Enthusiast Vs Hoon

[seraphyn_r33]

+1 for the registration in mums name, cheaper insurance too!

and +1 for the thread, its good to hear what everyone thinks on the subject, everyones raised very valid points.

To throw in my two cents, skyline owners are going to be looked as something different from each single person. Negative, positive, indifference, i would safely say that everyone in this thread has experienced everything from great reactions to horrible ones and everything inbetween.

Without getting waaaayyy too deep-and-meaningful about the matter, talking about being the by-product of sensationalist media and the stereotypes relating to the automotive industry id personally just like to be seen in my car the way i see people in skylines - admiring a beautiful piece of machinery and a mixture of jealousy from before i even had my own skyline about how lucky they are to own such an awesome car.

My 76 year old nan likes my car because its easy to get in and out of

[scathing]

Does that "under your mum's name" shit still work?

The last time I called for insurance, they just asked for the name of the youngest driver and based the pricing on that.

[GTR-N1]

Does that "under your mum's name" shit still work?

The last time I called for insurance, they just asked for the name of the youngest driver and based the pricing on that.

^^^+1

In an AT FAULT ACCIDENT, NO IT DOESN'T WORK as you've questioned rightly.

That hoon is probably still driving 'his mother's car' and if he's at fault and not ratified on the insurance company's books, that car won't be covered. He would need to 'tell another lie' to suggest that his mother was at the wheel and that's when the plot thickens. One lie leads to another etc. etc.

Even if his mother 'was' the youngest nominated driver for say, 'a week' of taking over that car, the insurance company would still want to know of any 'changes to the initial contract that was made over the phone'.

[CARSICK]

John and Jane look at the car.

They look at the driver.

They look at the car again (with the SAU sticker on it).

They look at each other; nod, and think 'ENTHUSIAST'!!!

Motto:- SAU Sticker helps!!!

Edited November 1, 2008 by CARSICK

[IanB]

ive copped it before sitting at the lights in peak hour traffic moving 20 meters at a time. Some late-20's early-30's bloke gave it to me just as he was turning off. Im sure everyones copped something like that in the past, but half the time the motivations of some people giving it to us have nothing to do with us and have more to do with them needing to feel the big man/woman or to prop themselfs up, and we were the closest sterotype that a current afair told them they could abuse without being politically incorrect.

I just shrug it off. I baught my car to put a smile on my face, not anyone elses.

[CARSICK]

Biased, discriminatory & bigoted reporting for sensationalistic purposes does not do any favours for ABC radio or car clubs like Aussie Exotics, SAU, Roadfly BMW, EVO etc.

The show could not even distinguish the difference of what this thread is all about!

Edited March 9, 2010 by CARSICK

[Leif]

But what does the average guy on the street think about Skylines in your opinion?

Is he influenced by the age of the driver?

Does he form an opinion from the sound generated from the exhaust + planting the right pedal?

Do the wheels give off any messages?

What %age of us give off an ENTHUSIAST IMAGE Vs a HOON IMAGE ???

Everyone has seen that young dude driving like a hoon, and so unfortunately I think that's what people expect to an extent. If you're young, and the exhaust is noisy, they're going to assume you're a hoon. I don't think it really matters if your car is a ricer/commodore/import. As people have said, the general population can't tell the difference/don't care - I realise when I hang around my mates that aren't into cars - they barely notice the make of car, let alone what kind of wheels it has or whether it's lower than standard. In short, if it's loud and you're in the 18-25y.o. male category, people will assume the worst. There's nothing we can do about that.

I figure that the best way I can identify myself with the "enthusiast" crowd rather than the hoon crowd is to drive like an enthusiast. i.e. take my time, stick to speed limits, and just generally share the road. As people have said, import drivers get so much bad press that we're probably not going to change the perception any time soon, so I don't bother. I just drive sensibly and assume people will leave me alone if i'm doing the right thing.

It seems to have worked so far. I drove an ugly S13 silvia (faded roof, dings, scratches) with an un-muffled exhaust as my daily for 2 years and never got randomly pulled over (touch wood). The only reason I can figure is that I drive sensibly, and so the cops put you in that "enthusiast" bucket rather than the hoon bucket.