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People who know so much about cars...
...that they can make judgments of a person's character by the car they drive.
How can I get to that level?
Comments
Well, what reason do people have for driving giant gas-guzzlers besides flaunting their status?
Hang around people who own certain kinds of cars, observe mannerisms, and note commonalities?
Or you could not do that, because discerning someone's personality by the car they drive sounds kind of horseshit?
^^It might be a hand-me-down and they can't afford to get another car?
I mean, my car was a gift.
Still, it's such a societal thing (at least in North America) that big cars = masculinity regardless of them being both bad for the environment and bad for one's gas charges. Not that I want to single out people, but this trend just bugs me.
Big cars are more practical, as you can't exactly go on a long trip in an urban convertible. They're good family cars.
I'm not talking about general trends, I'm talking about people who can single it out by year and model, who can use specific cars as punchlines for jokes.
Well, the car community definitely has its own injokes, just like pretty much every other clique, fandom or subculture.
My mom got me a huge SUV because it had the best crash test results that year.
Also, as I've covered I live in the mountains. My father got the most economical and environmental car he could (an Escape Hybrid) but here in the mountains, cars are a necessity and cars that can drive reliably in the snow especially so.
There's no excuse for having one in Malibu or SoCal, I suppose but not everyone who has an SUV of some sort is a dick swaggering macho man.
Ideally, I'd like to have a sedan. Although my first car will definitely be a cheap convertible, for obvious reasons.
I mean, ideally I'd like the Batmobile.
Horse and carriage.
Hovercraft, ideally. Until then, I'll make do with my stepbro's Neon that he doesn't need on account of living in Brighton, MA.
I've got a Focus. It's got good mileage, Sirius radio, and gets me where I gotta go.
Preferred car:
I mostly like my Neon (don't have enough experience with cars to compare its mileage to other things, yet), and it's gotten a few compliments on its appearance. I just wish it had buttons to lock/unlock all the doors, and to roll windows down, like my mom's Elantra.
The only thing my dad's car has I wish mine had was radio controls on the steering wheel.
>radio controls on the steering wheel
I'm not ultimately too envious since I just use an auxiliary cable to plug my iPhone in, but damn. I still have to roll down the windows of my car by hand.
/firstworldproblems
This thread is relevant to my interests. Because I think I can do what's in the title. Or at least I try. My interest in cars is more sociological or something. As in, I don't know nearly enough about technical/mechanical stuff, because I suck at that. But I'm the kind of person OP mentioned in his second post. Although right now all my best jokes are escaping me.
To answer the OP's question: It really is all about observation. Take note of what everyone you know drives. Make sure you know the basic gist of those different cars, like what they're good at and stuff, if it's not already obvious right away. Maybe ask these people why they chose that car. And soon, assuming all the people you know aren't the same, you'll get a decent idea. And take note of complete strangers, too. Obviously they might be harder to read.
But basically, if you know about a person, and know about their car, there's a connection. See enough of the same connection and you have a pattern or trend. And that very nearly approaches a truth.
(Cars basically are my internet thing. Right now I have two Safari windows open filled with cars...and the one tab that is where I'm writing this. What I do is that I've got tabs of separated-out photo pages from Cars.com used cars listings. I think about a car and then I go charging through the search listings looking for a good example: a complete set of good-quality photos. Max in a set is 32, I aim for those but sometimes there are good ones in the 20s.)
(The Other Window, L to R: 1990 Volvo 240 DL, 2002 Mitsubishi Montero Sport LS, 2009 Volkswagen Jetta SE, 2008 Mitsubishi Galant ES, 2006 Saab 9-3 2.0T)
(This window, L to R: 2006 Subaru Outback 3.0 R L.L. Bean Edition, 2003 Subaru Outback H6-3.0 VDC, 2012 Fiat 500 Pop, 2011 Saab 9-5 Turbo4...and IJBM2, this thread, this post.)
May be relevant:
http://www.itjustbugsme.com/forums/discussion/5231/i-cant-stop-looking-at-the-front-of-most-cars-as-faces.
Also, I despise transportation using a carriage pulled by horses, for some reason. Well at least when i'm the one in the carriage, anyway.