5 Reasons I'm Not a Real Car Guy

People have a tendency to classify things, find stereotypes and bunch people into a group. It happens all the time with, race, religion, etc. Everything down to the hobbies people choose. As a group, car enthusiasts of the internet have managed to invent their own stereotypes, and as social creatures, we feel the need to conform to the group’s mentality. But I and I do assume many others are happy just doing their own thing. I appreciate cars, the engineering of some, the looks of some and just the sheer rarity of others. But according to the internet, I can’t be considered a car guy, and here are five reasons why

1. I don't hate the Toyota Prius

Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t get one, nor would I recommend one to others. But my concerns don’t stem from an ideological opposition the fuel-efficient cars. A to B cars should be fuel-efficient. I don’t really like the Prius but I don’t literally feel aggravated when I see one, my opinion stems from the concern that apparently they’re not actually all that environmentally friendly. People buy these cars often assuming they’re environmental crusaders, saving humanity one mile per gallon at a time. Honestly, there are more environmental concerns than just raw emissions and fuel consumption. The batteries of the Prius are potentially large cause for concern and according to TopGear (take it or leave it) there is a huge amount of transportation of materials involved in its assembly.
Summarily, I don’t care for the Prius. It doesn’t really accomplish what people think it does and its aesthetics are borderline eye-rape, but I’m not going to carry on like it’s the most vulgar thing humanity has faced since the rise of fascism.

2. I don't go without things to afford car parts

Once upon a time my Silvia was constantly being spoilt with pretty new things, and I loved being able to shape that car the way I liked it. Unfortunately, I’m no longer in a position to do that. I left full time work at the local supermarket which allowed me to buy the car and shape it into what I wanted to go study digital media instead. I get by fine, I have awesome parents and government assistance which is more than many get and I truly appreciate it, but until I can get back into the workforce my S15 can only get fuel and maintenance. The only luxuries I allow myself these days is pretty well confined to fuel, beer and coffee. I could stop that and save up for a front mount intercooler and boost controller, or fix the paint on the front bumper (not my fault it’s bad), but then I’d have a faster/nicer car and less of the money I need to look after the thing. I have a feeling some people of the internet would tell me to sell a kidney to fund it but to be honest as much as I love my S15 I’m not willing to make that sacrifice.

3. I care about fuel economy

One of the things I love about my S15 is that if you don’t put the foot down, it doesn’t use much fuel. Simple as that. One of the reasons I opted for an S15 Spec-R over an R34 GTT (they’re about the same price in Australia, it’s really just a matter of preference) is that they don’t use as much fuel, are slightly quicker stock for stock and are cheaper to maintain, as well as boasting a wider variety of aftermarket parts. Plus the S15 Silvia is certainly a pretty car.
Anyway, fuel-economy is something that should be at least a consideration when you’re buying a car to be daily driven, all ethical considerations aside, fuel costs money. If you’re like me and will quite often go a year without buying clothes because you think it’s a waste of money, chances are you’re going to be conscious of how much fuel you burn on the highway. Not much annoys me more than seeing a huge, pristinely clean Toyota Landcruiser driving through the middle of a large city with no more than three people in the car. Just why did you need that? I’m sure your neighbours realise you’re not as outdoorsy as you think you look.

4. I care about emmissions

I don’t down-shift next to a Prius so they can hear me hurting the environment. I don’t get-off on being an obnoxious tool. While I’ll admit my Silvia is already dirtier than most cars rolling off the factory floor today, there is no reason to go cat-less on a daily driven car. If everyone drove around cat-less we’d have a problem, and I don’t think I’m special enough to go cat-less on my daily-driven car. For this reason, my S15 has a street-legal 200 CPSI high flow cat. I’m not worried about random emission tests, I’ve never seen one though admittedly I don’t live in the city. I could easily rip the guts out of the factory cat and pass any roadworthy test, but I don’t think it’s right to. My S15 isn’t a race car, and it’s gotta go by the rules until I think the rules are stupid (don’t judge me, I’m sure your cars have things you don’t tell them about).

5. I don't hate automatics

Like most people here, I enjoy driving manual. Every car I’ve owned has been a manual, I’ve never been 100% comfortable in an automatic. Manuals are fun, yes. This does not make automatics bad. In many performance applications (though not all) a manual is going to be favourable to an automatic transmission, but honestly, in someone’s daily driver is that extra 5% or so of drive train loss going to make much of a difference to that car’s function? Not really. Some cars seriously are just for A to B. Even some enthusiasts can’t really see any real advantage to having a manual transmission. Say if someone were to buy a MKIV Toyota Supra for the aesthetic, would a lack of clutch pedal really change how that car performed its duty? It still looks like, and is, a Toyota Supra. I get a little annoyed when I see people commenting in garage “automatic bruh…” Express your frustration to the people who bought these cars when they were new, not whose hands they’re in today. For my next car (which won’t happen any time soon), I’m hoping to get something nice but comfortable for long trips to have as a second car to the hard riding Silvia. My current choice is something guaranteed to infuriate internet fanboys on multiple levels – a late model V36 automatic Skyline, maybe even a four door. And I’m going to refer to it as a Skyline. I’m going to tell everyone who asks that it’s a Skyline. And then that’s what non-car guys/girls will think a Skyline is. And there’s nothing you can do to stop me…