Post some comfy stories from your childhood about how you became a car enthusiast...

I know this pasta but fuck it, posting anyways. Well it started for a variety of reasons, my father was into cars himself, as was my uncle I was around allot, he had an old Fairlane, my father for awhile one of those projects stuck in a state of 'Next summer it'll be running' until I was about 5. But what really spear headed it was my mother, she accidentally turned me into an Veeky Forumstist.

You see my mother knows just north of nothing about cars, but she taught me how to read in a realitvely whitetrash way when I was a toddler. Via auto trader, well between the pictures, and learning how to say the brands and model names I began slowly memorizing them like flashcards or some shit, so slowly I'd begin naming out random shitboxes as we pass them, she didn't pay it anymind until she and my dad started paying attention and that's what kind of helped hammer the point home more.

Beyond that nothing really in particular just had an interest stemming out from that and my father, when I was a kid I'd read books and such library at the school had these little like children's book about cars certain models and shit real short and not indepth but that helped. From there it was just wanting to learn more and more.

Dad had a firebird and a Miata that I was meh over. He got an m3 2002 and the build quality was so nice and the orange glow of the interior lighting. Just felt like a quality car.

Bought a 135i since it’s basically the same car 15 years later.

>be 13
>Grandfather comes over to visit one day
>asks if I want to learn to drive
>"Sure"
>he takes me out to back roads
>puts me in the driver seat of his old mustang
>have no idea what to do
>he walks me through the steps, how to shift, hill starts ect
>practice with him everyday for a month until I can do it perfectly
>begin to like driving but family moves and I don't get to see him that much
>turn 16
>get first car
>shitty 2000 corolla
>doesn't matter love it because it's a car
>few months later tell mum I'm gonna visit my grandfather
>drive 6 hours on back roads to my grand fathers house
>show him my car and take him out for a drive
>on the way home
>listening to music
> youtube.com/watch?v=NrOemQaEJGU
>plays
>for some reason decide I want to see how fast I can go
> loved cars ever since

All of these things contributed to it

that's a really nice story user.

My family is Euro and they're all semi-interested in cars.
As a kid I was always playing rally games, cause that's what my father and uncle owned, we also always sat in the living room together after family dinner on Saturdays, they'd watch F1, rally, stuff like that.
My dad was an amateur motorcycle racer too, but I was never interested in that.

Back then they'd ask me to help clean cars too, I'd hate it, thought my dad's 5-series was boring.

I was never really interested in cars until I turned 18 and started taking driving lessons, first in a diesel 5-series and then in a diesel Golf, the Golf really had me fall in love with how zippy the steering feel was.

After that I watched >Initial D and Wangan Midnight
racing history documentaries, and learnt a bit more about cars, then I just started reading books about them and reading forum posts.
I slowly cultivated my autism using the internet and got my fiance into cars (her sister is a legit meme civic street racer who goes to meets all the time, so it was easy).

Right now I just maintain an '89 Civic hatch and an '08 Speed3, have a lot of fun driving both, but I'm really into scooters, they're the things that get me the most (even though I have a motorcycle license), I've got a Honda Ruckus, modded it to go just under 100 km/h with a full exhaust, better intake, and some transmission tweaks, and in my province I can ride them legally on the highway, it's a crazy feeling going that fast on something so twist 'n go.

posted before. not what started it but really hits home
>be 12
>love f1
>parents take us to yurop
>be brat so don't want to go
>sour
>ask me "what do you want to do spoiled asshole?"
>all I want is to visit maranello and tour the factory
>know it isn't going to happen
>be driving up Italy
>see increasing incidence of ferraris
>ferraris every third car now
>WHATSHAPPENING.JPEG
>see am in Maranello
>PLEASE STOP
>pull up in front of factory
>nearly pee my pull ups
>1 TOUR PLEASE!
>lol. No. Only by invite. Do you guys own one? Doesn't matter. Only by invite. Please leave. Lol. Fredo, these guys thought they could tour the factory! Lol.
>go get hot chocolate
>am sad
>it's ok. you tried dad
>coffee shop guy: "what's with him"
>dad explains story
>coffee guy: "want a treat? Go park on that hill and wait 45 min"
>we do
>there's a track
>red helicopter appears
>someone gets out
>hear engine
>f1 car pulls out
>watch private lapping session of f1 car in Fiorano

I doubt he'll ever know how much that day gets me
All the feels

drove my dads 57 pontiac olds something. (portholes) on his lap, like around 1962, sister crawled in it once and put it in neutreal and the tank rolled down the street into someones front yard..

Dad. DAD the cars leaving!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You need to reconsider your writing style, it's akin to that of an 11 year old.

>mother let me drive her Mazda around parking lots since i was 5
>sleeping in the back seats on long journeys while 90's mom pop plays through shitty speakers
>cassette players
>"borrowing" my dad's car for comfy night drives way before i had a licence
fun/dangerous times

nice story user. Had something similar with a chebby dealer where I was allowed to sit in a vette.

pretty cool how one nice interaction by a dealership can make a dream car huh

My dad bought me a honda 100 when I was 6. Back in the 70s I could ride it all over the place without having to worry about being sued or persecuted. My dad never taught me what to fix or look out for so I taught myself how to take care of the bike. I think that mentality made me appreciate cars too

Well sorry for my grammar and punctuation user but it all started back in
>1990 something I was barely 4 years old went for a ride with my dad for a joy ride with is friends
>I sat shot gun and my dad said hold on and I saw tac looked like it was going out of wack and it was hitting 60 quickly swiftly
>I felt the car go side ways and the belt felt like it was wrapped around my neck and the thought of dying ran through my head like what the fuck dad I wasn’t even born that long ago
>my dad pulled in to a gas station and as I got out he picked me up and said “I’m surprised you didn’t cry but it looks like we got ourselves a fast boy”
He had an ae86 but he ended up living the Mexican stereotype of being a drunk,abused my mom and then left us and I’ve been looking for the picture of my mom and dad together with his grey 86 in the background but I can’t find it oh and I am biggy smalls now.
youtube.com/watch?v=bgBAypXLkIc

>I sat shot gun and my dad said hold on and I saw tac looked like it was going out of wack and it was hitting 60 quickly swiftly

SHIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET

>be 6 or 7 years old
>mum and dad are getting a new car
>it's a 4x4 so i think it's awesome
>they get home with it
>sounds shit
>ask if its a v8 like our old cars
>its a 3.0l turbo diesel 4cyl engine
>i cried and hid up a tree because it was shit
i was a weird kid.

>waking up early to watch formula 1 with my dad
>that sweet guitar and 90s cgi opening splash
>turning the volume all the way up on the big screen crt for the race start
>listening to the enthused droll of Murray Walker while half awake

The best part was one day my dad drove me down to the beach because he found that Williams was doing a photo shoot for one of their cars.
Went down there, beach is empty except for two guys and the car. They were even nice enough to let us push the car.
That moment of being able to physically feel this vehicle that I saw only on TV from as early as I could remember really solidified my interest in cars.

>dad had a semi-racing ford fiesta xr2 that he took to some offroad places
>be 5
>visiting grandparents house in the mountains
>Son im gonna go buy some stuff for your mom wanna come help?
>ok dad
>go to the store in the next village deep in the mountains
>get the groceries
>we were currently on an offroad section that was used in the Acropolis rally
>dad tells me
>oh cool dad
>the moment I finish my sentence he fucking floors it and we go zooming down the offroad section
>eggs are broken
>rear left taillight broken from a rock
>good mental state gone
>as we enter the tarmac he asks me if I liked it
>hell yeah I did
>on tarmac he gets even more hektik
>fucking sliding around every corner with the handbrake in his little xr2 fiesta
>reach grandparents' home
>dont tell mommy hehe

Best fucking day of my life

That's awesome OP. You got the lifetime Porsche bug. Nothing else will satisfy it.

Dad (who is now passed) had a Mazda B series pickup, I inherited it and used as my daily driver through high school and still use it to this day (in early 20s now). Been through a lot of good times with friends and grils in that trusty ol thing. My interest in cars has all spawned from this truck and I’ve developed a deep seated appreciation for compact pickups
Thanks dad

I became an enthusiast at 19
Didnt care about cars as a young kid

>8yo
>2004
No youngs allowed

I've been a complete failure most of my life and to be honest didn't get my licence until about 6 months ago, I'll be 23 next January.

RegularFurReviews is what got me interested in cars to start, and while it wasn't my primary motivating factor for actually getting my licence it helped. I'm really into computers and firearms, the later mostly because of the mechanics and engineering and RCR was the gateway that got me into really be interested in cars and from there it became another hobby. Well, a hobby in a sense that I don't have any money to spend or the skills to be a tuner or anything, but at least I can hold a conversation with real enthusiasts and I have something to learn and be interested in.

I started with firearms too and engines seemed like a natural progression. I think being male makes you like small, contained explosions.

Yea maybe. I got into and started building firearms for political reasons around the time Cody Wilson was waving his middle finger at California's politicians, that dood is my personal hero because fuck this state. I can tell you the exact moment I really got into the mechanics though.

I was at a range in Nevada and had rented your basic Aramlite-15, ran through a few mags but I called an RO since the safety wouldn't switch back to safe and was informed that because of the FCG, it won't go back into safe unless the trigger is cocked. Why, I wondered.

>One day the 911 will be mine

>be 16
>2010
>uncle is a mechanic, collects cars
>has a BMW E30
>always thought it looked cool
>get my license
>give him a call
>ask if he has any cars I could drive
>says yeah I've got this 1993 Pathfinder, I'll sell you it for $500
>few months later go to his house
>takes me out back
>points to the Nissan
>so this one's $500, but come over here
>walks over to the E30
>this one's $1000
Needless to say, I took the E30. It was rear ended by a drunk driver a month later and totaled but it certainly got me interested in cars.

Those are very underappreciated little trucks. Had one myself and loved the fuck out of it. It was peak comfy.

pics of the e30?

tarted working at gas station at 20. 21 now.
never really cared about cars before.
next to it was huge shop, madman mechanics turned me into absolute autist.

one of them had e190 and drove it like madman.
he was 50yo absolute bro. i never seen him a older guy than me. he became my friend of life.
t-thanks you glorious bastard

>tripfag giving advice
Pls leave

>growing up in 80s
>pistonhead family
>mom owned a dagumi
>dad is into old ferd trucks and motorcycles
>uncle owns a 68 GTO and a suzuki samurai
>richass aunt owns a 911, a shitty maser, another samurai, and a rolls silver shadow
>her husband has another 911, a helicopter, and a speedboat
>grandpa rolled in pimped out Lincoln Town Cars, other Vegas af cars, and Subarus for some crazy reason
I blame my shitty upbringing.

My brother is a mechanic/old car enthusiast. He had a sand rail that he left in CA when he went trucking, and it got battered by weather at a friends house.

He came back, and one high school summer he would pester me endlessly about coming out with him to work on it. I eventually caved, and after a few days I started to get interested in the work. I learned how to rebuild a VW engine, suspension and steering. I also learned some rudimentary fabrication. I never lost it, and I started work on my own projects after I got a space to work on them. My brother has been an absolute terror to me most of my life, but I can credit my mechanical aptitude to him, so its almost a wash.

>be me, suburban kid but my great grandma owns a cabin in Montana near Yellowstone
>there’s this ancient Jeep that we keep up there, a 1948 Willys, my great Grandpa painted it bright orange with a fucking paintbrush
>pic related
>go up to the cabin for a week or so every other summer my whole childhood
>my dad and other male family members always spend a day or two messing with it while we’re all there
>every year the Jeep gets weaker and weaker, but never gives up
>finally get to drive it when I’m 14
>eventually the brakes stop working and we can’t take it to the trails anymore
>still take it up and down back roads every once in a while
>great grandma dies
>less people start coming to the cabin every year
>my dad moves out, he did most of the work to fix it even though it was owned by my mom’s family
>start studying cars so that I can fix it myself
I just fixed the brakes myself last summer, but now it’s got breathing issues because of the altitude. Not sure what to do, the carb filter is hardly there anyway so I can’t open it up any more. I need to get a carbed car so I can figure out how to tune it for the low-oxygen air. I really hope it’s not a lost cause, I have so many fond memories of that thing. I want to keep it alive so others can remember it the same way as I do.

I think you can replace carb jets to solve altitude issues.. did you clean the jets?
youtube.com/watch?v=mZsZF6TTEBg

>Adored cars as a kid
>Grandpa had a riding mower
>Taught me how to car on it
>Funded my obsession of cars with toys and
>Dies from Agent Orange
>Parents decide cars are too expensive a hobby
>Get me interested in the military instead

>FF nearly a decade
>Get my first car, it's over twice my age
>Mother urges me to figure out how to do maintenance on it in case it craps out in the middle of nowhere
>Interest in cars released like a floodgate
Still much to learn

>live in Canada
>Import rules are lax (15 years)
>2010 or so and I'm 15
>Live by a japanese restaurant
>One day see a Black 2 door outside (first RHD car I've ever seen in person)
>Wasn't sure what kind of car it was at the time but it's was all black and decently low. I was amazed by the body curves
>Weird triangle badge
>After a few days found out it's an Rx7 FD
>Fast forward 7 years
>I now own a black Rx7
>I think that says it all

>watch bttf
>luv cars

Always went to drag races with my dad my entire life but I never really went for the cars, I just liked spending time with him. Fast forward to 15 year old me and start looking at turd gens as a first car and that really started my interest for cars

>did you clean the jets?
Nah, desu I don’t know jack shit about carburetors, I was born in the late 90s so I never had to deal with them on any car I’ve worked on. Thanks for the link though, that’s actually really helpful.

Haha you got it too? There aren't many brands that I can identify with on so many levels, and Porsche is one of those ones. Mazda being the other. One of the few companies that still give a damn about driving experience.

Everything about them just appeals to me on a personal level.

The styling is never an edgy mess of spikes - it's always smooth and curvaceous. Like cars from a bygone era - like the 356, the E Type. All with smooth flowing lines throughout. Nissan wrecked the pretty styling of the Z just like they did with the GTR trying to keep up with modern styling trends. Whereas the Porsche retains a classic bodystyle throughout. Sure, it's basic and doesn't stand out, but it'll still hold up in 30 years where the 458 will not.

Pennies to the dollar when you compare maintenance too, and if you're going to daily a car, then that's incredibly important. Extremely practical with 4 seats and a big frunk space, and going back to the thing about not standing out - it's the ideal quality in a "daily supercar". Sure, sometimes being easily noticed really strokes the ego, but it'd get old.

The motorsports history is just on another level. A brand so utterly committed to track cars is one after my own heart. And for such a long time too. There's a level of heritage behind buying one - I feel as though there's been decades of track experience that has gone into each successive car they've made and it shows since they're essentially the ultimate benchmark for a sportscar (Carrera) and a supercar (Turbo S). How it should feel, drive, handle - all the important things rather than benchracer shit like 0-60 times or quarter miles.

But the most significant to me is the price. As a kid I quickly stopped dreaming about Ferraris because I would have to be incredibly fortunate and rich to own one. Same goes for Lamborghini. Even if I did save half my life for one, I would be blown away by maintenance costs.

But then I discovered that Porsche were making cars that performed just as well as those, that felt just as good as those to drive, but at the same time, they cost less than half as much used or new. Though I doubt I'll ever be able to afford a new Turbo.

Lifelong fan.

No homo.

>be 5 or something idk.
>brother has a ps2.
>he bought Midnight Club 3 DUB and NFS Most Wanted on release.
>i always pestered him to play it.
>on my free time i watch him play.
>simulate the races in MC3 and NFS with my Hotwheels.
>one day, my brother came home with a ps3.
>immediately gives me ps2 with all the games.
>HOLYFUCK.JPG
>play NFS Most Wanted but lose interest because its "too hard" (even tho really MC3 is harder)
>addicted to MC3 until my nanny mom takes it away because it's E 10+.
>salty as fuck.
>next few years i started to lose interest in cars and looked more into guns.
>when i finally reach 10, i decide to ask my mom if i could play MC3.
>I distinctly remember i was bored af and my mom was cleaning the Odyssey, i timidly walked out of the house and asked if i could play it.
>mom forgot about it and told me its ok to play it.
>never put it down until i complete it.
>best feeling ever to finish a new game with an srt4 and end with a me412.
>end up getting more and more into cars, starting to play NFS.
>brother gave me ps3 after he got a ps4.
>even more into cars with the racing games on the ps3
Which brings me today. Really what got me into cars was my brother as he had an interest back then, but now is doing fuck all with his life and drives a fucking kia. Also, disclaimer, i'm shit at greentext. Pic unrelated.

>its a 3.0l turbo diesel 4cyl engine
>i cried and hid up a tree because it was shit
user if my parents brought home something like that after all V8s I'd run off and cry too.
I'm 20.