One of my students said the RX-8 is "hipster."
 

I'm a tutor. Some of my students get to hear me rant about cars.

One of the things I rant about is how much I hate that most car buyers prioritize comfort and ease. I think that's legitimately detrimental to cars and driving in general.

I also like to talk up why I bought my RX-8. One of the reasons is that it's a way for me to plant a flag for my own unpopular priorities (i.e. handling and engagement above almost all else).

One of my students has heard me talk about those things, but not much else with respect to cars in general or the RX-8 in particular. That led him to say I was a hipster and that the RX-8 is a hipster car.

Gotta say I kind of see his point in retrospect, but this was not exactly high on my list of things I saw coming.

well shit now i need to kill myself when i get home because i fucking hate hipsters. thanks alot.

Wow......this is true.....

Better get a fedora then...

A car is a car... it can't take a label like that, only the driver can.

Example:

A Ford Fiesta in the hands of a normal person is an economy, grocery getter. In the hands of Ken Block it is a gymkana monster.

If your student met 200, he'd probably think that the RX-8 is a Gun-Toting-Anti-Marriage-Freedom-Party Machine.

and i would most likely punch said student in the neck for making such a shitty remark about my car

Throat punches are the best.

:lol:

I don't know what a hipster is, so I'm pretty sure I ain't one.

I'm... not really sure I know either. lol.

All I know is that it has something to do with disliking popular things because they are popular.

Well, I like listening to records and I wear Chucks, does that make me hipster?

^ From the description, I think it has more to do with disliking things, than liking things...

i hate hipsters so does that make my one? oh wait i dont smell, wear skinny jeans, and im not a douche/hypicate

And I HATE those types of people... Like what you like because you like it... simple... who cares who else likes it, it has absolutely no bearing on whether it is enjoyable to you or not...

Disliking something simply because of a perception that it is too trendy, or too many people like it already is not a valid reason to like or dislike something in my opinion.

I see only two valid reason, you either like it because it makes you [POSITIVE EMOTION], or you dislike it because it makes you [NEGATIVE EMOTION]

Goddamn these types of people piss me off...

the funny part is hipster are a trend. but man do they piss me off like the emo pussies

ill edit this just to remind you guys i hate people in general and dont discriminate

I don't discriminate i hate all stupid people.

Mind = Blown...

So technically they should all hate themselves...

Are you being specific to all vehicles or just sports cars? IMO there is nothing wrong with being comfortable when driving a car. I am assuming by ease you mean cup holders, GPS, heated seats/mirrors, monitors, AUX hookup to mp3 players and stuff like that? Again I have no issues with any of it in my family vehicle and some of it I really like having in my rx8.

I am not tracking the logic here. What is it about your thoughts that relates to being a hipster? AFAIK hipsters are not opposed to everything that is considered convenient.

...and ungodly soft suspensions, and dead-silent interiors, and throttle pedals that think they know better than you do, and steer-for-me systems, and engines that put all the torque at low RPMs, and chassis setups that make understeer inescapable, and exterior designs that undermine functionality, etc...

I completely agree that no car should be an undue pain in the ass to drive or own. I just don't like how far people seem to take it. Most people want their cars to feel like sensory deprivation tanks, operate like toasters, and have a respectable badge -- and that's about it.

I do feel more strongly about this when it comes to sporty cars, mainly because I think speed should never be easy on public roads. Most sporty cars aren't as bad in those ways, but I think they're similarly far from where they should be.

My biggest peeve is that so many people who never tow anything or go off-road insist on buying crossovers and faux SUVs. The market for good minivans and wagons is struggling like crazy because people wanted the "image" and feel of a tall vehicle with a high seating position -- which compromises literally everything else about how the car operates: ride quality, handling, braking, cost to buy and operate, etc. Meanwhile, the prevalence of those vehicles makes the roads less safe for econoboxes and sports cars, which have to have higher sills and bigger (i.e. heavier) crash structures just to be vaguely crash-compatible with those taller vehicles.


It was just a spur-of-the-moment comment, really. My student just thought that being opposed to popular sentiments was a hipsterish thing, and he doesn't know my opinions about much other than what I've mentioned here... :dunno:

^Some people view cars as just another appliance. Not everyone is an enthusiast. It's just the way it is. For those people, having radar that stops them from rear ending my RX-8 on the highway while they are texting, or the auto park so they don't accidentally bash my 8 while they are trying to parallel park, is appreciated!

Should we get rid or cruise control? Power windows and mirrors? Heated seats? How about ABS? Power assisted steering? Or to take it further should we get rid of disc brakes? Independent suspension? Or how about the electric ignition? ALL of these at one point were considered a "modern" convenience to make it easier on the driver. Many of them also make it much safer for the driver and others on the road.

Obviously you can see some of the examples are a bit extreme. Just trying to make my point which is it is all relative to the individual what they consider they need/want in a vehicle. Better to have choices than to not :)

This is what it comes down to!!! :)

Absolutely.

I don't mind in the slightest that those kinds of cars exist. What I dislike is that that's the overwhelming trend in the auto industry.

Let's face it: driver's cars are a vanishingly small minority. Most cars are built for people who, if they're honest, don't really like driving -- except to the extent that they dislike the alternatives more.

I think I'm too old and conservative to be a Hipster, I wear western boots, no skinny jeans, and I can't quote pulp fiction lines from memory!