Online Car People Are The Worst…
Online car people are awful. You know it, I know it, everyone does. Car people are self-centred, they’re righteous, they know it all and they take unimaginable amounts of pride in belittling their fellow car person. If they were a child, they’d have no friends. If they were a food, they would be a boiled sprout. Or a coconut Quality Street
As is evident from my past, I’m as happy behind the wheel of a Proton 1.3 as I am a BMW 530i. I just like cars, as do so many of you. And you’re good, you’re what car people should be. But sadly, the wider and crucially, online spectrum isn’t like that. Instead, it’s overrun with opinionated folk who think that because they have owned a string of *generic car* they are better than you. And because these people can be found in large numbers, they drown out the good and the pure. They make hard for the rest of us to just get on with liking cars, or being positive about cars. They sully the experience.
This unfortunate element of online car people are bullies, too. You’ll have seen it. There is this stupid, hateful ‘old guard’ defensive sentiment that runs through the car world. You’ll see the young, budding enthusiast post on a forum or Faceache, or Twitter and then BAM, some dick will belittle his work or his car. As if that dick was born with the entire range of Haynes manuals knotted in his umbilical. There is no humility, no welcome spirit, no sense of camaraderie, which is baffling, as we’re all trying to share in the same passion. There is no desire to nurture, to help and direct. Is the young lad’s welding a bit off? Tell him, educate him on how to make it better. But they don’t. They tell him it’s shit and that they know because they once watched two episodes of Fast N Loud back-to-back.
The same people seek out automotive content online, seemingly with the soul purpose of ripping it to pieces. Look at the comments on YouTube and you’ll see what I mean. These people can’t sit there and appreciate that YouTube is, at its heart, a bit of fun. They can’t see that like-minded people are creating content to give something back. To feed what has fed their own passions for years. No, instead they go on there and tell the creator of said video how wrong they are, or how fat they are. Because the BMI of a presenter is intrinsic to the quality of the content. And of course, these keyboard warriors won’t themselves give anything back.
Then there is this apparent need to tell you you’re wrong, and your car is wrong, and you should by *generic car*. That’s not how it works. If you want a Yugo, you go out and you buy a Yugo. If you want to lavish care and attention on a Rover 214SEi, you go and do that. You’re not wrong. It is not possible to be wrong in this respect. If you bought something because it interests you, and because it makes you happy, then you’re bang on the money. Love, care and attention is not the reserve of high-end marques. It can be afforded to any car. The online element that belittles you, that mocks your choice, that says your car is bad – ignore them. They are the worst kind of people. And they’re mocking you because they themselves aren’t bold, brave or bright enough to follow their passions. Instead they put their energy into mocking others.
Then there’s brand affinity, what is it with car people and belittling other brands? If I had a quid for every time someone said Rover was crap, I would have enough money to actually re-launch Rover. But they tell me this as if I’m sat here, completely ignorant to the fact. I’m not, I own one. I’d noticed. It’s the only car I’ve owned that’s poked me in the eye, while driving, with the A-pillar trim. Just last week it grenaded a CV joint. I know it’s crap. You don’t get that with a BMW. But then rather than live and let live, they tell you you’re wrong for liking it. Eh? It’s wrong to like some things, like underage midget wrestling, but a particular car brand? Why does it matter?
As the years roll by, as Elon ‘not of this planet’ Musk rolls out his ‘I, Robot’ cars, as fuel becomes a more finite reserve, cars are become an endangered species. So why be a dick about liking them? What’s with this holier than thou mindset. The automotive world is rich, broad and diverse. Not because of cars that have been forced on us by the manufacturers, but because over time our desires, our automotive wants and dreams have evolved and the market has done its damnedest to reflect that. As such, there is a car for everyone, for every wont, for every person. So find that car and love it. If the sad old bastards on another Faceache page don’t agree, bollocks to them. They’re not car people. They’re vacuous, horrid people that need their own beloved make or model because they have become defined by it. And that’s just sad.
I love cars. Any and all. You love cars, and I love you because of it. You make this site worthwhile. You are the best kind of car people. You’re happy, you’re appreciative of other people’s cars, no matter what they would be. The comments you leave on our socials posts, the interactions we have with you lot are, by and large, wonderful. I just wish that you, dear reader, were the norm in the world, but as we all know, that’s not the case.
To be into cars is a choice. Nobody made us this way under duress. We all chose this, or grew up with it. Presumably because it brings us happiness and joy and purpose. We express ourselves through our cars, our adventures and our mates. So why in the hell are there so many people out there trying to bring us down from within? Let’s push these people out, let’s bowl them over with positivity and good vibes. The world has no place for the online car bully.
Drive what you like. Fix what you like. Lust after the classified ads you like. You do you.
