What do you think 'fuelled' your passion for cars.

[Luke]

For me, it was growing up with my old man who, in my early years was quite a car nut. Off the top of my head and in new order at all. I remember.

Mk2 Jag (BRG)

Jensen Intercepter (White)

Alfa Romeo Montreal

Some Merc Convertible

MGB GT (Mums)

Mini 1275GT (Mums)

Granda 2.8 ghia (the square one, in black)

Can also remember watching James Hunt winning the WDC in '76 with my dad and him taking me to see Barry Sheene race in his championship winning years. Funny, the things your brain never forgets. It's just like yesterday.

So, what are yours guys?

[garcon magnifique]

Good question. Certainly wasn't from my dad - he didn't even pass his test til I was 8.

Two of my best mates from infant age upwards were also car nuts. One of their dads had a gorgeous XJ 4.2 which helped.

Genuinely no idea what the original prompt was. Although I remember playing with toy cars from a very early age.

[Paul]

Growing up in the 80's, Murray Walker on F1 :notworthy: , watching the BBC Lombard RAC rally or BTCC on a Sunday afternoon.

( I know many of these were released pre 80's)

Canonball Run, Smokey and the Bandit, Italian Job, Convoy, Bond Movies at Christmas.

My best friend turning up at my parents house in his XR3i at 17 had a lot to do with it. Back when a 1.3 Nova SR was hard to insure. Had he not dont that, i wouldnt have thought i could afford the insurance on more sporty cars.

My ownership really kicked off when i finished my apprenticeship, changed jobs with a decent wage, I treated myself to a nice car, and changed up ever since.

[cruiser647]

For me, it was growing up with my old man who, in my early years was quite a car nut. Off the top of my head and in new order at all. I remember.

Mk2 Jag (BRG)

Jensen Intercepter (White)

Alfa Romeo Montreal

Some Merc Convertible

MGB GT (Mums)

Mini 1275GT (Mums)

Granda 2.8 ghia (the square one, in black)

Can also remember watching James Hunt winning the WDC in '76 with my dad and him taking me to see Barry Sheene race in his championship winning years. Funny, the things your brain never forgets. It's just like yesterday.

So, what are yours guys?

I think 2 things for me.

1) Our doctor had an early 5 series BMW, back in the early 70s. It looked fabulous. Good choice Dr Solomon! I was about 5 or 6.

2) Walking to school when I was 9+. Hearing the 5 cylinder engine in an Audi. It was something so completely different, it was a fantastic aural delight!

And more recently, when I was about 13, my best mate's dad was Chief Exec of the council and had a C-reg 3.0 litre Senator. I heard it pull away a few times. Utterly intoxicating!!! So much so, I bought one, and then a later version too. That cam-in-head straight 6 was fab!

Edited March 30, 2013 by cruiser647

[Twinspark]

Nigel Mansell, Jimmy McRae, Andy Rouse, Steve Soper, etc.

All heroes of mine back in the day.

[Luke]

My best friend turning up at my parents house in his XR3i at 17 had a lot to do with it.

Can remember being in my brothers then 1.6LS Capri and being flashed by an XR3 (not i) on the A1 at Welwyn Garden when they'd just come out. Both open mouthed at the car!

[Twinspark]

One memory I have from childhood was my older cousin turning up in a MkIV Cortina 2.3 Ghia. Seemed awesome at the time, especially as my dad had a Honda Civic Shuttle at the time. (this was way back in about 1986)

[patently]

My Dad was an accountant who drove an Austin Allegro. We can be confident that it wasn't him I caught the bug from.

I remember my first driving lesson, and I remember looking at my first car outside my flat. The feeling I remember from both moments was one of immense freedom. I remember looking at the car and realising that I could now go anywhere I wanted, whenever I wanted. I wasn't limited by the distance I could cycle, or by whether there was a train station nearby, and so on. I could just go.

(On the days that the damn thing worked, of course)

That was what made me like cars, I think. As to what made me like nice cars, I know exactly what that was - it was joining a partnership and having a budget to spend on a new car. Even better, the budget was set so that the senior partner could have a basic 5 series. So having decided on a BMW, I worked out what was the fastest 3 within budget, then dipped into the options until I hit the limit.

And so I bought my first straight six, an E36 323i SE manual saloon. I loved it. The intoxicating pull of 170bhp, 8.3s 0-60

I've never been the same since.

[m4ttm4son]

My mum claims that my favourite toy when I could first grip something was a corgi car.

My first Christmas present was Scalextric from my Dad. He was always a car nut and watched F1 all the time so grew up idolising the driving of Mansell and then hating Schumi.

Every birthday from the age of five my Grandmother would give me her 20p jar and the contents (about £100) were put in my savings account for a Ferrari, on my request. When I passed my test there was enough for my first car. I'll have to resort to other means for the Fezza now.

It's probably easier to ask when I wasn't into cars Answer: Maybe in the womb

[theduisbergkid]

This is rather embarrassing ... I was more into music and sex when I was younger, I only really got into cars in the mid nineties when I started visiting car plants around Europe. Visiting Porsche, Jaguar and Lotus factories to talk about bolted joints in 1995 got me hooked. Such hugely differing philosophies, yet great products, it was fascinating. I saw the first ever Elise get run over by a HGV, the last XJS go down the production line, and Porsche's incredible attention to detail. I could bore you all sh1tless about how cars get bolted together and what I saw at various R&D facilities.

[Twinspark]

I didn't do the car thing until my mid 20s. Before that, it was all about 2 wheels.

I had an enthusiasm for cars - but my passion for bikes ruled over that.

[Luke]

Captive audience, TDK.

[Paul]

How could I forget,

I grew up watching the Dukes of Hazzard.

I even had the scalextric set complete with jump and flashing lights on Boss Hoggs car. I sold it to a TSN member for their " man den" about 10 years ago.

[Luke]

I remember a mate of a mate picking up a 325i sport in dolphin grey and nearly turning green with envy. What a great looking car. [ATTACH]48208[/ATTACH]

[Paul]

My best friend had a java green one with lemon yellow leather/ green piping.. Very bright, a love/hate combo that strangely did grow on me, just don't try and resell it!

[Booster]

I remember a mate of a mate picking up a 325i sport in dolphin grey and nearly turning green with envy. What a great looking car. [ATTACH]48208[/ATTACH]

Indeed. I always wanted that exact car.

Bloke who lived up the road from us always had amazing cars (I say amazing, they were mainly mk3 Escort RS Turbos) and a chap down the road had an XR4i. My dad had mates that were in the motor trade who used to turn up in all sorts on a Friday night to drop off their Pools coupons as my dad used to do a Littlewoods Pools round. There would be all sorts of cars to look at and I remember sitting in open tops in the summer evenings pretending to drive them making car noises whilst sitting behind the wheel.

[DanG]

My father had a Rover Vanden Plas EFI with a V8 that rumbled like thunder.

Then a 911 Turbo in Guards Red.

Then a blue Ferrari Mondial - which I scratched...

Then a Maserati bi turbo in black...

He still can't drive however.....

So cars were in my blood.

[Mac]

I don't think I have a 'passion' for cars like a lot of people on here. I do like nice cars, yes, but they're not that high up on my list of priorities.

I think my first real 'bite' was probably when given a Nissan 200SX as a company car - one of the original pop up headlight ones. Love it - ended up having quite a few over the years. From there had a Suburu, couple of other things, then had a Skyline. From that, to an S3, to an RS4 then to a crappily boring A4 Cab at which point I promptly lost interest and didn't have a car for a while.

It's interesting that when other bits of my life have got busier & more interesting, cars very much take a second place. I'd go as far as to say I find technology more interesting than cars now.

[shao_khan]

I grew up near Silverstone, my Granddad on one side introduced me to people like Jackie Ickx, Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham. Granddad on other side worked for Lord Hesketh and knew a lot of the 'fraternity'. My Dad managed projects such as the Lotus Carlton build, my sisters wedding car was a pre-production lotus Carlton test-mule. Growing up where I did, British Grand prix weekend was spent in hotels where various teams stayed (Paulerspury Plum Park, Wicken arms, etc). If I am honest I remember little other than spending weekends in Silverstone watching anything that was racing, didn't care what it was, if it was racing I wanted to watch it and would spend weekends in there. During my teens James Hunt was often round our neighbours who he was in business with, my first trip around Silverstone was in (I think) a 924 gts driven by JI mentioned above. In early 20's I took part in a Ford Cosworth driver challenge in Fords bid to find a new rising star, alas I was less good behind the wheel and managed only 5th not qualifying for anything significant other than a few pit passes My Uncle was technical manager for VW Racing.

Having grown up seen the error of my ways and what a waste of time anything car related is, the thread starter can testify that I've moved a long way away from Silverstone and left all that motor racing nonsense behind me, and anyone else who knows me will realise I've never changed a car without good reason.......

[Luke]

I love reading your childhood memories, SK. Probably at the time it seemed like a normal thing to do, but reading it for me it sounds a brilliant experience of motor racing and the characters and the life they lived. Strange how you live so close to Silverstone but aren't that worried about going. I'd be over there every weekend in the summer!

[Rachel]

I could bore you all sh1tless about how cars get bolted together and what I saw at various R&D facilities.

Please do...

[cruiser647]

Forgot to mention my eldest brother and his cars.

He's had loads, and got me into Alfas. He had an early 1.3Ti in black. Mean looking thing and sound great until it was stolen.

I also remember his Lancia Delta 1.5 and he had a BMW 323 (the first of the 3 series) and had to wheel it out from the garage the owner had it in and start it. It hadn't been used in years, but her got it running and it was sweet.

However, he fiddles and tinkers and messes things up, so I have leant NOT to do that!

[bazza_g]

I've been obsessed with anything that has an engine from as early as I can remember - growing up with those spotting books I my parents will say I could name any car on the road aged 5. Cars, bikes, planes, boats - so long as it makes noise and goes fast it can hold my attention like nothing else can

My biggest regret in life is that I don't yet have a career in Motorsport (driver or otherwise) - I'm just lucky that what I do gives me the opportunity to go to stuff I might otherwise not have been able to have done. The dream of following the F1 season on full still exists!

[patently]

My biggest regret in life is that I don't yet have a career in Motorsport (driver or otherwise)

Go & do your ARDS test, then

[theduisbergkid]

Please do...

There is a mountain of stuff, honestly, it would be thousands of words. I might write it up and stick it on s2b2. Some snippets;

I helped Rover Cowley fudge their quality stats so the Rover 800 line would stay running, I also worked with the same Engineers and was there when the MINI production line started with the same people running the place, I was at Daewoo when they opened that big technical centre on the south coast, helped inspect some of the first Daewoos in the UK, seatbelt mouting bolts were all loose, was at Honda and Triumph too, then over in German and did loads with Porsche (surprisingly old fashioned but meticulous workers), Audi and VW, then over to Skoda when VW were starting to show them how to do it (drove one of the very first Octavia VRs's on Czech b-roads, no plates, no paperwork), I also worked with Ford's KD operations, setting up new factories in the 3rd world, I was showing the guys how to measure and correctly apply torque, then at Dunton to see prototypes of new vehicles (first Volvo V40, first Ford Cougar (!)) etc... I did lots at Lotus, which was still men in sheds back then, plus did some stuff at Cosworth engines, W8 engine fastener designs, lots of stuff like that. Vauxhall were hysterically bad, the Luton plant (Frontera) was like a zoo, saw some incredible things there, I was arguing with someone at Astom Martin when Prince Charles wandered past us, I used to visit Volvo just to eat in their staff canteen because the food was world-class, I'm waffling here... I really should write it all down, some properly funny moments, a great time in my career.