I was introduced to cars in a very passive manner. It started with my dad of course, but aside from his eclectic ownership history — from a Pontiac Tempest to a Volkswagen Bus, a Saab 900 to a MINI Clubman S and more — he is not a "gearhead." In fact, my dad has probably seen more engines at cars and coffee and at auto museums than he has popped his own hood. Nevertheless, I have absorbed his fairly mild interest in cars and nurtured it for years. Simmering in a soup of magazines, TV shows, movies and YouTube clips, my passion for cars has come to a point where I follow the automotive world almost as deeply as middle-aged women follow the Kardashians. As a result, I consider myself an automotive enthusiast, but not a gearhead.
What’s the difference?Although both terms fall within a greater automotive identity and are not mutually exclusive, the distinction lies in which activities someone engages in. For instance, I associate a gearhead with a brain full of mechanical knowledge and a garage full of tools to prove it. Gearheads may also be involved in some form of motorsport and tend to have a strong loyalty to one or a hand full of brands. They make their cars a true extension of themselves. An enthusiast is similar, but lacks much of the physical contribution to the lifestyle.
I associate more with the enthusiast side of the spectrum because I have never serviced an engine before. Many in the automotive community will want to call me a poser because of this, but they could not be further from the truth. I follow automotive culture and the industry as close as — and sometimes closer than — my friends and family. I appreciate the engineering that goes into making a car and do my best to teach myself how each component contributes to the machine. Creating an automobile is truly an art and I strive to improve my understanding of how they work every day.
Although an auto enthusiast doesn’t necessarily contribute to the community from an engineering standpoint, we have absorbed and project a vast array of car culture. I have the capacity to discuss anything from how CVTs are a strange dichotomy, to how GM's inflexibility ultimately led to Saab’s demise. Enthusiasts like myself are important to the automotive community as a whole because we engage in important conversation about the direction of the industry and the impression many brands, both past and present, have left on us.
Yes, I am not in an amateur racing league, I don't have a project car and I have never changed spark plugs before. But that does not mean I am not fascinated or enthused about car culture. It most certainly does not mean I don’t enjoy a twisty back road with the windows down or don’t know how a car works mechanically. An automotive enthusiast is not necessarily a gearhead, but certainly follows, understands and is shamelessly obsessed with the automotive world.
