How did you become an auto enthusiast

[team_v]

Thought this would be an interesting one.

As a kid i always remember dad bringing home the Unique Cars magazine once a month.
Looking through all those pages and working out who would have the most expensive/best looking/rare car was a big game.
I used to take the left page and my brother the right and we would go through the magazine from front to back.
We would also play "name the car/model" when we were on holidays or even on the way to/from school and went to some of the local car shows.

I also watched the car racing on the weekends when it was on, seeing the older holdens and fords getting trounced by a porche or a riceline before car racing in Australia became a falcodore-fest.

Later on i was enticed into photoshop and basic car re-design as a time wasting use of my minimal artistic talents.
This led to seeing new cars and re-designs on a daily basis.
It also sparked my interest in car modifications but i didn't see the point on my 20yo corolla.

There was also copious amounts of car racing games from the 4 colour 8-bit games on the Commodore-64 all the way up to Forza 3 which i am still playing.

Recently my interest moved to automotive news and new cars browsing multiple car blogs every morning before work to find out the latest in the world of automotive news.

I have always had a soft spot for the VW group, i don't know why, i guess it's the quality and semi-luxury nature at a reasonable price.
My first VW lands in Brisbane in 8 days time and I finally get to own the car i want and do what i want with it as an enthusiast.



So does anyone else have any stories of how they became an auto enthusaist/into cars?

[Rocket36]

I was born a car enthusiast. I will die a car enthusiast.

[Peter Jones]

I just am. I don't try to rationalise it much beyond that.

Pete

[Jarred]

I have no idea

I suspect the photo of me at 2y.o. playing with cars probably had something to do with it.

that and I like pulling stuff apart

[Water Boy]

Blame my olman...

[DubSteve]

Getting a hardon when hearing the sound of a ferrari for the first time!?!?

[WABIT]

dad ****ed me up.....

[Mrk_Mickey]

dad ****ed me up.....

You guys with your car enthusiast dads....I envy you all...

For me, I think it's the infatuation and fascination with how things work/go together that ties my obsession for cars all together.

My dad was always a DIY dude and we had a big double garage full of cool tools and stuff when I was young. Unfortunately it never had anything to do with cars but I looked up to his knowledge etc etc. I remember once when I was 5/6 I didn't like the front brakes on my little bmx because I thought it was too uncool, so I took it apart/off.....when I finished, mum saw the brakes and demanded I put it back on, so I did...

I didn't really have much interest in cars except for the usual ''wow, look at that mad done up skyline in the fast and the furious, wooowwww'' until I got my VR6. I was looking around for a 'nice' car because I didn't want to keep the Hyundai Lantra I got from dad (I had to pay for it anyway, so thought I may as well choose a nice one instead haha). Once I got the VR6 I became more interested in what was going on with the engine and other bits and bobs all over the car and I learnt as I went along with problem solving and stuff like that. Here I am today!

I owe a lot of knowledge to this forum, because when I first signed up I hardly knew how to change a tyre

[Jace]

My dad asks me why the hell I bother trying to learn how to work on cars.

I owe my... well it's not love... i'm not enthusiastic about anything...
I owe my 'like' for cars to my dads brothers, their sons, and my dads uncle and his son.

In the family there are some interesting cars.
2-stroke 'Kei-Car' early Suzuki Carry/Ute thing, bright yellow, used to pick up the rear end with one other person when I was younger and turn it around on him all the time, or put the back wheels up on the nature strip at a 90˚ angle to the kerb.
That's my great-uncles car, I wish I had some pics. He's got a '38 (I think) Ford Prefect, and a Renault 17 TS too.
When I was about 7 or 8 I used to love going to his place and just looking at his cool as cars and very Brittish-looking workshop!

Then I read Hot4's, then moved to HPI (good move) then bought a MK1 Escort when I was about 15.






I knew nothing about working on cars. Bent up a lower dash-console in metalwork at highschool, in the same colour colour-bond as the dash. Cleaned the car religiously but that's about it. Then I sold it to one of my school-teachers!

Then I bought my Mercedes a few months after I got my license.
Then MX5...
Then VR6...
Then MK1 Golf...

I own three cars for the second time in my life, which sucks because I don't really make awesome cash!

I've always liked to tinker, and grew out of bikes. So car's are the natural progression I suppose.

Sorry for the ramble. I like to think back about that...

[Stephy]

Being of ethnic background on one side of the family i grew up with Toranas, EHs, WBs, Datsun 240Zs and Valiants (Chargers and Pacers)... (dad's side) on the other side of the family they went for the more economic, reliable, cheaper cars to run, VWs (bugs), Volvos and Fiats... (mums side). My husband has always had Subarus, Skylines and he has just obtained his GTR.
If i wasn't into cars there would be something seriously wrong with me...
I think i sit somewhere square in the middle, i have a couple of VWs yes, but i'll attach a pic of the wedding cars that ME MYSELF AND I chose

Enjoy (they are all genuine SLR5000s and i got my orange Pacer)