View Poll Results: Do you feel like driving something "flashy" gets you negative treatment that you don't
Voters: 64. You may not vote on this poll
For those of you with sports cars...
10-14-2016, 12:00 PM
#1
Thread Starter
For those of you with sports cars...
This could apply to sports cars or any vehicle you own that might be a little flashy or easily recognized.
Do you think that people treat you differently on the road when you drive a flashy/sports car than when you are in something very plain?
I guess I can explain a little. I have owned a dead-dolphin grey Toyota Highlander, a Subaru Outback, and maybe another fairly blah car in recent years as a daily. When driving those cars I don't remember too much out of the ordinary. People would pay about as much attention to me as they needed to know where I was in their proximity.
When I drove the S2000, the Cayman, or the red 3 series with the always illuminated bimmer halo rings in the headlights, maybe it is my total imagination but people seems to act out a little. They try a little harder to close up holes so you can't pass. They race at stoplights when you are not driving out of the ordinary. You get cut off a little more frequently.
I am not just talking about ricers in Civics. I have had soccer moms in minivans pull up at a light to my right with no one else behind me to gun it on the green cut in front for the left turn lane a half a block ahead. No reason in the world to do it except to be a butthole and save 1 second of travel time. People in huge pickups tend to always ride your butt and be kind of dicks, but it seems more frequent when I am in the sports car.
I thought, maybe my driving style is different in the sports car, but it really isn't. Am I imagining this?
I don't know if they don't like sports cars. Or if guys in big pickups are having there manhood somehow challenged if they don't try to show the truck is twice the size of your car, (but their penis is half the size of your car key). I don't get the aggressive soccer moms......... I just assumed they deep down want what you have, and since they don't are acting out a little, but I don't know if that is it either.
So do you notice the same? If I drove the Highlander or the Outback it was like being invisible and in a good way. If you have a sports car, I seem to offend a certain segment of the population with great regularity.
Do you think that people treat you differently on the road when you drive a flashy/sports car than when you are in something very plain?
I guess I can explain a little. I have owned a dead-dolphin grey Toyota Highlander, a Subaru Outback, and maybe another fairly blah car in recent years as a daily. When driving those cars I don't remember too much out of the ordinary. People would pay about as much attention to me as they needed to know where I was in their proximity.
When I drove the S2000, the Cayman, or the red 3 series with the always illuminated bimmer halo rings in the headlights, maybe it is my total imagination but people seems to act out a little. They try a little harder to close up holes so you can't pass. They race at stoplights when you are not driving out of the ordinary. You get cut off a little more frequently.
I am not just talking about ricers in Civics. I have had soccer moms in minivans pull up at a light to my right with no one else behind me to gun it on the green cut in front for the left turn lane a half a block ahead. No reason in the world to do it except to be a butthole and save 1 second of travel time. People in huge pickups tend to always ride your butt and be kind of dicks, but it seems more frequent when I am in the sports car.
I thought, maybe my driving style is different in the sports car, but it really isn't. Am I imagining this?
I don't know if they don't like sports cars. Or if guys in big pickups are having there manhood somehow challenged if they don't try to show the truck is twice the size of your car, (but their penis is half the size of your car key). I don't get the aggressive soccer moms......... I just assumed they deep down want what you have, and since they don't are acting out a little, but I don't know if that is it either.
So do you notice the same? If I drove the Highlander or the Outback it was like being invisible and in a good way. If you have a sports car, I seem to offend a certain segment of the population with great regularity.
10-14-2016, 12:10 PM
#2
Yes, in the NOVA area it can be very bad. Exactly everything you mentioned and more.
10-14-2016, 12:10 PM
#3
Yes, of course if you drive something flashy/fancy people will treat you different. Is it annoying? I guess that depends if you like attention or not. My first "fancy" car was my 06 Elise. I got lots of questions, pictures taken of me, people trying to race me, large groups gathered around it when parked etc. It got pretty old after a while but I knew it was part of the deal. The GT-R was more of the same, the GT3 people just assume it's a race car because of the roll cage, Recaros and harnesses.
Luckily I never had any real negative experiences but my business partner had a glass bottle thrown at his Mclaren the first week he had it which resulted in a $5,000 windshield replacement.
Luckily I never had any real negative experiences but my business partner had a glass bottle thrown at his Mclaren the first week he had it which resulted in a $5,000 windshield replacement.
10-14-2016, 12:29 PM
#5
Site Moderator
Yes, but it's not just towards sports cars where I live.
I've had my fair share of nice DD's and there's a noticeable difference. I got yelled at a few times in my S class for no reason other than for driving a Merc.
I'm in mid-Michigan so driving imports isn't a brilliant idea, but it's a lot better than it was 10+ years ago.
I've had my fair share of nice DD's and there's a noticeable difference. I got yelled at a few times in my S class for no reason other than for driving a Merc.
I'm in mid-Michigan so driving imports isn't a brilliant idea, but it's a lot better than it was 10+ years ago.
10-14-2016, 01:41 PM
#6
As an aside, it really is quite interesting seeing almost 100% of the cars on the road are domestic. Ironically it feels like a different country, especially when you see really obscure models that no one buys outside the region.
10-14-2016, 01:54 PM
#7
people take out their cells and take pics - almost everytime the car gets taken out.
Less frequent is other sport/sporty cars want to race you or just pull up next to you and rev. Smile and wave. Don't take the bait.
Less frequent is other sport/sporty cars want to race you or just pull up next to you and rev. Smile and wave. Don't take the bait.
Trending Topics
10-14-2016, 03:22 PM
#8
I haven't really had anything flashy enough to get more than an occasional comment/compliment, at least not in the areas I've lived (a stock last-gen M3 isn't exactly something to write home about in the Bay Area, nor was a stock S2000).
My new-to-me M3 has gotten a few compliments and phone snapshots though, and when I rented an Elise for a day that got a ton of attention. I generally thought it was amusing and kind of cool, but if it's really flashy like a Ferrari or Lambo I could see it getting annoying eventually. But even in the Elise I didn't notice people treating me any differently on the road beyond complimentary stares.
That sucks. It baffles me that the U.S. is a capitalistic society that is supposed to reward hard work, yet so many people hate people with money and assume they got it in a bad way.
My new-to-me M3 has gotten a few compliments and phone snapshots though, and when I rented an Elise for a day that got a ton of attention. I generally thought it was amusing and kind of cool, but if it's really flashy like a Ferrari or Lambo I could see it getting annoying eventually. But even in the Elise I didn't notice people treating me any differently on the road beyond complimentary stares.
That sucks. It baffles me that the U.S. is a capitalistic society that is supposed to reward hard work, yet so many people hate people with money and assume they got it in a bad way.
10-14-2016, 03:32 PM
#9
This happens and is not necessarily mean spirited.
I remember when I first saw an S2000 on the street. I tailgated it in the hope the driver would accelerate and I'd be able to hear it rev. I was 18 at the time. Wouldn't do it now but I kind of understand the urge.
I remember when I first saw an S2000 on the street. I tailgated it in the hope the driver would accelerate and I'd be able to hear it rev. I was 18 at the time. Wouldn't do it now but I kind of understand the urge.
10-14-2016, 06:55 PM
#10
Yes, absolutely. No one notices the plain commuter car.
I have normally got positive attention in a bunch of different cars. Anything that I might think of negative has likely been people showing off or trying to get my attention. Things like people speeding up when you go to pass them is normally to look. In my current daily I've pulled up to the family moving themselves in their (insert plain Jane car) and look over. In this case Dad points, gets came and takes pic. It appeared they were talking about the car. In my mind I heard him say 'Now that's a car I should be driving'.
The other weekend I was out with a friend. We parked at the far end of a lot, within eye shot of our cars to grab a quick bite on a road trip. A bunch of high schoolers walk through the lot only to make their way over to our cars. Pictures fly and they start sitting on the hoods of our cars. As a youngster I would never have thought of sitting or touching a few expensive cars. $150k in cars between the two of us. The request to get off our cars was not well received and it nearly escalated. Youth.
I have normally got positive attention in a bunch of different cars. Anything that I might think of negative has likely been people showing off or trying to get my attention. Things like people speeding up when you go to pass them is normally to look. In my current daily I've pulled up to the family moving themselves in their (insert plain Jane car) and look over. In this case Dad points, gets came and takes pic. It appeared they were talking about the car. In my mind I heard him say 'Now that's a car I should be driving'.
The other weekend I was out with a friend. We parked at the far end of a lot, within eye shot of our cars to grab a quick bite on a road trip. A bunch of high schoolers walk through the lot only to make their way over to our cars. Pictures fly and they start sitting on the hoods of our cars. As a youngster I would never have thought of sitting or touching a few expensive cars. $150k in cars between the two of us. The request to get off our cars was not well received and it nearly escalated. Youth.