Middle aged guys? LOL

It attracts young boys from 8 to 15. Which creeps me out. LOL

On my trip, I also noted a BUNCH of Wrangler owners waving. No idea why, but they didn't know I drove my Wrangler 20 years prior to this, and it was confusing. I think it's just the Jeep Wave thing, and I loved it... my efficient auto collection is a nod to the US and UK friendship, to say the least (see attached).

I live in NorCal, and really absolutely no one gawks other than car lovers, and very few people strike up a conversation other than a "fantastic car", and then begin to tell me their car stories or jag history. On the trip to 9 midwestern states, really no one cared. I got some thumbs up, etc. More of the time it is a mystified "what is that", and I've gotten extremely good at flashing a warm, friendly, acknowledging smile without much pretentious. Empathy smile. LOL

I'm insecure and do *NOT* do conspicuous consumption and am very much "please please please fly under the radar" guy. I am also painfully aware of the "haves" and "super duper have nots" thing that is happening around the US, and know how hard it is to basically "survive" for most of my friends. It's astonished me how respectful, enthused, and excited people are, for me. I thought it would be sour grapes and "elitist privileged" type of comments. I worked my *** OFF for this, and didn't expect it. One guy said "who the hell has the gall to worry about how you spend your money". Another person said it clearly... "I am so, so happy when something good happens to a good person". I didn't expect that as the reaction to the car.

The *sound*, however, gets people's attention, though.... and it definitely turns heads. I remember when the dealer's kid said that I was basically buying a supercar and that would happen, I didn't want it to happen.

It will pass, I think. It's probably regional, tho. I was also incredibly impressed that no one messed with it (like the Jalopnik guy who got his car egged: That Time I Ruined A Jaguar F-Type R Coupe)

 

Try summer road construction on national park roads and two lane blue highways. Crater Lake had *no road* at one point, but there was a spot in Idaho that I was sure I was pummeling my car to death with fist sized gravel in an unfinished road. No marks tho. Shocked. I had the 3M coating, and it did so well I think I might do the whole car next time.

 

I'm halfway through Iowa now, on my way to Colorado. Seems like somebody tosses a compliment my direction every time I've stopped on my travel from DC. I know the BMW and Porsche crowds don't get this type of reaction. I wonder if the Ferrari crowd does.

 

Keep pedaling, Lance, you're getting close. On my way back to Lobster Run in May, I had great looks and comments similarly. One stood out. We stopped for a sandwich and gas at a small east Colorado station, and came out to find a young trucker, 25 years old or so, standing by the car and gawking. He was driving one of those giant gas tankers that service remote stations all over the eastern CO plains in all kinds of weather. "Sure is a looker. How much power have you got in there?" Oh, I have The Base, the small engine 340 HP; plenty enough for an old guy like me. It goes like hell. "Well, I bet it does, sure is a looker." What do you drive? "Well I got me a pick-up, RAM behee-mouth or something, north of 600HP diesel, but now yours, that's a looker. Never saw one before." Thanks, says I. In 6000+ miles on that trip I had umpteen comments and looks, never saw another F-Type except at Lobster Run, and no one put a mark on that car in over 3+ weeks of food, gas and motel stops. Always treated with respect for the car. Remarkable.

 

Funny, I also get uncomfortable with the stares, conversations at stop lights, honking, waving, flashing (which my wife doesn't appreciate). I have an older, beautiful XK, Jaguar really created a work of art with this car, so I can understand the enthusiasm. I just drive with the tinted windows up. I also have a 1957 Thunderbird, also a beautiful car, I drive with the top off so there are no way to ignore the waving, honking and comments. I get none of the attention in my old ford truck, LOL.

 

We spent the week on a lake resort, and this guy came with his Skater boat. Bright lime green, twin 300 outboards, cammed. Loud, in your face, rooster tail, the whole thing. I said to my wife, "What kind of guy buys a boat like that, he must be dying for attention". She turned to me and said, "Really?" :-)

 

Funny story, Mr Lanzetta, who posted below this. But as to this comment... my wife loves it. She truly "gets" that this car makes people really happy and it brings joy into the world... so she is totally down with that. Far more than me. Again... this is the car I loved and wanted, but I never thought of it for the attention, like the below boat story.

But in deference to OP, I realize I *definitely* am bashful and a bit shy, with an immediate guilty justification when I talk to people about it. I just realized it, because both my wife and sis say "own the fact you chose to buy it", and I don't.

When anyone comments or says anything, my immediate comment is "A lot different than the Jeep Wrangler I drove for 20 years" which is totally a loaded comment we could unpack in a scholarly essay. Then, not too far behind, I say "This was 10 years worth of my swear jar", and then, depending on how close the person is, I will pepper in a few swear words to prove how much I had to swear to buy it.

It breaks the ice and the pretension of having a car like this. I realize I had to find automatic and congenial responses early on... and that insecurity became almost robotic such that I forgot it.

 

FANTASTIC point though. I've never been a scofflaw, and likely watch too much news to make me worried about the state of affairs of.. everything.

But growing up, I remember people getting cars "keyed" (of course, just like all the viral videos of road rage online... it is usually 2 people being dicks, and just one person looking like one... and keying usually was jealousy or had reasoning behind it, and random mayhem isn't as common as Hollywood might want us to believe), or egged, or general mischievousness. At my body shop recently, I saw a Tesla that was really damaged due to "random malice", because "hey that guy is probably a jerk and I am not doing so well" type of behavior.

I sort of thought our car might fall into that, but lo and behold... it seems that in the widening gap of rich and poor and have and have nots, the fact our entire last 150 years was built on car culture, there seems to be a massive respect and humble admiration or appreciation of these cars. Rather than being targets of the marginalized or unhappy, they seem to really be respected in regal fashion, and that's not something I ever expected.

I mention in that "I'm not feel so great about my new car" thread.... I'm a bit insecure in any conspicuous consumption, and I used to be the angry punk that "knew everything at a young age" and would judge people, etc.

So TL;DR.... I was really REALLY surprised by the general respect and appreciation people had for the car, and from approving looks and general positive comments, to the way people daintily parked "away" from it and respected it, gave it distance, etc....

truly, truly surprising. I thought it might be something that separates "us and them", when it's really just another pinpoint of our american car culture that it could actually, almost universally, bring people together.

I doubt Porsche people, or Tesla people, are in any way like that???

It's got to be the profoundly beautiful design that does it....

 

Ha, I share this feeling. 15 or so years ago I was living in an old Camry. Now my toy car is $100k. It's a weird weird feeling.

Compounding it I still go to punk shows. Hell, one of my favorite bands has a song "Angry, young, and poor" and I'm now only sort of angry, not young, and not poor. I still can't get used to it.

 

Of course, part of it could be that people are friendlier in the Midwest.


Shoeless Joe Jackson: Is this Heaven?
Ray: No, it's Iowa.

 

Fantastic. I was a little suburban rude boy skate punk type, and heavily involved [edit: young groupie *** DJ] in the music scene in the SF Bay... I was not living in a car, but likely tried to pretend I looked like I did. Ha. I just remember all that poorly targeted general anger. Now it's more of a bemused disbelief. But yeah... that punk side of me does not lie down, very well. Glad to know there are more varied experiences in here, and it's not all the "Do you have any Grey Poupon" types.

And yes, it was more of a mod pogo than stale heavy metal's headbang, but I'm certainly not dropping the Village People icon.

 

I just got my V6S coupe a couple of days ago. I live in San Diego and I was at Fry's electronic store, got out of the store, walking towards my car, all of a sudden this semi-adult looking kid ran up behind the car, leaned down, put his head over the spoiler... I honestly thought he kissed it... went to peeked in the window, ran around the car a couple of times. Weirdest thing everrrrrr. He got embarrassed when I unlocked the car and quietly walked away saying "nice car dude."

 

Spoiled rebellious rich kid?

 

Spoiled no, loved for sure. rebellious no, but yes to the youngest. I'm 40 and have worked since before being legal, but definitely had a job in a hotel or restaurant since 1995. Like I said, the car was legitimately a 10 year swear jar (of sorts) LOL

 

You may not be wrong, he might have kissed it. When I brought mine home my son went to the garage and hugged it for about 5 minutes. He then asked if he could sleep in it that night. About 2am I got up to go to the bathroom and sure enough he was in it in the garage. Not sleeping but reading the manual and playing with the controls. He was just three month short of 19 years old at the time. Morale of the story.....this car makes some people act a little silly.

 

Yea, funny, this happens a lot.

Like guys walk to the car like zombies. Attracted, like a magnetic pull, then at the very last minute before they reach the car and realize that they're starting to invade one's personal space, they snap out of the hex, catch themselves and say "nice car" giving a thumbs up as they walk away looking back, then wondering why they just did what they did! I basically nod like "It's OK, dude...you're not the first and won't be the last - No, you're not nuts.".

This is only proof that this car is much more than steel and leather. There's something mystical about a car with this kind of allure. I've had a 911 for example, and I don't recall what I'm describing to have ever happened in it. It's truly an F thing.

This actually just happened last night in front of a watering hole I was at and has happened before.

It's the strangest thing.

 

Of course, it is. It's actually aluminum and leather.

 

The F-Type definitely gets a lot of attention. I found that you notice the reaction From other cars much more when you are the passenger than when driving.

Having said that, the F-Type does not quite get the attention I have seen in the Lotus Exige where I regularly get people hanging out of their window on the highway taking cell phone pics. I usually don't notice it until my wife in the passenger seat points out the antics of the car beside us.

 

This weekend I was touring local wineries and took back roads shortcut. There were two guys in front of garage wrenching on what looked like Triumph Spitfire. Hard to tell exactly what it was they were doing, but it looked like carburetor was out. Both set aside what they were doing and intently watched me drive by.

 

Next time you see them, tell them I have a carb sync tool they can use. (no more carbs in my stable, the Land Cruiser now has an LS3 in it.)