Yes, I’m a car geek. Spending much time with my Dad who is deeply in love with cars (second in his heart only to my mom!) has made me a huge fan of them as well. We used to spend weekend mornings at a large car dealership downtown checking out new models. Although it may sound intimidating, the world of cars is actually quite simple, so to those who have no clue about cars, here are the 5 things you need to know to become a car geek….or at least to pretend to be one! Before you know it, you’ll have a brand new favorite car – mine is the 2014 Audi RS7 Sportback in matte black. Gorgeous!
1. Manufacturing Country
Germany, Japan, the United States… Brands from same country are likely to have similar characteristics. German cars usually are made to be stronger and keep the drivers safe: a friend of mine only got a small scratch on his Audi Q5 when a mini Hyundai hit it from the back. The Hyundai, on the other hand, had to become scrap because of the damage it sustained. Japanese cars are functional and relatively affordable to consumers: the navigation system Toyota cars have is convenient for the driver, especially beginners. Those brands care very much about environment and gas mileage as well. Also, the environmental conditions of manufacturing country can make a bit of a difference. Ferraris, for example, work better with dry and sunny weather like it is in Italy; meanwhile, Volvos have no problem with snowy conditions as you can easily imagine from the winter in Sweden.
via Pinterest: Ferrari 488 Spyder Yellow
2. Brands
Ford, Lamborghini, Lexus… each and every one of brands are different and have interesting stories behind them. The rings of logo are the symbol of the four companies combined and eventually became today’s Audi. The brand name, “Mercedes”- Benz was taken after the 11 years-old daughter of the founder. Furthermore, it is easy to distinguish brands by the body and the small details, such as the headlights. Some companies remodel annually, but famous car brands are most likely to keep their signature characteristics.
via Pinterest: Lamborghini White
3. Model
Porsche 911, Audi A6, Mercedes-Benz S-class… it may be a struggle to learn all of the names since each brand has different way to call their models, but knowing them makes a big difference. The basic line for Audi is “A”. They have the smallest A1 to A8, which is mainly used among those people who usually have their own driver. The “RS” lines are more for fun and are able to move as swift as other sports cars. In case of Mercedes-Benz, it starts from A-class, the cheapest and smallest, to S-class: the most luxury one with AMG engine (As a reference, it is not the abbreviation of “amazing”). Those models are likely to be slightly changed annually: typical car geeks have their favorite year model.
via Pinterest :Porsche 911 Blue
4. Shape
Avant, Coupe, Spyder… these labels are for the exterior. The easiest way to learn is to see the actual ones, but the appearance varies one another depend on the shape. If you pay a little bit more attention, you can tell the slight difference between coupe and sportback: cars with these shape look unbelievably sexy…
via Pinterest :Mercedes-Benz S AMG Coupe Red
5. Color
White, Silver, Black…As you may know there are a great number of colors you can choose for your dream car today. One geeky story is that it costs more money if you own a white car. It is mainly because of how it would look: just like when white clothes gets stain, it is troublesome to fix a white vehicle with scratches. The options are either you bear the color differences with less cost or paint the whole car again to avoid it. “Matte” cars are even more difficult and the maintenance fees are much more expensive: the color is made possible without putting coating, meaning it would be obvious if it gets damages on the outside. That is why Matte Black or Matte Grey are not very popular, but they look way more sophisticated.
via Pinterest :Audi R8 Matte Black