Heidy
Meneses
EN002
Essay
3
Car Enthusiasts
“I just need a car to get me from point A to point B”, said no car enthusiast
ever. A car enthusiast is a person that is
fascinated with cars and anything in relation to its parts. There are some enthusiasts have minor to lots
of knowledge about cars. Some even know a type of car it is just by the roar of
the engine. There are certain types of shows or movies that these car lovers
enjoy to watch such as a cartoon show named Initial
D, which is a cartoon about Japanese teenagers belonging to car clubs/crews
and drifting modified cars in Japan to see who holds the title of those
streets. There are movies like Rush about
two formula 1 racers who have a love for racing and a rivalry that motivates
them to win. Another famous movie in the car scene is Fast and the Furious, which is a series of movies showing the car
scene displaying muscle cars, European exotics, as well as tuner Japanese race cars.
These car lovers usually go to car meets on a weekly basis and big car events
done by car dealerships on a monthly basis. Car meets are usually held in
parking lots and everyone that wants to join is welcomed to show off their car
modifications or simply just enjoy seeing other cars. In this culture, negative comments and
opinions are not welcomed. However, it happens all the time, but it should not
affect the person because it’s about how they see their car and their love for
it. There is a lot of hard work on modifying these cars and a lot of money invested
in modifying their cars. Many people see this as a “waste” of money; however,
it’s for the love of the car game. It’s true that you might not get your money
back on parts and labor, but at the end of the day it’s the owner who enjoys
and admires the work, blood, sweat and tears he’s put into his car. The attire
for car lovers is very casual, they don’t really care how they dress being that
all the vanity is put into the car. Car meets are very male dominated; However,
females are seen and also display their own modified cars at these meets, as
well. There are some people who create their own or join some that are already
established. Car clubs are clubs for enthusiasts to bond as a family sharing
their love for cars together, help each other, hang out together, and show up
to car meets together, making a statement. Some enthusiast are not that
knowledgeable as others and that’s okay because all that matters is that you
have a respect and enjoy seeing other cars. Some people are just beginning to
work on their cars by putting on some fog lights and a HID light kit, some are
buying are at the stage of lowering their $1,000 aftermarket suspension system,
and some are already winning car shows. Entering the world of car enthusiast
one must learn as much about cars and attend car meets on a regular basis.
If you are
really passionate about the car scene, gaining knowledge would be beneficial
because you will know what other people are talking about as well as getting a
better understanding about car lifestyle itself. The basic parts that fanatics usually speak
about at car meets are the aesthetics of cars such as, the rims, the type of
car seats, paint jobs on the car or rims, spoilers, headlights, lug nuts, grilles,
front lips, and suspension systems. There are many cars that are known and
talked about a lot at these events. These cars are in different categories, the
Mitsubishi Evolution 8, 9, or X, Nissan Skyline, Mazda rx-7 are all Japanese
“tuner/race” cars. The Porsche Carrera, BMW E30, Audi A8 are all German cars,
which car be in exotic/luxury, and in the tuner/race car category. The Maserati
Gran Turismo, Ferrari GTO, Lamborghini 610 are all Italian and are exotic expensive
super cars. Lastly, the Chevrolet Corvette,
Camero, and Pontiac GTO are all American muscle cars. The controversy is whether
you like imports or domestic cars, picking a side is not necessary; however,
you must know if a car is American, Japanese, or European. There are also terms
used for cars such as slammed or clean. A car that is “slammed” means that it’s
lowered narrowing the gap between the wheel and the fenders of the car. It’s
done by adjusting the vehicles suspension. Some enthusiast like to slam their
cars to have a “stance” style, which is pretty much lowering your car so much
that you have to give the wheels negative camber. Negative camber, is tilting
the top on the wheels inward under the fender so that it doesn’t scrape as
much, thus making the bottom of the wheel poke out. When a car enthusiast
claims that a car is clean, he or she is not saying it is clean from dirt or
washed. Clean is a slang word for car enthusiast meaning that a car is nice,
worthy, awesome, or cool. Most of these topics will get you pretty far for a
newbie in the car world. Most of this knowledge will be slowly gained by
attending car meets.
Attending
car meets or even joining a car club will definitely get your car more noticed
and perhaps admired. In the state of Maryland, most of the car meets are
usually held in Rockville or College Park in parking lots starting around 9pm. These
are held weekly and, because the community is well communicated, if the
location changes about 200 hundred of these car lovers will be aware. One of
the big events for car enthusiasts in the Metropolitan area is held in Ocean
City, Maryland. The huge car show is held every summer. Some of the big car
clubs get to show off their cars and put them on display. Attending this show
is a great experience, especially if you’re new to the car scene. The
experience will show a newbie a lot about different tastes and styles and you’ll
see modified cars from all over the east coast. The newbie will be able to walk
around the events and ask questions of interest regarding cars.
When being
welcomed to the car scene it’s beneficial to learn about cars, parts, as well
as attend car meets and events in order to gain more knowledge. Going to car
meets would be great for beginners because they will be able to have great
conversations with other car enthusiast and talk about their current modifications,
future modifications, and preferences. Lacking knowledge of cars, styles, and
modifications will let other enthusiast that you’re a beginner, but there is
nothing wrong with that because everyone once started as a newbie. Being a car
enthusiast is a lifestyle, it’s all about having a love for your car, having a good
time at meets/shows and admiring other car lover’s modifications. Last but not
least never forget to bring a good attitude, be safe, and enjoy the scenery.
