alt Hacker NewsI find fascinating the difference between people who think of cars as a tool versus a toy. And certainly for some people it simply depends on which car.
For me, all cars are a tool. I don’t really enjoy driving. Driving is a chore I have to do in order to do things I do like.
I don’t yet own an electric car, but I find them very appealing because they would eliminate a chore from my life: going to the gas station.
I do wonder what it would be like to enjoy driving for its own sake.
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For me it depends on the state of the roads. If they’re empty, I don’t mind driving and can even enjoy it. If traffic is moderate or above, my opinion of driving takes a hard nosedive.
I’m not even a wild driver. Whenever it’s safe to do so I’m in the right lane doing exactly the speed limit. I just don’t like having to deal with other drivers.
What I find fascinating is people who have never driven a fun car, then get an EV that has some decent acceleration. Then they talk about how fun the car is to drive and say how its the best thing ever. I see these posts all the time, and I just think... Yep, now you get what car enthusiasts have been enjoying all this time. If you just drive Rav4s and other appliances, no wonder you hate driving.
Same, I find it especially miserable to drive at night with how car lights have changed to brighter LEDs and people wanting larger and taller cars. Its like getting hit with multiple flash bangs.
I also dislike driving; it's just a chore.
Except, it all somehow changes when I pop into the driver's seat of a manual transmission car.
I don't drive in my day to day life but I have enjoyed things like karting or rally driving and I like sim racing video games, maybe try some of those out. Driving for fun at least for me is more about seeing what you can do with a car than anything else.
I'd guess that driving was probably more broadly enjoyable for people in the era of manual transmission. That's not to say manual transmissions are fun, but the greater degree of interactivity, control, and skill made it a more interesting and overall enjoyable experience. Also it was kind of cathartic getting up to speed somehow. Driving an automatic is just boring, outside of like others have mentioned - the insane acceleration in an EV.
Manuals on a bridge during traffic though are... unpleasant.