I’ve considered myself a car enthusiast for over 40 years. As I mentioned in my introduction article, my car interest started as a necessity. If I wanted a car that ran and drove, I need to be able to fix it myself. What started as a fascination with American muscle cars from the 1960’s/70’s and ¼ mile times, turned into an appreciation for sports cars and motorsports such as production-based sports car racing and the World Rally Championship. As I got older, that appreciation turned into participation in autocross, rallycross, and road-racing.
If I’m meeting someone for the first time and the conversation turns to the topic of hobbies, I’ll tell them I’m a “Car Guy”. Typically, their first response is, “So watch a lot of NASCAR races?” (In the past four or five years, NASCAR has been replaced with Formula 1.) They’re quite surprised when I respond with “Not really.” While I appreciate the skills of the drivers and the engineering that goes into the cars, I can’t imagine sitting on my couch for two or three hours to watch a race. I enjoy watching the race highlights, but that’s about it. I’d rather spend my time learning about how to make my car faster (lighter, more power, better braking, improved handling, etc.) and then going out to my garage to implement what I’ve learned.
This difference in what someone thinks when I say I’m a “Car Guy” versus what I think has me contemplating the different types of car enthusiasts I’ve observed over the years. None of these are better than the other. It’s just a matter of how you want to spend your time.
Motorsports Driver – This person just wants to drive. (You’re not a thinker, Ricky. You’re a driver!) It doesn’t matter the type of motorsport (sports car, rally, circle track, off-road), there’s nothing they enjoy more than to get behind the wheel.
Motorsports Watcher – Whether on a screen or in person, they love to watch the motorsport of their choice. They’ll watch practice, qualifying, AND the race itself. They’ll travel hours to go watch a race.
Wrench: Show – This is someone who loves paint/body work and/or detailing. They enjoy the time and focus it takes to make a car look the best it can.
Wrench: Go – This could be someone who loves the challenge of diagnosing and repairing or the challenge of making a car faster. Nothing makes them happier than spending time in the shop turning a wrench.
Encyclopedia – They love to learn about car facts. Whether it’s the history of cars, performance stats, who designed a car, or specifications, they are a knowledge sponge when it comes to any information regarding cars.
Voyeur – Also known as the car show fan. They love to spend time taking in the beauty of automotive design. They may stick to local events or even travel to world to see unique and rare cars.
As you may have figured out, I’m a mix of Motorsports Driver and Wrench: Go. I imagine many of us are a blend of the different types of car enthusiast. I’m sure I’ve missed some different types of car enthusiasts, but these are my observations over the past 40+ years.
What did I miss? Let me know in the comments.
This would be fun to expand into a Myers-Briggs type analysis…
https://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/myers-briggs-overview/
Showing my age, but my “car” obsession has lasted well over 50 years and is still growing. Also agree that your focus as an enthusiast will most likely change through the years. For me there was a time when SHOW was much more important. These days our cars are lucky to get rinsed off occasionally, and it’s primarily about the GO!