StephenG Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 Thursday night - central London - stuck on the A24, behind a BMW driving erratically, fast, then slow, without indicating, and then pulling over without any notice, leaving me half in the middle of the road with an oncoming bus. Even though I was in the car on my own, I whispered under my breath, "bloody BMW drivers". But then I thought - what do people think about us? The 350Z driver? You see, there are two ways of determining personality - what sort of person would 'buy that car', and what sort of personalities you've met who own one. As for the first category, I'm used to this. As a long-time fan of Japanese cars, I've seen the image change from 'miser/loser' to 'wannabe' to 'child of the playstation generation'. Jap cars aren't prestigious; but they are, in an odd way, quite cool. And the 350Z, despite many people thinking of them (incorrectly) as poor men's Porsches, is cool too. But then the second category worries me. You see, I've now met - through this owner's club, and the other one, quite a few Z owners now, and I worry that the overall image of an owner is NOT representative of how we come across as individuals. I've chatted to other owners about this, but I think a wannabe owner coming onto this forum, talking to the main people here, might get a skewed view of what sort of person the average owner was. Most 350Z people I've met - the average, day-to-day users, and not the fanatics, have been quite balanced, nice people. But then they aren't the main characters that are representative of what image goes with it; i.e. the sort of people you'll stumble across with an owner's club. So the big question is; are the personalities that shout the loudest about the car, the best representation of what sort of person the 350Z says you are? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 It's just you who is a weirdo. The rest of us are normal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baptist Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 Very interesting point Steve. I think most owners are generally just people who appreciate a car that is good value and ticks all the boxes, as it were. I suppose people may get the wrong idea coming to the forums off certain threads, as they can read as very insular to this community. People can get very caught up in this little community, and when all said and done, its just a place to come and talk about cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 Think any forum can look like a little community or insular as you put it Bap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baptist Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 Absolutely Mikey, couldnt agree more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 but then the thread is about the car's owner not a forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baptist Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 i.e. the sort of people you'll stumble across with an owner's club. So the big question is; are the personalities that shout the loudest about the car, the best representation of what sort of person the 350Z says you are? But the forums are run by owners, so that does give a certain impression to potential owners coming to these forums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenG Posted November 18, 2006 Author Share Posted November 18, 2006 Yep - that's the crux of the point I am making. Do people who stumble across these forums get encouraged or discouraged to buy the car if they think these personalities are representative of your typical 350z owner - and if so, is the impression they are getting an accurate one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanel Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 Do you think that the impression that you got of the BMW driver was a true representation of his/her true personality? Do you think that the way you drive give a good representation of your personality? I don't think I would ever buy a car based on what my perception of other drivers personality was. Apart from the obvious car based facts, i.e. performance, mpg, cost, TCO etc. issues when buying a car I think about other people perception of me owning that car. As a owner of a company I have to consider the perception that my clients have of the car that I drive. Maybe a poor man's Porsche is the impression that some may have but does that mean they then perceive value for money from my company or not good at what we do.....? I think people understand that when they come to a forum they are not going to like everyone on the forum but that (in this forums case) is not why they come to the forum in the first place. Initially people come here for information on the car, not to meet a partner. Some people then want to add information and more importantly their opinion and the banter goes from there. I don't think that average Joe Blogs would be put off buying a Z by the people they meet on here. Their perceptions of individuals may not be a completely true representation of the individual, even the fanatics are quite balanced, nice people. I even thought Sarnie was quite quiet when I met him in Wales not the loud personality that I got from here (Que Sarnie!) So, therefore, does it really matter what visitors perception is of the "loudest personalities" on this site if what they are really coming here for is good information on the car they are buying/have bought, which can be found in abundance here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave J Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 Why do many people think a car mimics a person?? I drive both a BMW X5 a 350z & a Skyline GT-R............wonder what that makes me One thing i have most certainly noticed is that of the several internet car clubs that i belong to, this is the most hospitable and friendly site out of all by far!! Maybe this means that 350z drivers really are nice people to be around Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lomoto Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 Why do many people think a car mimics a person?? I drive both a BMW X5 a 350z & a Skyline GT-R............wonder what that makes me One thing i have most certainly noticed is that of the several internet car clubs that i belong to, this is the most hospitable and friendly site out of all by far!! Maybe this means that 350z drivers really are nice people to be around Dave. bet you say that to all the forums you silver tongued devil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trev-the-Rev Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 I drive both a BMW X5 a 350z & a Skyline GT-R............wonder what that makes me Not very good at adding up - "both a BMW X5, 350Z and a Skyline GTR" . Nice selection to choose from though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave J Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 Cheers guys, sorry about the 'both' comment.......i couldn't leave my fav new baby out......my R32 GT-R which i bought to sell (honest!). You are a real good bunch of people on here, always helpfull and friendly to newbies........i don't wish to brown tongue but have any of you lot been on scoobynet? What a bunch of w**kers ......should anyone dare ask a sillyish question then it's knives out time.....lucky for me i am an expert in my own opinion Dave. ps......my 6 speed JDM 350z is going back up for sale........£13500 no ofers.........grade 4 with 25k and warranted miles cert. Would rather keep her but have overspent on the house refurb once again!! My number is 07810 098199. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ir_fuel Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 If people don't buy a car because of the "owners" image, thats really sad for them. I used to have an Audi TT, generally percieved as a 'hairdresser's car'. Well, i couldnt care less, it was my first car and i was really happy with it, if i were to go back in time i ll do the same thing (but maybe the Quattro then ). Now i have a Z, a 'poor man's Porsche'. But what the heck, I mean, even a Porsche Boxster is considered a poor man's Porsche, and the people usually using this expression are the ones that already suffer to pay the loan for their Vauxhall Astra, let alone that they will ever be able to buy either a Boxster or a 350Z. About the image of the guys(and gals) on the forum. If i go to a forum, i go there to get the necessary info on the car. I also signed up here before actually buying the car. Of course there is a lot of "inside jokes" going on, but thats on any community, and the few i know where it doesn't happen because of strict moderation enforcements get pretty boring to read very quickly. Personally i am a member of a motorcyclist's forum, with more visitors and posters than this one, and there is NO moderation whatsoever going on, and it works pretty well i must say. Oh, and, the average car owner of any type is not the one you will find on a forum. No matter what make/model/... most owners aren't "fanatics" about their car, whether that be a Fiesta, a 350Z, a TT or a Porsche 911 Turbo. Just my 2 (euro)cents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
live2themaxuk Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 1)We dont fall for 'fads', and reject ever being thought of as a sheep, and following the crowd . (Teh alternatives are all cliches, TT, M3 etc etc) 2)We choose things based on the facts, rather than what we are told about something (linked to above) 3)We have originality (Nissan as a brand doesnt speak the same sports car volume a say Porsche, but in its own right, the 350z is a great sports car) 4)We want the cool stuff, but draw a line between sanity and vanity. (Nissan 350 looks a million bucks, but its pretty reasonable) ne one agree Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenG Posted November 18, 2006 Author Share Posted November 18, 2006 So, are those people who are saying that image is immaterial, that they'd be happily seen in a BMW if it was the best car for the best price? Or a bright pink Micra if it was the perfect solution to your motoring needs? Of course image matters. A car is your second highest purchase* (unless you have got married recently) and the perception is hugely important. Likewise, I have a friend at celica-club who has sold his boxster and has bought an MR2 instead because he found the attitude at the porsche owner's clubs so odious, and as a car *fan*, he wants to be surrounded by like-minded people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarnie Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 My car is bright yellow Its the second yellow car I've owned. I had a kuro zed and yearned for something brighter. I think the outrageously lively colour is a perfect reflection of my exuberant personality!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digsy Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 I'd still have bought my car even if I'd known Sarnie was going to buy one! Seriously though, I would never be put off a car by the "personality" of the average driver. Image is very important to many of us but its the image of the car not its drivers. I see a plump, bespectacled, middle-aged lady drive past me every day in a gorgeous azure Zed Roadster. I doubt (but could be wrong) that she's a member of any car forum but I can't say that seeing her has any effect on my desire for the Zed or alters it's image in my mind. I agree with the above comments that car forums are not representative - for starters I see plenty of women driving Zeds but we've only got 2 or 3 as members - and in any gathering (even of cyber-geeks like us) the loudest and biggest personalities will dominate. My own experience looking round is that this is a car that appeals to so many different types of person and age-groups (sorry Tim ) that it would be hard to pigeonhole the average Zed driver anyway. As an aside, in 1989 I bought a bright red Honda Civic 1.4 GL at a time when I would say 98% of its owners were OAP's or housewives. This was long before the Max Power/Fast and the Furious crowd spotted the humble Civic. I bought it for the sleek looks, double wishbone suspension, deceptively powerful, revvy little 16v motor and it's conspicuous value next to a Pug GTi. I positively revelled in the fact that I was the only 18 year old boy-racer with one of these things and that warm hatch drivers really didn't expect the thing to shoot off at lights the way it did. But I am weird... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarnie Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 I'd still have bought my car even if I'd known Sarnie was going to buy one! I've bought two Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lomoto Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 (sorry Tim ) Stop being hard on us youngsters I bought one because........................................................................... .............................. .....................................to be honest I cant think really why I bought a zed?? I have no need for it ., it just sits in my garage waiting for me to buy something else to bolt on or polish but it's the longest I've kept a car for many a year they generally get sold on after 6 months, so in my mind it must have something going for it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baptist Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 I bought one at the end of 2003, when they had not long been out. I was very taken with the looks of the car, and was sick of high revving no torque VTEC engines. Luckily nobody had chav'd their cars up at that point, to put me off! Not saying it would now, if i were a first time buyer, but I hate seeing the chav touch hit a classy car like the Zed. End of the day, you buy the car for you, not other people, at least thats my view on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captint Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 The car that you drive represents who you want to be, the house that you live represents who you are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baptist Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 I think thats true if you have the cash to express yourself in that way, not everyone is as fortunate, and some folk just have to make do with the best they can afford. Money aint everything, but it certainly gives you choices, and makes life easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ir_fuel Posted November 19, 2006 Share Posted November 19, 2006 So, are those people who are saying that image is immaterial, that they'd be happily seen in a BMW if it was the best car for the best price? Or a bright pink Micra if it was the perfect solution to your motoring needs? Yes, except for the PINK part. Color is something different imho There is a difference between liking something coz you like it's looks, and not liking bit because of the image. Its not about "best car for best price", its "the best car YOU like and you can afford, no matter what idiots also drive it" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenG Posted November 19, 2006 Author Share Posted November 19, 2006 So, do you not think certain drivers of certain cars fall into personality categories? Young mums on the school run in their SUVs? Mondeo reps? White van drivers? Junior BMW driving execs? Do you not ever 'expect' their driving to follow the trend of their stereotype? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.