I haven't seen this discussed before. It may be our imagination or limited to Michigan but we were wondering if others have noticed the effect the 'S' has on other drivers. Tachus is "Rio Yellow Pearl" in color and we have wondered if it was the color that winds people up or the car.
What have we observed? Hardly any one can resist racing away from traffic lights even thougth we don't race, we have to admit to reving the engine on occasion when we see them tensing up!
Anyone who drives a red F150 or F250 has to be ahead and they have no problems with cutting the 'S' off. I see more of this than Alan does.
Now, like you, we are vintage but the thing that Alan notices is the effect on women. They see the 'S' pull up behind them when traffic is stationary and all the female flirtatious behaviour starts - the fixing of the hair, the arm out of the window or across the back of the passenger seat, etc. I've never noticed this but then I'm not looking.
So how about all of you, what have you observed?

 

In my case I don't think it is the car so much as my overwhelming charm and good looks.

 

I've noticed:

Heads turning to see car---then who is driving the car

People don't like to let me in when merging. I call it 'pretty car prejudice'. When I drive my beater, it happens less often.

When looking for a parking spot, other drivers are aggressive and will pretend to 'not see me' waiting with my signal on, for the spot they take. Is the car so shiny that it becomes one bright orb and they can't tell I'm sitting there waiting? <vbg>

Similar things happened when I went from brunette to blonde, and I was sensitive to the changes.

:-)

 

The effect of my S2000 on others is compounded because I'm 6'3 265lbs and people always watch me walk over to the car and then always say first "your not gonna get into that little car!" and then they say "don't tell me thats YOUR car". I've found that teenagers know the car best and go nuts over it I'm figuring probably from seeing the S2k in the movies and other people ask me what kind of car it is, most people up here even the car guys still are suprised when I tell them the specs of my S they assume its just a small h.p. convertible.

 

I still turn my head when I pass one even when I'm driving mine.

 

I was at a meeting one time, and needed to speak to the host for a few minutes after the meeting. I walked out and saw 4 or 5 young guys from the meeting around my S. I had my remote in my hand and unlocked it. Every one of their heads popped up to see who was driving the car. When they spotted me walking towards the car, in unison, their mouths dropped open. There were a million questions when I got to the car. As I was getting in to start the car, I heard one of them say, he may be old, but looking at the tires, he knows how drive that car. I just smiled and waved.

 

Many times when I'm stopped at a light, the car next to me, if a male is driving, will take off when the light changes. One day I had two of them, one on either side, do it. They ended up racing each other. The other day, a woman who lives here in my condo saw me drive into the garage. At the elevator, she said "are you Ms Perky?". I said yes. She said "a car like that needs to have vanity plates."

 

How about the guy on the lane next to you who starts drifting towards you and your S as he stares at your ride?

 

Classic!

 

I wonder how they could tell?

That is one of my favorite things to do when looking at motorcycles I run across in parking lots. I always smile to myself when I see a "crotch rocket" that has never "really" been leaned over in a corner by the looks of the tires that are not scuffed anywhere near the edge. One would expect center tread wear on a Harley or a cruiser, but in my book, it is inexcuseable on a "crotch rocket".

Like the saying goes:
"Old road racers never die, their lap times just get faster with memory. The older I get the faster I was."