when did the passion begin?

[mrbaxr6t]

I was washing my car and I had a thought - when did the automotive passion that many share in this country start? so I thought about this for a moment and realized that people have been passionate about cars for as long as I can remember, how far does this stem back to?

The dawn of the automobile? or a while after?

Thought this would be worth discussing so heres a thread

[CHEETR]

i beleive i was 1 year old when i got my first match box car..

buy the time i was 7 i had 3400 of them..

started building my first car at 14

had my first 5 page feature in a magazine at 19 of my commodore..

i've owned 18 cars now all up.. so mine started when i was 1 year old lol

[Ryan]

As long as I can remember back when I was a kid I always had a toy car in my hand.

I think the passion for cars started around 1995 about the time I got into the V8 supercars. It went off like an atomic bomb when I started going to Summernats every year from 1998.

[POELWYK]

as long as i can remmeber i allways had toy machbox cars and loved them and from then when i got my Car it Realy shot off after then

[graham_h]

Dad was a mechanic, had all the toy cars as a kid oh and learning to drive in a MK 1 escort with forest arches and fat 13's on the back !!
13 years old, hitting 60mph down a potato field after harvest, in the rain !! LOL

[JACK250]

Might wanna check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gys-6znFEC8&feature=fvsr

[Badcooky]

Lakeside as a kid when i was too small to look over the fence,Dad and uncle Bob raced back then in open wheelers.
They had to pick me up to look over the fences.

[Mr Hardware]

I think you'll find you all fail at comprehension (except for jack250), the OP isn't asking for where did YOUR automotive passion come from, he's asking for the actual origins of passion for cars.

Personally, i believe it was the original status of wealth that would have come from owning a motor car, and that has stuck in society. Everyone tries to have the nicest car they choose to afford, and just like being house-proud, as a car is quite possibly your second biggest investment, most people choose to keep them as nice as possible. Otherwise why have paintjobs etc?

I honestly believe people would pimp their carriage too; pride has been around a lot longer than cars have.

[Falcman0o7]

Mine started when i was 9. ( real cars ) When the EA and VN were released. I just loved them and they seemed so identical at the time to me. ( BTW i HATE VN's )
So yeh, And my old man being into fords got that rolling.

[XDV800]

Originally Posted by Badcooky

Lakeside as a kid when i was too small to look over the fence,Dad and uncle Bob raced back then in open wheelers.
They had to pick me up to look over the fences.

Is your dad bap romano and your uncle bob romano?

[XDV800]

My old boy had a PH 1 white gold stripes, used to autocross it and even circuit raced it in a championship, with a race at bathurst in 69'. He was able to get by the big multiple car pile up on top of the mountain in that race :
Had a bit of a past in gymkhanas and rallying on the east coast until the '80's in escorts and falcons until he married and had me, then life ended for him...
It's in my blood.

[mrbaxr6t]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

I think you'll find you all fail at comprehension (except for jack250), the OP isn't asking for where did YOUR automotive passion come from, he's asking for the actual origins of passion for cars.

Personally, i believe it was the original status of wealth that would have come from owning a motor car, and that has stuck in society. Everyone tries to have the nicest car they choose to afford, and just like being house-proud, as a car is quite possibly your second biggest investment, most people choose to keep them as nice as possible. Otherwise why have paintjobs etc?

I honestly believe people would pimp their carriage too; pride has been around a lot longer than cars have.

this is true, but judging by what they are saying they inherited it from their parents, some of the things said are interesting, hope they continue

for me it was my fathers' blood red 302c XA fairmont with full black interior, everything about the car was great and it (the car) never seemed to break down, one owner from new to the early 90's then it went to the wreckers cancer got its bootlip (where the seal sits) and to its pack shelf, even though it was still in my opinion a cool car, the whole family were sorry to see it go, as far as I know its running gear was stripped and its body went to an auto graveyard, sad end for such a faithful and reliable car - I still miss it to this day :(

[satria]

i've loved cars since as long as i can remember but my real passion for falcons (especially anything from the 70s and mid-late 90s) started when i use to have to sit in the back of my dad's cafe after school reading wheels/motor/street machine magazines with my brother and cousin. My dad would let me buy one every now and again and it also didn't help having a biante model store only a couple shops away so i'd go and have a perve in there heaps. Only ever bought 2 models from there and i still have them (XY GT and XC Cobra. I've thought about selling them before but i won't because they actually mean alot to me as stupid as that sounds!)

[SSD-85]

I know this thread is about when the passion for cars started for people as a whole, but I think ill join in with sharing my own experience. My love for cars started when I was about 6. My grandmother had an XC GXL 302 Clevo, white leather/vinyl, t bar c4, in red with the black stripes and a factory sunroof. I loved just sitting in it. It was unfortunate that I was in the car when it was in an accident and was written off :( . Ever since Fords have been in my blood, despite my parents being holden fans. I think that cars have become such an integral part of our psyche as if they were an "extension" of us, that may sound strange but I hope someone understands lol

[RSgerry]

i always had toy cars. apparantly i could name most of the cars on teh road when i was little, but we used to live up the road from a Lotus dealer in London (Old Kent Road i believe...early 70's) and I used to make my mum stop so i could look at the Europa. i still love cars. while i prefer Fords, i can appreciate the time and effort that people put into most cars.

[sprint347dave]

must of been around 4 or 5,,i remember asking dad how did the red car go during race,,not knowing at the time it was mr alan moffats coke mustang,,and also watching dad work on our family cars and then going out with him for the big TEST DRIVE to see if everything worked like it was surpose to,,loved the brake tests the most,,years before abs ,heaps of noise and smoke,,haha

[Fordman]

Well im only 18 but, since i was young cars and Ford have been and grown into a passion. This comes from a few origins i think.

I remember being very young and supporting the blue oval at Bathurst, and there used to be a poster of a red Ford at our local Tattslotto outlet, and everytime we went there i'd tell the worker how i was going to own it one day, and well one day he gave me the poster, and it's still under my bed :P.

Other origins of the passion i think are the toy/model cars i recieved when i was young, thousands of them that all used to take to the carpet rug (or in my mind Bathurst). I also remember the old man had a second hand, previously in a car crash EA in green, did the head-gasket so many times and the family hated it, but i loved for some reason. Finally when i was about 3 i got a 1993 World Rally championship video, loved the Escort Cossy's, but i was alredy converted by then!!

Hope i didnt bore you all!

[Burnout]

I would say the passion with Cars started with the first one......

Similar passion for vehicles was around during the horse drawn vehicle days.
They had horse racing, note riders colours, there was all sorts of fancy stuff to put on your harness. Then there's harness racing. etc.
Some of the fancy buggies, sulkies and Cabs built for harness work were highly ornate and individualised.

So the passion for vehicles and speed has been around for a long time.

[XR6_661]

Started really when dad would buy me matchbox cars. I had hundreds of them, remember my favourites being little nascars and nascar utes, they had 'real' rubber tyres.

Then I remember the day dad bought home a bright red EA S-Pac, chrome 12 slotters, centre point injection, 3spd...I was only a little tacker, but I loved that car. I'd sit by it most days and play with my matchbox cars.

Loved it so much my first car was an indentical EA S-Pac...except it had snowflakes. That's when the passion really began...

Here I am now, love cars, always will.

[chevypower]

When I was a baby. Family say I used to ride on my
ride-on toys as fast as I could. I loved going fast. Funny how some things never change. I just remember having toy cars, observing everycar around me all the time - paying attention to details. I remember liking Fords as a kid and wondering why I would see the
exact same car - some said Ford Falcon and some said Ford Fairmont - but they were the same car. I still wonder that one.