As Jalopnik so eloquently put it, the automotive enthusiast is a dying breed.
This scares me.
Growing up in Germany, I was fortunate enough to be exposed to mechanical marvels early in life. I remember when my dad bought me my first Tamiya radio controlled buggy. I assembled it and almost immediately asked if I could drive his Mercedes (W124). Obviously, that didn’t happen, but he did let me sit on his lap and steer the car down the apartment complex garage while he controlled the throttle. Not so exciting looking back, but as a nine-year old, I felt as if I was navigating the corkscrew.
Ever since then, I have become increasingly immersed in the automotive culture in the States; however, I have come to a realization. The automotive scene here is stale. A lack of true enthusiasm, with an over-abundance of pride that manifests the oh-so-contradicting phrase: Automotive “Enthusiast” Scene, a majority of whom are magazine racers whose intrinsic value of performance upgrades isn’t for performance, but bragging rights. Race only parts are a common denominator, but high performance driving events are not. Sure, growing up in Europe exposes you to a different perspective, but it’s not a prerequisite to come to this conclusion.
Granted, we don’t have the hairpins leading up the Col de Turini, nor do we have the Nurburgring. The 405 freeway doesn’t exactly compare to the Autobahn, either.
But we do have tenacity. In a world filled with doubters, we have enthusiasts who don’t accept “no” as an answer. For every Col de Turini we don’t have, there are a hundred back roads leading up to an ocean front view that we do have. For every speed limit that restricts us, there are dozens of track days we do attend.
And then there was resilience.
In a community sheltered by traction control, we have resilience – the process of overcoming challenges for growth. Immune to the criticism of those afraid to DRIVE their car and inspired by the ability to push your skill and knowledge further every day. This is why MClubLA was born.
MClub.LA was established to offer a comprehensive resource center and vibrant enthusiast community. We hope to collaborate on topics that will greatly influence our Motorsports culture and stimulate an active Southern California enthusiast ecosystem.
The automotive enthusiast is not a dying breed.
Don’t buy into the hype!
MClub.LA. A place for the driving enthusiast.