10 Ways You Can Convince Your Friends To Love Cars

1. Introduce them with pictures of gorgeous hypercars

Because these exquisite examples of automotive art are a great way to ease people into the awesome world of cars.

If aesthetics aren’t enough to sway them, how about a bit of aural delight? Few people can hear a screaming Ferrari V8 and not get a bit emotional.

You can’t go wrong with a bit of Chris Harris: fast cars driven hard and sideways, in-depth technical analyses, and a soft British accent.

4. Explain the back story to the coolest cars in the scene

You might need to build them up a bit before trying to justify why the fact it was in some Japanese cartoon they’ve never heard of makes it cool, though…

5. Take them for a blast along your favourite road

We all have that one strip of twisty tarmac, out in the middle of nowhere, its existence unknown to most. Let a friend in on the place you go to unwind, and they’ll see that being a petrolhead is more than just looking at riced Civics outside McDonald’s.

6. Let them try out your pride and joy

Giving your mate the keys to your fun car might just open their eyes to a whole new world of motoring. Probably best to keep it to the relative safety of a car park, though, just in case they get carried away…

7. Show them how to do a burnout

To outsiders, spinning up the wheels to produce thick, choking smoke is just unnecessary, anti-social behaviour. From behind the wheel, though, burnouts are hilarious fun.

Games like Forza Motorsport and Gran Turismo might be a little hardcore for non-petrolheads, but introduce them to something like NFS: Underground 2 and they’ll be having so much fun they’ll have to get a taste of the modified car scene in real life.

9. Take them to a car show

Most non-petrolheads think car shows are just for yobs who like to look at bewinged hatchbacks wearing neons and massive exhausts. While there is a community for that, the car scene is so varied that there really is something for everyone. Head to something like the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which caters to every possible taste, and just wait until something catches their eye.

Out on the open road, there’s always that element of holding back. You can never give 10/10ths when you know someone could be coming the other way, or there are trees flying inches past your window. To really give your mate edge-of-the-seat thrills, a track day is the only option. Foot to the floor motoring at its most pure.