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Ah, I love Top Gear too! <3 My friends think I'm crazy, but they just don't know what they're missing. Actually I've managed to convert a few of them into Top Gear fans too :D
At first I was terrified of driving, but as soon as I got my licence (and got rid of my driving school teacher I didn't like at all, because he would never answer my questions or really give much directions at all), I gradually grew more relaxed and learned to enjoy it :)
For all the top gear lovers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78O4ZEXjw1c
My favorite stig video. :)
Well, with an instructor like that you must be a natural to get your license! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by AnneMariah
I had a very good instructor, or well - I trusted him and he kept his patience with me. He did not answer my questions directly, but that was because I always asked them at moments when I did something wrong and he had to correct me first ... :( Safe to say, I am not a natural - and I hate that, as I like driving so much and would like to proof everybody wrong when they say girls can not drive :p
Fact is, I passed my driving test because "once you relaxed and started singing along with the radio you drove OK. The moment you started to think too hard, you made mistakes as you did not respond fast enough". I am glad that made me pass (first part), and not fail (second part). I guess he was in a good mood that day :)
I should drive more. I think I drive a car once every 3 months! I know it's too little to keep my skills, but I do not have a car myself and no need for it either. So I only drive on special occasions. I totally forgot how to park - which makes me another perfect example of jokes about women and cars :flare:
Sorry, babbling on again :blush:
I got my license because I was fortunate enough to drive the test with a really nice man, and he had another guy with him. As soon as I got away from my driving instructor and sat there in the car with these two men who were merrily chatting all the way through the test I could relax and did just fine (especially parking - that went really well on that occasion :D)Quote:
Originally Posted by Sapphire
I don't get to drive very much either - I moved to another town to study about 18 months ago, and of course I don't have a car of my own (it would be a bit too expensive to maintain, being a student with very limited income). I only get to drive when I visit my parents on the weekends or holidays.
BUT - now I'm going to have a car for a week! My parents travelled to Lapland for a week, which means they don't need their cars so I can take one and keep it for a week. It will be a lovely week - I'll save 40 kilometres of walking or bicycling to school :D And driving the 150 kilometres to the town where I live now will be nice too - the best part of driving long distances alone is that you can sing along with the cd player :lol:
Even as a male, I have always wondered at our fascinations with cars and trucks - the faster the car, the bigger the truck, the better! I think not. Sure, I rejoice in these amazing inventions humankind has created, and think them quite amazing, but cannot see the obsession with them, the need for showing off while speeding, drifting, and other hold-my-beer-and-watch-this type of tricks. Ironic, because I come from a family of car-buffs - both men and women in my family know everything about cars and trucks, customizations, the anatomy and physiology of anything with an engine, yet I do not own one.
I think of it as a testosterone-thing - that need for thrill, whose goes faster and whose looks bigger (no pun intended), who can customize one's more, competitiveness, who drives the best, etc. Besides for women, the obvious, my testosterone exists for jogging and sprinting, baseball, and old-school video games (Sega, Nintendo, etc.).
I don't know if it's just males. I have seen females in fancy cars. It depends on what they earn. I have a female cousin with a spiffy little BMW. I have known women that are fairly aggresive drivers. Sure there are more men than women but I don't think it's exxclusively a male phenomena. I don't drive aggressive and I don't drive a sports car. Perhaps men do seem to get some male oriented thrill from driving like James Bond, but you know, there are women who like it. When I was young, guys with fancy cars had girl friends. Many guys who didn't have a car (like me :)) didn't have a girl friend. The question can also be asked, why are some women attracted to James Bond types?Quote:
Originally Posted by papayahed
Yeah I too would have rather put it as 'What's it about girls and guys with fancy cars'? :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Virgil
Maybe the thought goes like this: "If he can afford such a fancy car, he must have enough money to provide for a girlfriend, he might make me feel comfortable in a material way".Quote:
Originally Posted by Pensive
Just guessing though :) I can say I like nice cars, but I like the cars - the person in it has to be nice on its own if he wants to take me for a ride in it ;) And if a guy is nice and does not have a car at all, that is all fine with me. So I guess I am not the typical "girl likes guys who drives like James Bond" :p Though I am quite a fan of James Bond movies, especially that one part in the Quantum of Solace where the girl has just been kidnapped and Bond runs out of the casino/hotel and you see that one tire spin. That one second is the best of the whole movie :D
Ow, and Gone in 60 second. And Fast and the Furious. And Bullit. And...
I've never driven James Bond style myself - I do not trust my driving capabilities enough to ever try it. And I think it would ruin the tires...
Well yeah, even though I accept people can have different ways of thinking, and their thinking can be as much respectable as mine but I have a trouble relating with the way people make material to be so big a deal myself.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sapphire
Personally speaking, aesthetically, I am not the one for cars. If you lived in a populous country like mine you would realise how much of space they take (especially the big fancy cars). Also the consumption of fuels that goes with them. I am alright with public transport and the best date in my eyes can be you and your significant other riding on a bicycle to a quiet corner in some park nearby! :p
Sounds good. Rollerskates would also be a good idea ;) Or a skate board ... I still want to learn how to ride a skate board, though it might look a bit silly now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pensive
And yes, I agree that cars can be a bother in a populous country. Where I live, I can get around easily by public transport - and being a student it is even free ;) so I would be quite nuts to go for an expensive petrol slurping car, no matter how much fun I think driving is.
However, in the parts that aren't this densely populated you can not go out after 22h, because public transport shuts down about that time - if you're lucky enough to have public transport that far. And, as it isn't so populated it might become far to go by bicycle: 25 km to find a place to dance ... not sure I would ever do such :lol:
But I guess going to a bar is a bad example, for when you drink alcohol you need to let the car be anyway. :) It is strange, how I would never drive a car while I had just one glass of beer, but easily jump on my bicycle after 5...
But hey, that's another subject.
James Bond is running away from bad guys, of course he looks cool driving like a maniac but the average guy driving to the restaurant just looks like a ****** driving like a maniac.
Aha, so even you think James Bond looks cool!!! You're feeding the stereotype. :pQuote:
Originally Posted by papayahed
There is something to the notion of a car signifying a good provider. Why is that women get attracted to guys with money? ;)
I don't doubt that a man's machisimo is psychologically connected to the car, but you know that feamle cousin of mine with the little BMW drives around like she's James Bond and it so happens that she happened to be in my car last night (we were at a birthday event for our uncle) while I was driving and she was making fun of me driving like an old fart. :lol:
I'm a Top Gear fan too, but not so much because of the cars they go on about: It's more thanks to the three hosts. They really make that show worth watching.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sapphire
I did all my driving prior to the examination in winter conditions...Quote:
Originally Posted by Sapphire
As for cars in general: I require them to transport my bottom from point A to point B in reasonable safety and comfort, with minimal fuel consumpton and fuzz....
On the other hand I don't take the car very often. I use the bike much more.
/Claes
Nah, that is not stereotype - that is just a fact. James Bond = Cool. Fact. :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Virgil
As long as the guy puts on some nice music while driving this way, I would definitely prefer that above "crazy maniac driving" - it might be less exiting but it might be safer ;) And I would not get sick! I had not thought about that yet, but I just saw this clip and I am afraid that - though I really like cars and driving - this might happen to me. I get easily car sick :(Quote:
Originally Posted by Virgil
Journalist gets sick during test drive
Also the examination itself, or did you take that in spring/summer? That must have been a change then :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Claes
And yes, bicycle is better for the environment and probably better for your health, but I guess after 20 years of only being allowed to ride a bicycle I like riding a car a lot more :D It is still new and exiting to me ;)
A dapper man in a tuxedo = cool.Quote:
Originally Posted by Virgil
feeding the stereotype? Which stereotype? that handsome men dressing nicely in a nice car is pleasing to the eye??? I'm not sure that's a stereotype, more of a fact.
Why do you always bring it down to men vs. women? Your statement is pretty stereotypical isn't it? Isn't it true that men who make a lot of money tend to be confident smart go-getters? Why wouldn't a woman be attracted to those qualities, why do you assume it's just about the money?Quote:
There is something to the notion of a car signifying a good provider. Why is that women get attracted to guys with money? ;)
The statistic here is that the vast majority of car crashes are caused by young men between 18-25. They are also behind a majority of the car related killings, just yesterday a 29 year old mother and her two children because some idiot was driving inbetween cars on the highway to go as fast as he could.
The highway is not a computer game, and you cannot start over if you make a mistake. Cars are conveniant, but I wish that more public funding would go into the public transportation, it's better for the environment, and it is just as fast in most cases. But ticket prices have been more than 100%, and that is even after comparing it to normal price increases. A car wont make you cool, especially not if you're a jerk behind the wheel, male or female.
I'm 21, 2 months ago someone slid onto the ice into my car. My car (a 93 Toyota) was totalled, and I was given 4000 dollars for it. And so now I have a 97 Pontiac Grand AM I bought for 3000, and it's 1/10th as good as the car I had originally. I can't afford to be picky. Meh.
I tried to find something like this for the Netherlands, but I only found a statistic on the victims: turns out 3x as much guys die in car crashes as girls :eek2: It's also the 18-25 year old who are most likely to get killed...Quote:
Originally Posted by Chava
We have some sort of "point-driver license". If you just have your license, it is a bit "under probation". For every act of reckless behaviour with a car (provided you get caught for by the police) you lose a point, maybe even more if it is really bad - after you've lost 3 point you'll lose your license. I am sure that it goes on until 5 years after you passed your examination, and I even think it counts until you're 23 (figures, not allowed to drive until you're 18 ;) ). No exceptions in sexes is made though ;) Luckily, I mean, everybody is supposed to drive in a conscious manner!
And Mathor, that sucks.
Oh don't tell me you've never seen all those James Bond car scenes. Check these out:Quote:
Originally Posted by papayahed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pEt5UriB7A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRmyYm07UoY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zBbLFevW1s (in this one he actually takes the wheel from a woman :D)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ4def7VhMI (a cool mix of scenes)
I think every movie may have had one.
You asked the question:Quote:
Why do you always bring it down to men vs. women? Your statement is pretty stereotypical isn't it? Isn't it true that men who make a lot of money tend to be confident smart go-getters? Why wouldn't a woman be attracted to those qualities, why do you assume it's just about the money?
Inherent to the question is a gender catagorizing. But really I think I've also said that it's not just men who drive ths way.Quote:
what is it about guys and cars?
That is absolutely true in the US and I believe it is a world wide phenomena. I have advocated raising the driving age for the longest time. I couldn't find any statistics on women drivers, but I bet that young women drivers have more accidents than older women drivers. There is a huge correlation of age and car accidents. I remember when I first drove and once I over came fears I think I became more dangerous. I think God for not getting into an accident (other than a fender bender) though there were a few that were close calls.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chava
This is ridiculous, of course genderization has to be part of the question. I'm dating the guy who drives like a maniac, I'm not concerned about woman driving like maniacs because I don't date women.Quote:
Originally Posted by Virgil
And as I explained earlier driving like a maniac to me means someone who squeels their tires off a red light, someone who thinks its funny to slam on the brakes so things go flying around the car, or someone who does donuts in gravel parking lots and throws rocks everywhere. Are you telling me your cousin does that in her shiney BMW?
Out of nowhere you brought up women being attracted to men with money and I'm just wondering what that has to do with the question.
Thats bloody nutz!Quote:
Originally Posted by papayahed
I dont own a car, but can do great doughnuts in my forklift
I'm not fussy with cars. I have no interest in driving. Quite happy to use public transport of walk.
But if i did drive i'd like either a yaris or an integra.
I'm not impressed with the way men show off when driving. A lot of the time when they think they are being cool, they are being irrisponsible and dangerous.
I really wish I could walk/use public transportation but cars have always been essential, around here everything is so spread out.
I think stating the question as "what is it about guys and cars" may push the conversation rather into a general liking for (fancy) cars than their driving behaviour. The "women being attracted to men with money" did not came from nothing, but was related to "women being attracted to men with fancy (expensive) cars" - which was named as a reason why guys might like those (fancy) cars so much.Quote:
Originally Posted by PapayaHed
I understand now that you mean rather to talk about why your date drove like a maniac.
It may have been done to impress you. Which it obviously did not. But it might have impressed Virgil's cousin, as apparently she has the same driving style. :) I can not say I know a girl who might be impressed by that kind of behaviour, though I would definitely not mind if my date would take me to a racing course and took me on a couple of laps :D But as you said, that is not the maniac riding you referred to, rather fast and skilled driving.
He might also ride that way because he does it for the attraction: people do tend to look at cars when they “scream” around the corner – most looks will show disaprovement but it will draw attention.
Or it might just be that he drove like that as a boy, goofing about with his friends – and he never learned himself to drive “normally”.
These are just ideas, I really do not know what would drive a person to ride so uncontrollably and unsafe. I guess your biggest chance on an insightful answer might be just to ask him?
I agree with you.Quote:
Originally Posted by Niamh
Fast driving (whether to impress others or to satisfy your ownself in some other way) is outrageously irresponsible in my eyes! What people don't realise is that along with their own life, they are putting other people's lives in danger too....
Cars do come in handy.Quote:
Originally Posted by papayahed
Some women may be attracted to men with fancy cars but i for one am not!
What the heck are you getting angry at me for? How was I supposed to know what you were referring to? You didn't mention any of this. All you asked was a extremely generic question about guys and cars. That was so general one could have driven a locomotive through it. I made an assumption as to what you were referring to.Quote:
Originally Posted by papayahed
Now that you asked a specific question then there are two possibilities that I can see why he does that.
1) He may be really like stunt driving and wants to share his interests with you, and if that is so you will have to make a decision whether you are mutually compatible.
or
2) Your boyfriend may just be an a$$h---
Thank you Saphire.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sapphire
I apologize if it seems like I got angry.
I said something and innocuous as "guys and cars" and several people got their panties in a bunch because I didn't include women. Are you surprised I would get offended at "women are attracted to guys with expensive cars"?
No need to apologize. I'm sorry if I appeared harsh on women. Most of my posts here have been tongue-in-cheek.Quote:
Originally Posted by papayahed
This is my car week and I'm loving it <3 I drove from Helsinki today (about 140 kilometres), and enjoyed it. I haven't driven any long distance for a while, it was nice for a change. And of course singing at the top of my lungs with the cd-player :lol:
Maybe tomorrow I'll watch some Top Gear too :D
AnnaMariah, that sounds like a wonderful way to spend your time :D
And yes, driving wouldn't be driving if one couldn't sing along with all the songs on the radio :lol:
Enjoy it!
That might be another point though: cars that have their stereo's blasting so load that it is not only annoying for the surroundings, but also that you know they will never be able to hear the sirens of an ambulance when it wants passing... In general, cars that have such loud music playing are not the most cautious drivers either...
I have only seen guys drive such "turn the speaker up" cars. I think there are girls with that habit, but I never seem to meet them :). Or they just play their music loud at home or in the club instead of in a car ;) Not sure...
The examination too: In a bit of a blizzard, actually. :D But: Driving a car in wintery conditions is for wimps. ;) Biking on the other hand, can be quite a challenge, and I usually go A over T a couple of times every winter, in spite of heavily studded tyres. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Sapphire
http://agaton.rymdraket.net/dubbdack/images/cykel.jpg
/Claes
I can imagine, a bike is a bit less stable than a car ;) Luckely we do not have winters like that over here, though the roads get icy some days. We just wait for the salt trucks: I do not know anybody who puts winter tires on their car, motor or bicycle. Needless to say transport slows down heavily when the occasional snow does fall ...Quote:
Originally Posted by Claes
Winter cycling IS a hazardous sport. I've been riding my bicycle to school all winter, and there has been a few close saves. Yeah, I do have winter tyres too, I wouldn't dare to go without them.
I enjoyed my week with a car immensely, too bad it was over so soon.
I LOVE that show!Quote:
Originally Posted by Annamariah