What kind of people/characters does your car attract?

Everybody loves when I drive Planet Express except, thankfully (knock on wood), the police. The only problem is that very few people recognize it as Planet Express and often think it's the Pizza Planet from Toy Story which is hella weird because it's sister car is Pizza Planet. The Toyocedes get's very little attention because most people just think it's a Toyota Truck and pass by.

Nobody seems to care about my BMW. Non car people see it as a generic Beemer and car guys generally don't like 318tis. That's fine. It can be my sleeper that's slower than a modern camry.

wearymicrobe said:

I could get laid in the Cadillac daily with women in there 40's and 50's. Its annoying and weird. 

I’m 55 years old - maybe not a bad thing I guess although being married 31 years now this would be a foreign concept to me.  Random sex with a bunch of ladies, that is.  

The Samurai has always gotten comments. From, Wow no rust, to I haven't seen one of those in forever. Mostly middle aged men. 

The Abomination draws comments and lookers from everyone. A lot of people don't know what it is. Quite a few do, and then go ape when they find out it's rotary powered. I took it to a British car show once, those guys didn't get it at all. 

This guy drew lots of comments for as long as I owned it. People would walk up to you all the time wanting to talk about it. Mostly older guys that had one back in the day. 

This one surprised me. Quite a few people want to know where I got it and how much it cost. Not really enthusiasts, but people thinking they might want one too. Lots of construction guys and racers. A few hippies that want a camp bus. 

SanFord by far wins in my fleet and attracts the most diverse crowd. People of all types will blow the horn at me to give a thumbs up. You almost can't go to a gas station without someone walking up to ask questions. And if you take it somewhere with car people, there is a steady stream of people wanting to give it the once over. It pretty much attracts everyone. 

When I had the Focus I never got many comments except for a few people who told me my car had some belts slipping.  A couple times I got comments from people who could tell the difference between belts slipping and supercharger whine.

With the Outback it is a completely different story.  Evidently it is part of the Subaru culture to wave at or acknowledge other Subarus.   I get people of all age groups commenting on it anywhere I go.  I guess the modifications I have done attract the attention.  

Women old enough to be my mother like my Miata. 

Throw a 17' kayak on top and it becomes a more diverse crowd. 

My Subaru is somehow even more invisible than I thought. 

The mechanic at the Se Habla Español Buy-Here-Pay-Here lot near work always tries to get me to do a burnout if he sees me sitting at the light in the Manic Miata.

Datsun310Guy said:

wearymicrobe said:

I could get laid in the Cadillac daily with women in there 40's and 50's. Its annoying and weird. 

I’m 55 years old - maybe not a bad thing I guess although being married 31 years now this would be a foreign concept to me.  Random sex with a bunch of ladies, that is.  

Been married for 13 years. I am in my late 30's its a strange thing I do not enjoy it. When I had the 51 Shoebox that was all custom/HAMBed out holy crap that car would find every single rockabilly chick in ten square miles. I look like all the Russians bodyguards that get killed in John Wick movies. Its definitely not me.

I'm surprised a little bit, I get almost no attention in Betty now that I took the Flyin' Miata stickers off it (Sorry Kieth) I mostly get confused looks from the sound. Then they see under the hood. Then when they see that most of the guys want to look at every possible part of it. Most girls hate it. 

My G and my Xterra are so invisible it's not even funny. No one and I mean no one even notices either. 

Wow, there's some great replies here. I love reading them and seeing their pictures.

My bright red '75 TR6 attracts some characters to say the least. It's mostly at gas stations...drunk shirtless sunburned and barefoot old dudes who walk up and talk about their alleged '86 Corvette with 550hp that gets "broadsided" if they barely touch the gas pedal. The women at the cash register always say/ask "Aint you freezin' or burnun' up in that little crap car? How you fit in that crap car?"

Common other comments are such as:

Ya need to put a v8 in that there Austin Powers car.

Why'd you put the 'Def Lepard' flag on it (referring to the Union Jack)?

What model is it? I bought one new just like it in 1980 except with the v8 automatic.

How much did you pay for it?

unintelligible...wanna buy some roxy lortabs? (asks dude in the primer gray Neon)

But there are a few really cool people who kindly comment or share their related car experience. They're the best, Just like Grassroots and Classic folks.  

The G35 sedan is pretty much invisible to everyone. Girls at my college think it's a nice car but not as snobby as a BMW or Audi or Mercedes, nor as boring as a Lexus. Car guys at my college don't think much of it until they ride in it or drive it, then they think "damn, this is a really good car."

The Crown Vic attracted a surprising amount of attention. Old car guys thought it was cool, young car guys thought it was neat, kids thought it was a muscle car, the artsy and musical girls at my high school wanted a ride and the internet thought it was neat. I guess that'd what huge, bright red, super comfy, very low and kinda loud gets you.

My Impala used to attract middle aged drunks with small penises.  They'd look it over and tell me how they had one exactly like it 'cept theirs was an "SS" with a "powerglide" (better for drag racing, they'd say).  Never failed.  There must have been eleventy billion "SS's's's's" with "powerglides" made in 1966 because everyone and their dog seemed to have owned one.  Eventually I got used to it, and it didn't bother me. 

One guy took it a step further when I parked next to his 1970 Chevelle at a car show.  This thing had a HUGE blower sticking out of it.  There were only four of us there at the time (it was early in the season and the show was kind of rained out).  There was one guy with a '67 2-door Impala, one guy with a C2 corvette, and this middle aged fat guy with a letterman's jacket on (it didn't fit) with patches that say "CHEVELLE" and "502" all over it.  It was the '67 Impala guy that started the conversation by simply saying he liked my car, and I told him I liked his and some mutual mastication followed between the two of us and the C2 owner.  Mr. 502 piped up with how big his engine is, how big his penis isn't, and how many horses his engine has".  He ends with "well, what do you got under YOUR hood?" (looking at me)

"Mister," says I, "I got two-hundred-and-fifty CUBIC inches of inline-6 FURY!"

Good times

Cooter said:

 

Absolutely no one.

Very nice Saturns sir. Very nice.. If only I lived closer and one was for sale.

Aww, thanks.  Been looking for a '95 SW2 for a while. Came across the red 5 speed on FB for $150 up in Wisconsin with a possible rod knock.  (But it was blowing tons of smoke and had hardly any power) I asked the seller if it was still driveable. He said "it might make 100 miles"  I Googled the distance to my house... 105 miles if I took the Tri State Tollway.  Challenge Accepted. 

The green is a 70k mile automatic that I found on FB Marketplace last fall. Formerly used as a "toad" behind an RV, I bought it from a flipper who worked at a local dealership from the original owners when they brought it in to sell it. It is currently my commuter until I swap another engine in the red car. 

Cosmetology students. 

Sierra Denali:  Brodozer dudes “DUDE STOP your rear axle is broken “. No dude it’s Quadrasteer. 

H2:  I wanted one of those but I got this Jeep instead. 

Funny moment in the H2.

I was parked in a double row of spaces having a coffee away from other cars and two very attractive mid 20 something girls come out and are walking up the isle towards me. Guy in a newish Jeep four door thing done up with big tires a roll bar pulls in goes by the girls and by me then circles around me and parked next to me. The two girls then walk by and loudly say how the Jeep is a cutie Girley car compared to the Hummer.  I have never seen an ego deflate as quick as I did watching the guy in the Jeep go from cool dude to scolded puppy. 

A little sad actually as I liked his Jeep. 

The rx7 got all kinds of comments. Mostly men, a few women. There were two general catagories. 

1. Young guys who wanted to know if it was a turbo (it was not) or wanted to race all 148 bhp of rotary glory.

2. Older guys who had zero clue what kind of car it was. List of things it got called.  Mustang, starion, 944, mr2, ferrari, fiero, and the one that still makes me nauseous to think about, a probe.

The e30 flies way further under the radar than I would have expected. Basically I just get looks and waves from other BMW guys and that's it.

Cooter said:

In reply to maschinenbau :

*While also "innocently" dropping hints and asking questions about her feelings on the last generation stacked headlight Ranchero, knowing full well she will never love them like I do. 

You're one odd duck, Cooter! Those sure don't get much love from anyone, including this El Camino enthusiast. 

That seems like a bit of an overreaction, almost on a par with the stories in this thread of people walking up to berate the owners on their car choices. 

It was "the one that got away"  

 I almost owned one as my first vehicle. I love the long nose on it. I like the fact that it has crisp lines and is amnything but a "Me-Too" vehicle.  And honestly, I don't see ElCo owners liking any other cruck besides other year Elcos.  I like the utility of crucks, and have also owned several Rampages and Scamps over the years. They are the perfect junkyard picket/parts runner daily. I can easily get a complete Dana 60 front axle into the bed by myself, due to the low lift in height. 

Midlana has provided me with a large amount of data on human nature.  The most striking is the Harley versus sportbike rider ratio. This all happens during backcountry twisty 2-lane drives, so the Harley's are cruising, while many of the sportbikes are really pushing it (think: full leathers, dragging knees around corners, and with support trailers here and there!). Over the past five years I've kept an informal score regarding the "thumbs-up/low-down two-finger thing" Midlana receives in passing. From a database of probably around 500 Harleys and sportbikes, the score is: sportbikes, around 100.... Harley riders, 1 - one, no kidding.

I've had a long time to come up with theories and none are flattering to Harley owners, most involving jealousy of attention, feeling challenged, being ignored as a child, etc. On the other hand, sportbike riders get really animated, with very enthusiastic thumbs up. When I stop at cafes where both sets of bikers group, the car gets surrounded by sportbikers asking a dozen questions, while Harley guys pretend it doesn't exist.

Other datapoints:

I live near a state college and have evidence that the universe/supernatural power has a sense of humor. Back when I was in school I was invisible to girls. Now that I'm married and old, it's sad that only now do I drive something that gets their attention (yes, I'm fully aware that what they're seeing isn't me). The last time, three girls in a convertible pulled up alongside giggling like girls do, and one yells over, "Your car is sick!" So, either that was a good thing, or the car was leaking again, I wasn't sure which. Oh, and most kids think it's cool.

Lastly, I'm always surprised how many people don't notice. I'll stop at the front at a 4-way light, everyone just sitting there, and admit I'll watch people through my sunglasses to see if they look. I don't mean that as "how can they not acknowledge my awesomeness", I mean it as "how many here are oblivious to such an unusual looking car?" I guess it's a sign of the times, where everyone either messing with their phone or is lost in thought about all their life issues. And so it goes.

Everyone always asks if my integra is a GSR, officially it has a DC4 vin, but I just say it isn't to avoid conversations about the motor swap and say its nonvtec. Too weary of people talking about the car when I get gas or go to the store in it. Outside of the the wheels and oem itr front lip, most of the mods are fairly subtle. 

The Mk6 GTI is generic even on BBSs and I like that. 

Daeldalus said:

2. Older guys who had zero clue what kind of car it was. List of things it got called.  Mustang, starion, 944, mr2, ferrari, fiero, and the one that still makes me nauseous to think about, a probe.

If I had a dollar for every time someone called mine a Datsun, I could actually buy a Datsun.

TheRX7Project said:

Daeldalus said:

2. Older guys who had zero clue what kind of car it was. List of things it got called.  Mustang, starion, 944, mr2, ferrari, fiero, and the one that still makes me nauseous to think about, a probe.

If I had a dollar for every time someone called mine a Datsun, I could actually buy a Datsun.

Someone at the gas station this week thought mine was a daytona...

that was a new one.

my old K5 suburban used to attract old men like hobos on a  ham sandwich and underage hillbilly girls.

Random strangers go cool car to the s2 rx8, usually when they hear it start (which has a unique sound) or when I use the suicide doors they are in are in awe.

children love the rally car, all sorts of nose to glass effects from minivans on that one.

I don't really react to cars such as the ones posted in this thread.  Not in any way that would be noticeable to the owner.  I just soak in as much as I can through my eyeballs without being unsafe.  But I definitely enjoy seeing them out in the wild  when I do see them. I assume lots of folks are the same way. You *think* your car is blending in and not being noticed, but it is being noticed.

Chris_V said:

That was the proverbial chick magnet. Cruisin' to the beach I would literally have to kick out women who wanted to just jump in the car and ride around. Moms would want me to tek their daughters out. Guys would ask me to give their girlfriends rides. It was insane. I even had a girl pul lup next to me on the freeway in a Datsun 240Z and ask me to dinner.... Now, much of this was back in the '80s when cruise nights were still a thing. I often wonder what it'd be like now with cars and coffee events...

I'd walk up to you and ask you where the kit came from and what chassis it was based on, after finding out it was a replica.

Needs to be red.  With license plate "OH YEAH".

(Oh oh... Chk, chk-a-chk-ahh..)

I'd drive it, I wouldn't just rub it with a diaper...

My 1975 Courier is (unsurprisingly) usually middle aged-older people, often it was someone's first car. Otherwise it didn't get much attention. I haven't really driven it in 2 years (d'oh!), so I'm curious to see what reactions it will get once it's back on the road.