WHY DO YOU LIKE CARS?

What is it about cars? Why do I spend hours on YouTube watching videos about other people's cars? Why do I have such a connection to these pieces of steel with four wheels? Enough of a connection that makes me eat, sleep, and breathe cars 24-7. Why am I so infatuated with it? I spend so much time thinking about something that's just supposed to be transportation. In fact, just about every single weekend that I have is devoted to something car-related. Why is it that my car, of all things, is my happy place? And it's not just me. There are lots of us that look past the typical sports and hobbies to go stand around in a parking lot and talk about cars all night. We fast ourselves on ramen noodles so we can have just a couple more dollars for that next mod. We spend weeks researching parts to find out what the best next mod would be, or what the best tire would be to buy, or which oil filter is best for my engine. We're always comparing cars and challenging our cars, and doing everything that we can to get that tenth of a second faster around the track. What seems so desirable about busting knuckles and turning wrenches for hours and hours on end? Or sitting with our friends in the cold wet rain on the side of the road while we work to find out what broke down on our car? Why do we stay up through the night and drive across the country just to save $20 on a new exhaust that we found on Craigslist? Why are we so addicted to this? And why can't we stop? You see, to us, cars mean freedom. It's the first sense of freedom that we ever really get. That first time when we pass our driver's ed class and go out driving alone for the first time. It's the first time that you have the opportunity to just get in your car and go anywhere. It's about the freedom to travel places that you've never been before, or see something you've never seen before. The opportunities are endless, and it all started with that chart of a key. Cars are a form of self-expression. My cars are my identity, it's who I am. That way, when I modify my car, it's an extension of my personality. All of the people that I, like, all of us that hang out, we're all different in every possible conceivable way. There's chemists, and high teeners, and college students, and someone's 20 and someone's 40, whatever. It's, you know, that's, you're still a car person, and it's still cool. There are people who choose muscle cars, and stance cars, track cars, autocross, show cars, all different forms of cars and functions that allow people to express their desires differently. What they like, what they think looks good, or drives well. Every modification is an extension of an individual's different desires. Hanging out with people, meeting new people, meeting new connections. I love being around a group of friends, and just going out one weekend, and going ripping around the mountain. That's what I enjoy the most. There's a unified bond in the car community, a connection that car enthusiasts have with each other. It brings people together, people that may not ordinarily be together. It's a common ground for which we have to connect with, but it's also a building ground for relationships. All of my best friends are because of cars, and without that common ground, we wouldn't have connected so well. I'm just one of those people that, like, was born with motor oil, that's like a cliche, but like motor oil in their veins, you know what I mean? Like, I've just forever been like, oh my god, cars are, that's the end. I just, that's what I want to do, I love them, I want to play with them, I want to drive them. I don't know where it came from, it's just kind of been that way my whole life. Cars also give you something to focus on. It's an escape from the tedious reality that can be so mundane. Cars are an exciting thrill, and a breeding ground for ideas to build on. There's always that next thing to do, whether it's changing your brake pads, or sculpting a wide body kit. There's endless outcomes and innumerable tasks to be done. It keeps you thinking, trying to figure out how you're going to crack open that C's bolt, or how you're going to put a front license plate on without it being too ugly. This can drive us to our friends, to work on our cars together, to just hang out in the garage and have fun while figuring things out together. Or sometimes it's just about being alone. Sometimes just having something to focus on yourself. If you need to go and just do something and escape into a different world. If I'm frustrated, I'll come home from work, and instead of going to the bar, or instead of getting mad, I'll come out and wrench in the car, and I'll feel so much better. Like, it just, it's my happy place. It's the one thing that no matter what I do, I never get mad at, or I try not to get mad at, because at the end of the day, this isn't my favorite thing to work on at all. Working on cars is just one category of the car culture, though. And admittedly, probably pretty small in the grand scheme of all the niche things out there. It's not as simple as saying, I'm into cars. Because that means something completely different to your 60-year-old neighbor who dragged out his Dodge Dart. And that's the beauty of it. There's so many different categories to get into. Well, that's the beauty and the curse, because I just want to do it all. Yeah, I'm always down to say what's up to the next guy with the car. And, I mean, like you said, cars bring people together, so there's no reason not to say what's up. Hey, where's the meat? Because I'm down to go. So, where do you get started? What's your niche? How do you get more involved, or do you want to get involved at all? Where is the car scene that seems so huge? Well, talk to people. You've got to put yourself out there and have an open mind. Trust me, your mind will get flooded with cars. Find someone that's modified a car and just talk to them about it. People love talking about their cars. Find out if they go to any car meets and how you can join. Because that first conversation may very well be the beginning of the rest of your very exciting life, filled with cars and passion, filled with very fun adventures, connections and bonds that will last for a lifetime.