'm in a kids seat in the back is such a vivid memory to me.

As I got older, movies like the Fast and the Furious created a new aspect of cars to me, which was the idea of modifying the look of your car. Obviously, these days the stuff done is woefully out of date, but back then, I thought it was exciting - this idea you could make your car your own with new parts and electronic gadgetry all through the car. It's pretty silly, but both that franchise and GT made the Skyline GT-R my all-time favourite car.

I feel somewhat bad for not loving cars because of the craftmanship, the engineering or this idea of freedom. I like them... just because. I can't really explain. I know I practically wrote an essay just now which has no real conclusion, but maybe that's the point; I've only just started driving, and I'm now understanding how people can have fun on country roads. I now understand why people spend money to make their cars handle better and go faster, even if they're just on the road. I now understand why people would never trade their beaters for a brand new model. The car is pretty much a way to express your personality in a unique way. Picking a car because of their sound, their look, their interior says a lot about the way you act and what you're like. Maybe that's why people's taste in cars changes over time. Hmm. Well, that ended on a slightly poignant (if a little dorky) note.
 
They move and they're technical, simple as that. I can't get away from the idea of something that you can connect with and feel, that you can control and do amazing things with. Then there's racing, which to me is where the purest of cars do what they do best - going quickly. I also love the branding and sponsorship side to car companies, as I see a good car as the ultimate lifestyle tool.
 
If you don't like cars and your male, than there is something wrong with you genetically.

:D
 
For me, I pretty much had no choice. My dad loves cars, my mum loves cars, thus meaning their child loves cars too. :p

Whereas my dad never had any project cars for me to look at, we were always around cars at either meets or shows. Even when I was at the tender age of 5 I was happily attending car meets with my parents on an evening and watching my dad's friends goof around in their Imprezas and Skylines - back when the police used to park up with us and look around at the cars. :D

I don't know exactly what is is about cars that I like. I suppose it's everything. The rumble of a V8, the spool of a turbo, the screeching of tyres... I love all that. I love all cars. Muscle vs. Import? I love both. Ford vs. Chevy? I love both. Evo vs. Impreza? I love both. FWD vs. RWD? Guess what? I love both. I just love cars.
 
Katiegan
For me, I pretty much had no choice. My dad loves cars, my mum loves cars, thus meaning their child loves cars too. :p

Whereas my dad never had any project cars for me to look at, we were always around cars at either meets or shows. Even when I was at the tender age of 5 I was happily attending car meets with my parents on an evening and watching my dad's friends goof around in their Imprezas and Skylines - back when the police used to park up with us and look around at the cars. :D

I don't know exactly what is is about cars that I like. I suppose it's everything. The rumble of a V8, the spool of a turbo, the screeching of tyres... I love all that. I love all cars. Muscle vs. Import? I love both. Ford vs. Chevy? I love both. Evo vs. Impreza? I love both. FWD vs. RWD? Guess what? I love both. I just love cars.
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It's actually nice to find more people that just love cars in general and could care less about who makes the car or where it's from.
 
For me, it was design. I first fell in love with the Pagani Zonda after my friend showed me it in his TopGear magazine. I loved the stance and wondered how something so outrageous could even exist.

I latched on to Pagani and it spread like a disease. I began to watch old cars being thrashed on Rally stages (Personal favourites were the Stratos and Mini) and yeah- got more interested in other areas of it to the point where I became a "TurboMonkey" as my friend calls car guys...
 
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