Being a car guy with a "Non-car guy car"

I drive a 2007 Toyota Yaris sedan. This car is a lot of the reason that I became a car guy in the first place. Not a fast car by any means, but one that I enjoy nonetheless. It’s a generic subcompact sedan made by Toyota, and uses a 106bhp engine that’s in the same family as the Prius engine, so it’s not exactly popular amongst car enthusiasts.

Some car enthusiasts believe that, in order to be a “true” car guy, you must drive a “true car guy’s car”. This has led to ridicule when a car enthusiast tries to interact with the car community or other automotive enthusiasts while driving something generic or slow like a Prius, Versa, Camry, minivan, or other such vehicles. This can lead to some people being discouraged from sharing their love of driving with other people, or just encourage them to not love cars at all. This kind of toxicity is terrible for the car community as a whole, as it gives us a bad image and keeps newcomers from joining.

I’ve had my fair share of this. I wasn’t a car person as a kid, and only became one a bit after I got my license. My mom had bought an 09 Camry, and she let me drive it one day. I could immediately feel the difference in how it felt to drive. The Camry had terrible steering feel, and just felt “numb” to drive. When I got back in the Yaris, it felt so much better to corner and drive in general. This gave me an appreciation for how different cars drive, feel, and perform. I began going fast on empty backroads, and while doing so, I had never felt so alive and happy. Taking curves at high speed and flooring it on straight roads put a grin on my face like nothing else could. I had no friends at school, and just suffer from depression and social anxiety in general, so driving was relief and a great escape from all of that.

There were a few car guys at my school, so I figured I would join them. Having some friends for once and being able to talk to people about something I was passionate about would be awesome! Unfortunately… it didn’t exactly go that way. I was still new to car culture at the time, and combined with my slow, stock car, they thought I was faking it. Doing it for attention, or some other crap. One person whom I thought was one of my friends just straight up told me one day “I know you’re only talking about this to try and be friends with me”. That took a good toll on my mood for the day. I had started wondering if maybe car culture was for me. Thankfully, I had recently found Carthrottle. I started posting, and was generally accepted. I decided to not give up my love for driving or cars, and I’m glad I didn’t. I’ve still gotten plenty of crap from other people about my car, but I’m not going to let that discourage me.

If you see a car guy who’s driving some generic car and doesn’t know much, don’t ridicule them! Just accept them and help them learn and grow as a car enthusiast. The car community will be seen in a better light and will grow as a result. Don’t let toxicity ruin it! It’s happened to me, and a lot of other people, and it just needs to stop. You don’t need a fast car to be a car enthusiast.