Cars X Girl

There are two main groups of people: those who know cars, and those who don’t. When it comes to judging the cars other people drive, the slants of these two groups really couldn’t be any further apart than they are. Either you care, or you don’t; it’s literally as simple as that. And while there are many, many subgroups within the “those who know cars” group, I really don’t feel like getting into it all here. (Right now, anyhow. Maybe another day.)

Those who don’t.

Just as with the “those who know” group, the “those who don’t” have subdivisions as well. The ones I want to pick on, though, are the ones that don’t know cars but still care. These are the bread and butter of my entertainment when it comes to cars. This group is famous for:

• Keeping BMW in business, one soccer mommy car at a time.
• Spurring AMG to release the AMG Black series, since too many people were buying AMGs for the name and not performance. THANKS for this one!!
• Thinking sports cars are expensive and unattainable. Or discrediting “cheap” sports cars.
• Thinking sports cars are impractical.
• Being overly concerned with names.

I could go on, but I’m sure you get the point. I’m sure it provides some controversy, too, but I’ll stand by my BMW comment. Next time you’re out, take a good look at the Bimmers you see… You probably won’t see the cream of the crop very often, unless you’re lucky and live in a place with people who have good taste in cars. (In which case, I hate you and you suck. Lucky jerks.)

The people who don’t know about cars but care about them anyhow are the ones who give us grief over our S2000. It usually gets worse when they find out the car is paid off… These people get eerily quiet. I can tell they’re running the numbers in their heads, how their plain, average family sedan is costing them more than our pretty sports car. Priceless? Nope, about $17,000 in our case.

My only recommendation is that if you don’t know about cars and feel twinges of guilt about them, look it up. I have so many tales about bursting people’s bubbles when it comes to cars, or showing them that they can afford way more than they thought…

For example: How would you like to own a Viper? Sure, right? Okay… $23,000. That’s it, and you can have your Viper. Being picky limits your options a lot, but if you want it… You sure can have it.

Those of us who do.

I admit, I’m constantly checking out other people’s rides. I always watch all the cars on the highway, in the hopes of spotting some gem going the other way. I’ve been able to catch a lot of Porsches this way, plus multiple tuner cars or just cars that we own. (It’s always easy to spot a car you own, I still don’t know why.)

It’s fun and easy to pick out the people who own cars for the name, or the image. Going to the mall is great for this… All the women with BMW’s and Mercedes seem to park by Dillard’s. Huh, go figure. But they’re usually not the interesting models… Need help? Here, my easy guide for realizing what to care about:

For BMW’s:

If it isn’t an M, a 335i or a 135i, it’s nothing to be concerned with.

For Mercedes:

S class and AMGs are where it’s all at. Anything else is fluff, luxury without much performance. (Well, in terms of Mercedes here.)

While I can’t always tell models, I can usually pick out the “good ones.” There are very subtle styling differences. I can always spot an AMG, even if I don’t realize it’s an AMG… I just assume that if I’m attracted to it, and it’s a Mercedes, it’s an AMG or an S class. Must be a girl thing and the attraction to money, I think.

Why do I care?

Well, I guess I don’t. I just love poking holes in people’s thoughts about cars. If you’re okay with having a seven year old car, you’re open to a whole world of options you couldn’t otherwise afford. And with the right cars, buying used is just about buying new… I’m always joking that buying a used Ferrari is like buying any other car brand new.

Of course, I picked on BMW and Mercedes a lot. Don’t get me wrong, I like what both have to offer. To be honest, I’m siding with BMW a bit more these days… The M3 that I covet is still easily available in a manual, while comparable AMGs are not. It’s a personal thing, for sure. However, they make easy targets because people still have misconceptions about the cost of these cars.

Even I did, but then I went to England for three weeks. All I ever saw where BMWs and Mercedes, EVERYWHERE. And no, these weren’t super rich parts of the country, either. It’s just the way it was. We tend to think of “cheap” as Ford or Chevy, and “cheap” there is BMW and Mercedes. It really opened my eyes, and was a huge step in my car education.

So how do you see other people’s cars? Are you more judgmental when you know the cost? When you don’t? Do you know how much your “dream car” even costs?

Just for fun, I do know the cost of my dream car: roughly $121,000. This is what I’m getting for that money:

My ultimate dream car.

Meg

In 2007, Meg began learning about cars. Two years later, she had a very modified '97 Miata and a '90 240SX project car, as well as the Rookie of the Year autocross title. Life now completely revolves around cars and she wouldn't have it any other way. CarsxGirl is her way to encourage others to get into racing (it's not horribly expensive!), to document & share her car builds, an outlet to share & improve her automotive photography skills and to show that real car girls do exist!

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