Question about which car questions

Is there any morals, ethics, or other group norms regarding these? More directly, do you guys feel it's okay to put these types of questions out there if it's merely an exercise in mental masturbation, with no real chance of actually happening, or should there be some actual chance of purchasing a vehicle that precipitates from such a discussion?

I ask because I love those kind of discussions, but rarely have the money to act on them. I'd love to have more threads of that nature, but not if it's going to irritate the commentariat.

Do you want to categorize them into bench racing vs prepurchase debate?

I am 100% ok with bench racing.

I'm always game for a discussion, personally. I like seeing things that I might not normally consider. My brief tenure here, creeping those threads in particular, has caused FAR more research than I normally would do. Granted, I usually end up going to the well, but I find that I learn quite a bit from them.

For better or worse, I wouldn't have my E30 if it wasn't for this forum...

Gentlemen (and ladies), we can't start letting a pesky detail like reality get in our way. That crap's overrated.

I'm always up for a good bench race. I enjoy the mental masturbation, especially in such fine company.

Bench racing is fine by me

Right now i can barely afford one car, so i live vicariously through these threads.

If its not for real now, it could be in the future. I've started quite a few "educate me on this" threads having the intention to get it and never having the intention to get it. I've still not gotten anything, but thats more to do with financials.

I like the threads even if they're meaningless.

Let it go. Let it flow. Let GRM folks be GRM folks. I think most of us can tell by the "tone of voice" in the original What Car post someone makes whether somebody's daydreaming or serious. And I gotta agree with what mndsm said earlier..sometimes the daydream threads spark a thought about a car I hadn't considered (but should have).

EDIT: another quarter in the GRM jukebox.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o87g9sdVf9U

ReverendDexter wrote: I ask because I love those kind of discussions, but rarely have the money to act on them. I'd love to have more threads of that nature, but not if it's going to irritate the commentariat.

I hate them, because they are all the same.

Everybody has 1, or 2 cars that they really like, and that's what they always recommend, whetehr it fits the criteria, or not. On the flip side, most have their minds made up long before they post the question.

Whenever I see a car I might want, I always do some research on them if it's a new and unknown car to me. I can't think of anywhere else you can say "talk to me about X" and get so many answers, experiences and opinions than you can here. My first post was a "what do you think about..." post.

The GRM database is a wonderful thing...

Stan

I find it interesting to get opinions on many cars. I never know when I will come across a great deal on something that I do not have first hand knowledge of. These discussions at least give me something to go on.

I'm willing to bet that at least 50% of the "learn me" and "which car' threads are hypothetical. If you're thinking about a car, chances are somebody else is too, and is maybe just afraid to ask.

There are more than 250,000 unique visits to Grassrootsmotorsports.com each month. Only a fraction of those actually post, the rest just lurk and listen.

Threads like this are still fun, and a good community exercise. Everybody likes their own favorites for their own reasons, so a good debate over the merits and pitfalls of a specific model is always interesting to me.

If it weren't for mental masturbation, what would you be doing?

Most of the things we talk about here have no real chance of actually happening.

But, every now and then, one of the nutjobs here gets motivated and accomplishes something truly amazing with cars and tools, which subsequently inspires the rest of us get our own insanity into motion.

Woody wrote: Most of the things we talk about here have no real chance of actually happening. But, every now and then, one of the nutjobs here gets motivated and accomplishes something truly amazing with cars and tools, which subsequently inspires the rest of us get our own insanity into motion.

This pretty much sums up why I return.
That and mental masturbation along with hotlinked pictures.

It's another source of data when considering a purchase. And facts, tidbits, experiences all add to one's decision--hypothetical or not--to a purchase. Example, while they are very popular around here, I did not know Subaru parts could be as expensive as they are, and certain models have had head gasket problems.... If you don't like the topic, go to the next one. They change daily....

I have a long list of potential projects and cars I think I might want to own. I've actually been working through the list. Sometimes the discussion changes the priorities or sparks some new stuff on the list. Fiats weren't really on my radar - but uber-groovy ones keep popping up, while a locost keeps getting delayed. Life's short - if this helps target things or eliminate projects - it's all good.

Ask away. When most of us are inside typing about cars, we really wish we were swapping a Subaru STI drivetrain and a Miata front suspension into that old rusty 911. I promise. Our bosses wish it wasn't true, and we wish there was a way to make money thinking like that.