How your car is perceived?

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NO...which is a good thing as far as I am concerned. They are so rare as to be almost Unicorn like. See my posts elsewhere to explain my reasoning.
You can just about get away with riding rusty brown unicorns in the countryside near horsey types, but people just stop and stare if you ride one in town. Especially pink ones.
 
Well since changing from a CLK 270 CDI to my current CLK 320CDI Sport I have had a few "hoon ups". No one paid any attention to the old 270 but now I get the occasional comment while fuelling etc.

I guy (in his 40's) who was filling up his van behind me came over and said how nice the car looked and said he loved the AMG wheels then looked shocked at the big front stoppers (335mm drilled). He had a quick chat about what motor in it etc and seemed genuinely interested. A neighbour also stopped to chat whilst out for his morning jog, again in his 40's and probably knew a fair degree about Mercs (I guess) as he said he'd never seen a CLK in my colour before and also said "Good choice, why would anyone want a big V8 petrol version", I said I would if I could afford to run one! (It would be a E55 AMG as it happens- bang for buck).

Just last week I went back to London to visit family and had an modern Audi following me for a mile or so but keeping a sensible(ish) distance but I could just tell by watching him in the rear view mirror he was keen to show me what's what when the road would allow. I knew we had a long dual carriageway ahead and when we joined it, it was clear for the foreseeable distance so I pressed on to about 80 and he hovered behind for a short distance and then slipped out and passed me. He looked over and stayed about a car length ahead of me in the outside lane for a minute then a puff of smoke and he was off...... It was a A5 2.7 TDI and I'm afraid I couldn't allow him to disappear so had to reel him in and then pull back in behind (I'm not keen on crazy speeds these days so backed off once I was at a "passable speed" and tucked in behind) after which he stayed at a more regular 70/80 mph no doubt with his tail between his legs LOL... My car is de-badged which probably had him querying what motor laid beneath its AMG styling and non-standard rear exhaust which are discreet but no longer a stock single oval.

To be fair I really don't mind the odd person wanting a tear up, I won't always take them up on it as A: some aren't worth it and B: My car really isn't that quick! Had the Audi had an RS badge I would have not bothered :D :( :D


In summery it appears my CLK being AMG kitted gets "noticed" more and therefore law of averages says more attention in differing degrees.

I've had faster cars in my more youthful days and have to admit loved hooning around where road conditioned allowed and living in the home counties back then there was plenty of like minded motorist of an evening / night and I enjoyed some great nights meeting with friends, discussing cars, tuning, engine builds, engine swaps, suspension set ups etc,etc.. After all, back then I worked at rolling road tuning centres so my life revolved around car enthusiasts, track days etc.

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One of my neighbours commented that he can hear me start the C63 up ........ but he's absolutely fine with it as as he likes the sound :)
 
My C350 Sport saloon in black goes totally unnoticed. The AMG styling is relatively subtle and only a Merc-head would understand the significance of the twin exhausts and lack of CDI badge. I occasionally spot the WTF expression on the following driver’s face rapidly disappearing in my rear-view mirror when I chose to whip the 306 horses into action, but other than that it remains invisible. Despite only about 50 being in the country (none with the same spec), it’s not recognised for its rarity so doesn’t receive any unwanted attention.

On the other hand, my much cheaper, bright red and vastly lower powered Porsche 944 Cabriolet was a magnet for comments. “Lovely Ferrari”, some would say! I used to get fed up having to polish off fingerprints every time I took it out. Little Corsas and Fiestas used to love trying to race - yawn. Still, a much more expensive toy replaced it nearly three years ago. She gets lots of admiring comments wherever we go and not many even attempt to race her. But I do worry about she she will be perceived as she gets older. Maintenance costs are astronomic and will continue to increase as she heads into her teens then on to university. Daughters are wonderful, most of the time. ;)
 
Gosh, some people seem to have high opinions of their own cars!
I'm sure the general public can't tell the difference between an e class and a c class never mind between a 270 and 320 or whatever!
And I'm so glad I live up north in the countryside! There seems to be an awful atmosphere way down in the city there! :p
 
There seems to be an awful atmosphere way down in the city there! :p

You have no idea how accurate that is mate. You drive within a certain radius of the M25 and drivers are generally unpleasant, aggressive, pushy, impatient and all have to be first. I regularly drive down to South Gloucester and both my partner and I notice a marked difference in driving attitudes.

It seems that some of these city types genuinely treat you differently depending on what car you're in. Not specific models as I doubt any old person would notice an E320 over an E270 etc. But some cars are seen as flashy or by contrast easy to bully.
 
This is why I occasionally drive my little 50cc vespa:D
No hassles or worries, it keeps up with traffic, you park it where it fits! And it's always fine when you return.... Nobody dare race it ;)
Above all nobody judges.

I have an old x3 that I really don't need
I have an sl that I really don't need
Both with private plates and I know I get judged, fortunately no bad experience yet!

I've just shown a girl friend a photo of my SL63, she's not seen it before, she just looked and said no point in showing me that, it's just a white car:D... I liked that.
 
both cars i have (E63 and mk1 Golf Rivage) normally get a thumbs up from other drivers , unless the mrs is driving, they all try and race her!
 
One point to note with these mentions of tear ups with other brands, remember, almost every car 2.5ltrs and upwards can do the Mercedes limited speed of 155mph.
Its one thing to mash the pedal and get into licence losing speeds to prove a point, but its more a case of how quick you get there that counts.
I think of it as, who is more worried about prosecution and will keep their foot in. If the A3 diesel driver does, he will be be bragging down to pub to his mates how he has blown away your AMG/320 or whatever, where in actual fact you value your licence that bit more.

Got to keep things in perspective, plenty of cars are quick nowadays. Not so many, are very quick.
 
Gosh, some people seem to have high opinions of their own cars!
I'm sure the general public can't tell the difference between an e class and a c class never mind between a 270 and 320 or whatever!
And I'm so glad I live up north in the countryside! There seems to be an awful atmosphere way down in the city there! :p

I think it’s more down to the fact that Estate-Agents old CLK didn’t have the AMG styling, and his new one does, with much bigger wheels etc which does make a a difference
 
I think a lot of these posts are how the owner perceives their car to be, not how their car is perceived by others.

Most cars nowadays in real world driving would pretty much match each other quite closely unless one of the drivers were a proper lunatic.
Personally I wouldn't engage a match against a new golf gti for example as I think that the golf would be more impressive than me, yes I'd probably beat it, but not by the paper margins people would expect.

People are unrealistic with how their own cars are perceived or perform..... In my opinion :D
 
. Not so many, are very quick.
Ow would U k-now, you've "Only" got A 14year old banger...8secs -60 was quick back then...old 'Un...;)
 
"Good choice, why would anyone want a big V8 petrol version"

I don’t like this neighbor of yours. :D

I want a big petrol engined version, so I can smile every time I start it up, every time you give it a bit of a push.

My favourite saying... even if it doesn’t give you very many miles per gallon, gives you plenty of smiles per gallon :D
 
There's no replacement for displacement.
Another one of my favourite quotes

However it’s wrong.. there is a replacement for displacement...

Displacement and forced induction in one!!!! That’s why I love the 5.4 Kompressor so much!!! Haha
 
Another one of my favourite quotes

However it’s wrong.. there is a replacement for displacement...

Displacement and forced induction in one!!!! That’s why I love the 5.4 Kompressor so much!!! Haha

Ahh but you see if I come along with the same car as your one but with a larger bore engine with your forced induction, it will be more powerful.

So there is no replacement for displacement!
 
Ahh but you see if I come along with the same car as your one but with a larger bore engine with your forced induction, it will be more powerful.

So there is no replacement for displacement!

There’s no winning with you is there John :D:D:D
 
There’s no winning with you is there John :D:D:D

Tesla P100D or future Roadster 2....... just saying. Sorry.


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