I was on a Lamborghini forum, just to read about the experience of owning a Lamborghini and it seems that many forum members there also have this idea that they should get some "respect" on the road - people are always trying to race them, and they react like "don't you know I could whip you any time of the day?". I've noticed some Camaro5 forum members also acting this way, except against lesser cars like Civics, whereas Lambo owners tend to feel all other cars are lesser.
Now I'm not being judgmental because I myself am this way sometimes. Some people on the roads are extremely ignorant about cars, and feel that when they buy a Corolla "S" that they could easily beat a Camaro, because they have absolutely no idea about the Camaro specs. One day they decided to walk into a car lot, was sweet-talked by the salesman that the "S" is a high performance "20HP upgrade !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Which of course leads them to believe that 20HP is a big deal and that they've got something that can keep up with Porsches.
I know this because I myself was this ignorant not so long ago. When I first found out that some cars had 500HP I was astounded, what would it be like to have that much power? Most cars have less than 150HP, and in fact the fast version of a model is the 150HP model. So when I first moved from a 150HP car to a 272HP car - I thought it was a very big deal. I went from a puddle to a pond, without realizing there was an ocean I wasn't aware of.
Now that I have 550HP and moving up to 750HP soon, my eyes have been opened. I'm lucky because I get to have that knowledge, but if you go on the average Subaru/Toyota/Honda forums, they'll all be chatting about how to get 10HP here and 5HP there. I even read that they expect to pay on average $100 per HP gain. They have no concept of high performance cars, and their potential for stupendous exponentially-higher power.
My point is, it appears we are all the same, except the more powerful our car and the money we spend on it, the more we feel we are better than others on the road.
I read a thread on the Lambo forum about this sport bike guy harassing everyone saying "don't you know I'm faster than you? Why bother challenging me? Don't you know I'm faster?" All he wanted was a pat on the back that he was faster than any Lambo. It was quite pathetic. I think quite a few of us are like that though, but to different degrees of hubris; I know of no exceptions. Even those who don't race, do not with a sense of smugness: "I already *know* my car is faster than yours, so I don't need to prove it". My PM is like that - she drives a Porsche 911 Turbo and is often challenged by others, but I can sense a little pride that even though she never accepts the challenge she knows she's better.
And what's wrong with that? When we spend so much of our lives working and having to acquiesce to the demands of clients and bosses, it's *okay* to indulge in a little escapism on the roads - to feel like we're Dominic Toretto or Memphis Raines. As long as we don't feel we are better than others, I think it's okay to know we have better cars.
But there's *knowing* and there's *wanting everyone else to know*. Some people have lower self esteem or an inferiority complex like that sport bike guy, and have the urge to *prove* their worth through speed. What should we think about that? The human ego is one of the hardest things in the world to control - few people can walk away when they are insulted - the ego is that fragile; some are able to walk away only when their egos are insulted by an equal or a superior but cannot stand being insulted by someone they consider inferior. I think if we realize just how much we are controlled by own egos, we will aspire to be unaffected by perceived insults by all types of people: superiors, equals and inferiors; and we will be gracious towards those who struggle to recognize their ego-affliction or lack of ego-self-control.
Just my thoughts for a Thursday morning!!
